In the USSR, there was probably no child who would never watch the famous cartoon "Cheburashka"(1971).
All Soviet boys and girls knew by heart the song performed by one of its heroes Crocodile Gena. Of course, there are other children's cartoon songs that deserve attention, but "Let pedestrians run clumsily through puddles" is considered almost the most famous of all.
You can listen to the song by clicking on the link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XUxDB9KVxOQ
The lyric of the Russian birthday song
Пусть бегут неуклюже
Пешеходы по лужам,
А вода по асфальту рекой.
И неясно прохожим
В этот день непогожий,
Почему я веселый такой?
Сhorus:
А я играю на гармошке
У прохожих на виду.
К сожаленью, день рожденья
Только раз в году.
Прилетит вдруг волшебник
В голубом вертолете
И бесплатно покажет кино.
С днем рожденья поздравит
И, наверно, оставит
Мне в подарок пятьсот эскимо.
Сhorus:
А я играю на гармошке
У прохожих на виду.
К сожаленью, день рожденья
Только раз в году.
Do you have any trouble understanding the words or the ideas of the lyric? If so, you need to make efforts to expand your vocabulary.
The translation of the lyric
Let pedestrians hurry
With their eyes full of worry,
In the pools picking out their way,
They’re surprised at my folly –
Why I am so jolly
On this gloomy and dull rainy day.
Chorus:
I am playing my harmonica
For all passers-by to hear.
It’s a pity we’ve a birthday
Only once a year.
Then a wizard comes flying
In a blue helicopter,
He will show me a film in a way,
Several hundred sweet ices
He will give me and wish me
Many happy returns of the day.
Chorus:
I am playing my harmonica
For all passers-by to hear.
It’s a pity we’ve a birthday
Only once a year.
Interesting facts about the Russian birthday song and the cartoon
There are some interesting facts about this birthday song. And if you learn the Russian language, you may have heard of it.
- Vladimir Shainsky did not like to compose music for songs that did not yet have lyrics, but he had to create “Gena the Crocodile Song” in this way. Director Roman Kachanov attached special importance to this composition and at first rejected all the melodies presented by the composer, regarding them as too bizarre. In order to achieve what he needed, the director forced the composer to play five games of chess with him and then asked the tired Vladimir Shainsky to play on the piano whatever came to his mind at the moment. This is how the famous melody “Let them run awkwardly” appeared.
- The Artistic Council of Soyuzmultfilm did not like Gena's Crocodile Song, which Shainsky presented in different interpretations. First of all, the composer sang it in his not very singing voice. Then he depicted the melody with all skill on the instrument but received the approval of the censors only when he played the motive of the composition with one finger.
- After the release of the cartoon "Cheburashka" in 1971, the very next year "Song of the Crocodile Gena" became a laureate of the "Song of the Year" festival.
- Cheburashka is a strange-eared creature with big round and kind eyes. It is covered with brown fur and walks on its hind legs.
- Eduard Uspensky - a Russian children's writer that created the characters Cheburashka and Crocodile Gena decided that Cheburashka lacked his official birthday and without hesitation announced that now it would be August 20th. It is on this day that an all-Russian action is held in support of orphans and disabled children.
This date was not chosen by chance, since in 1966 it was on this day that the famous fairy tale by Eduard Uspensky came out of the publishing house, which introduced young readers to Gena the Crocodile and the funny Cheburashka.
- Eduard Uspensky, in addition to children's fairy tales about Crocodile Gena and Cheburashka, wrote several stories with the same characters for adults: "The Business of Crocodile Gena" (1992), "Crocodile Gena - Police Lieutenant" (2001), "Mushrooms for Cheburashka" (2001).
- Cheburashka has its own museum and it is located in kindergarten No. 2550 in Moscow, in the Eastern District.
- Cheburashka has been the official mascot of the Russian Olympic team for all performances since 2004.
- Monuments to the cartoon crocodile and his friends can be seen in such cities as Moscow, Armavir, Kremenchuk, Rostov-on-Don, Ramenskoye, Khabarovsk, and everywhere Gena is depicted playing the harmonica.
- Charming Cheburashka is very much loved not only in our country but also abroad. For example, the Japanese in 2003 bought the rights to continue the animated fairy tale story. Filmed by director Makoto Nakamura, it was subsequently shown in many countries, including France, Belgium, and, of course, Russia.
Conclusion
When the authors composed this composition more than fifty years ago, they could not even imagine that their uncomplicated creation would find unprecedented human love. At the present time, the popularity of the song in our country is so great that almost every birthday child hears it performed by their relatives and close friends on their birthday, which, unfortunately, happens only once a year.
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