It epitomizes the Russian song and faithfully portrays the Slavic soul. In naïve, yet soul-searching words, this master piece expresses enthusiasm, exuberance, and love in its purest form.
Below is a version of the song in English followed by its Russian lyrics, phonetically transcribed from the Cyrillic alphabet into Latin characters.
The piece was exquisitely sung by choirs of the former Red Army. The baritones, basses and tenors, with their unmistakable characteristic Slavic voices, were led by Alexander Poustouvalov.
Refrain
Juniper, juniper, my juniper,
in the garden there's the berry, my raspberry
Under the pine, under the green pine,
lay me down to sleep,
aida, Lyuli, Lyuli, aida, Lyuli, Lyuli,
lay me down to sleep!
Oh you dear pine, oh you green pine,
don't you rustle so loud over me,
aida, Lyuli, Lyuli, aida, Lyuli, Lyuli,
don't you rustle so loud over me!
Beautiful maid, dear maid,
please fall in love with me,
aida, Lyuli, Lyuli, aida, Lyuli, Lyuli,
please fall in love with me !