We continue our musical representation devoted to the World Day of Mail, and also to songs about postmen and the letter. Last time we remembered foreign hits, and now – time domestic… 
Soviet brand «Pochtar (the XVIII century), tilt cart». Scanned and processed by A. Sdobnikov, commons.wikimedia.org «When I on mail served as the coachman»
Not a secret that coachmen were the first regular postmen in Russia. To pass away the long road, they quite often sang. There was the whole genre of coachman’s songs. However, most known of them were issued in XIX – the beginning of the XX centuries when coachmen any more did not deliver mail, and were engaged, generally carrying of passengers.
The song «When I on mail served as the coachman» it is quite possible to carry to a genre so-called «cruel romances» which move one people to tears, and others – make laugh with the hysterical sentimentality.
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it is unknown, commons.wikimedia.org -
скан, Piglet of a plate. -
скан, disk Cover. -
screen, Shot from «A song of year — 76». -
скан, disk Cover. -
screen, Shot from the Obvious-improbable broadcast.
At first there was a poem of 1844 of the Polish poet Vladislav Syrokomli under the name "Pocztylion" ("Postman"). 24 years later it translated on Russian Leonid Trefolev and it began to be called "Coachman". It is considered that at the heart of the tragic poem the real history lay.
When I on mail served as the coachman,
It was young, the silenka was found.
Also there was I hardly a dependent sign,
Terrible race tortured…
Once on a post path «St. Petersburg – Warsaw», somewhere near modern Belarus, the passing postman saw the frozen girl who appeared it in snow… bride.
… I shook off snow – and my bride
Saw extinct eyes …
Give wines to me, give rather,
To tell there is no urine further!
Poem and song words considerably differ, however the subject outline is kept practically in accuracy.
When I on mail served as the coachman,
It was young, I had a silenka,
And it is strong, brothers, in a settlement one
I during that time loved the little girl…
… Under snow, brothers, it lay…
Brown eyes were closed.
Pour, pour rather wines,
To tell there is no more urine!
Who wrote the song, still not clearly. Sometimes among authors specify Jacob Prigozhego though many consider that he was simply an arranger.
In spite of the fact that the hero of a song call "coachman", proceeding from the text, we see that to yamsky гоньбе it had no relation. Coachmen drove about in a cart or the sledge which have been usually harnessed by the three of horses. The hero of the romance skips on a horse and the package therefore it would be more correct to call him the horse courier is lucky.
The song became so popular that it quite often quote in modern music. So a line «When I on mail served as the coachman» we can hear in the group song AGATHA CHRISTIE «the Fantastic Taiga».
When I on mail served as the coachman,
To me the shaggy geologist was knocked…
And also in absolutely Vyacheslav Butusov’s absurd composition «Quasifolklore Zombichesky».
– When I on mail served as the forester…
– Why forester? After all it is known the forester
As that in our life arose
On the woods to the soil, instead of on mail!
– When I on mail served as the striker…
– What striker, when coachman!
Cannot such happen on mail,
That to the coachman as the striker a kompolka to put!
– When I on mail served a kompolka…
– Do not play the fool, drive the coachman!…
PESNYARA – "Vologda"
Line «Letters — and, letters personally on mail I carry» Vologda where the well-known hit of ensemble ПЕСНЯРЫ already became long ago the informal anthem is well-known to any Soviet person, and especially to the resident. For young generation I will remind that "personally" letters on mail brought to accelerate their sending.
Way to heart of listeners the song "Vologda" written by Boris Andriyovych Mokrousov on verses of Mikhail Lvovich Matusovskogo, found far not at once. The first the song was executed by Vladimir Nechaev. It sounded then more viscously and popularity did not get.
"Hour of triumph" "Vologda" waited in 1976 when PESNYARA’S VIA was necessary in repertoire any song of the member of the Union of Composers (performance of such songs was an indispensable condition of existence of the Soviet vocal and tool ensemble).
Composition ПЕСНЯРАМ at first was not pleasant, it was defended only by one member of ensemble – Vladimir Nikolaev who was just come from Vologda. The leader of VIA Vladimir Mulyavin fairly updated the song – accelerated, entered being remembered solo on a bayan, and also asked Matusovsky to change the first two lines. As a result «Songs, itself for it I write songs. Letters, letters personally on mail I carry» replaced with «The letter, letters personally on mail I carry. As if I with continuation write the novel».
