The beautiful ‘Cossack Lullaby’ was composed by Mikhail Lermontov in 1838, when he was first stationed in the Caucasus. Lermontov reputedly heard a Cossack woman singing to her baby in a village close to where he was stationed during the Russian-Chechen war that was claiming heavy casualties to Russian troops. Lermontov then put his own words to the lullaby, and the result is a timeless song.

Here are excerpts of the song’s lyrics, translated into English:

Excerpts of the Lyrics (first and last verse)

Sleep, my dear, beloved baby,
‎Bayushki bayu.
Silently the crystal moon shines
‎On your cradle blue.
Fairy tales I’ll start to tell you,
‎Songs I’ll sing you too;
Eyes are closing, drift to sleep now,
‎Bayushki-bayu

This small icon I shall give
‎To guide you on your way:
Place it right before you every
Time you stop and pray;
Think, when bracing for fierce battle,
‎Of your mother true …
Sleep, my dear, beloved baby,
‎Bayushki-bayu.

Translator: David Mark Bennett

Listen: The Cossack Lullaby (soprano: Aida Garifullina)