Performance ПЕСНЯРОВ on TV program «The song of year-76» became triumph of updated "Vologda". Ensemble even caused encore that for the Soviet, accurately regulated teleconcert it was not peculiar.
Alexander Demeshko, participant ПЕСНЯРОВ:
«Anybody from us did not assume that "Vologda" becomes a hit. When at concerts the people as on a football match, chanted "Vologda"» «, Vologda"», we were angry: after all there were many other, not less good works».
The well-known hearing testifies to popularity of a song that «the house, where a carved palisade» where the hero of a song sends the letter, in Vologda only one – and this building… skin and venereologic clinic. The carved palisade, really, is not characteristic for this city. Though similar houses also met in Vologda up to the 1980th years, were not forced finally out yet by new buildings. Vladimir Vysotsky – «The letter in edition "Obvious-improbable"»
Sending by the audience of letters to edition of popular telecasts was one more widespread Soviet tradition. The Obvious-improbable program which was conducted steadily by scientist Sergey Petrovitch Kapitsa was one of such transfers.
On November 13, 1976 in air there was the release of transfer devoted to a mysterious and fashionable subject of the notorious Bermuda Triangle – places in the Caribbean Basin where without a message the ships and planes quite often disappeared. Than only did not explain this anomaly – from magnetic fields before intervention of aliens.
And a year later bard Vladimir Semyonovich Vysotsky already known all over the country sang the new satirical song «The letter in telecast "Obvious-improbable" edition from a madhouse».
Spoke, wringing hands, the phrasemonger and баламут
About powerlessness of a science before secret Bermud,
All brains segmented, all crinkles braided,
And канатчиковы the authorities prick to us the second prick.
Dear editor, can better about the reactor, and?
About a favourite lunar tractor? After all it is impossible, year in a row
That of plates frighten, say, mean, fly,
That at you dogs bark, at you ruins speak.
The hero of a song as it is clear from the name, the patient of a madhouse. But not generalized, and concrete – the Moscow psychiatric hospital of P. Kaschenko (now – of N. Alekseev). In the people it long ago nicknamed «Kanatchikova giving» (the building of hospital was it is constructed on country lands of merchant Kanatchikov).
It is necessary to tell, Vysotsky was familiar with this institution not by hearsay. Already in youth he had chronic alcoholism and for the first time rang out on «Kanatchikova giving» in 1964. Researchers of creativity of the bard among the staff of hospital did not find "chief physician Margulis" mentioned in the song. It is considered that Valentin Morkovin who as speak, subsequently gloomy joked was its prototype: the pier, glory to it were brought not by professional activity, and one of a great number of treated alcoholics.
About emergence of a surname Margulis stated the version in the article Nikolay Grinev. He referred to the story of the eyewitness which was present on Vysotsky’s tours at the Donetsk city of Enakiyevo. According to him, after speech of the singer invited to a banquet. While the table was covered, Vysotsky sat down in a corner and unexpectedly quickly накропал the text of "Letter". Then it also executed the song – directly from a balcony, before admirers besieging the house. The surname of the owner of that apartment also was Margulis. His Vysotsky also immortalized not to fray a name of the real and dear doctor.
Creation of a song stimulated also participation of the wife of Vysotsky – the French actress Marina Vladi, in shootings of the Italian-Mexican film «Secret of the Bermuda Triangle».
Anyway, the song became madly popular and dispersed on quotes:
We did not make scandal, the leader lacked us.
Violent it is not enough presents, here also there are no leaders…
These are their thin devils бермутят water in a pond,
It everything was thought up by Churchill in the eighteenth year…
Untie polotenets, inover, izuverets…
Well and tomorrow children will ask, visiting us since morning:
«Fathers what these candidates for the doctor told?»
We will answer our children the truth – to it not all the same,
Surprising nearby, but it – is forbidden…
Just in case Vysotsky before performance of the song spoke: «It not personally to Kapitsa with whom I am on friendly terms and, generally, I treat him with big respect, and for those to whom they provide sometimes a tribune». However, Kapitsa’s guest on that transfer – Candidate of Technical Sciences Vladimir Azhazha – behaved quite frostily, hands did not wave and did not resemble at all on song «the phrasemonger and баламута».
However, neither Kapitsa, nor Azhazha did not take offense at Vysotsky…
P.S.: You can listen to songs in the 1st comment to this article.