{"id":470,"date":"2006-08-24T03:23:53","date_gmt":"2006-08-24T03:23:53","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/s265039441.onlinehome.us\/philpaine\/?p=470"},"modified":"2018-08-21T23:59:25","modified_gmt":"2018-08-22T03:59:25","slug":"thursday-august-24-2006-moscow-nights-on-the-subway","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.philpaine.com\/?p=470","title":{"rendered":"Thursday, August 24, 2006 \u2014 Moscow Nights on the Subway"},"content":{"rendered":"

One of those lit\u00adtle moments of beau\u00adty. I was in the Finch sub\u00adway sta\u00adtion. There are musi\u00adcians who busk in many of the sta\u00adtions. In this case, it was an old man with an accor\u00addion. He struck up a few chords, instant\u00adly famil\u00adiar to me. And to some\u00adone else. A mid\u00addle-aged Asian woman, walk\u00ading by, also rec\u00adog\u00adnized what was com\u00ading, and imme\u00addi\u00adate\u00adly began to sing. It was a trained voice, very beau\u00adti\u00adful. She sang, in Russ\u00adian, Vasi\u00adly Soloviev-Sedoi\u2019s pop\u00adu\u00adlar song, \u041f\u043e\u0434\u043c\u043e\u0441\u043a\u043e\u0432\u043d\u044b\u0435 \u0412\u0435\u0447\u0435\u0440\u0430<\/em>. Now, most Russ\u00adian songs are sad and heart-tug\u00adging, but \u201cMoscow Nights\u201d is that, squared and cubed. It comes off best with a deep male voice \u2014 the most famous ver\u00adsion is sung by Vladimir Troshin. But this woman was very effec\u00adtive. By the time she was fin\u00adished, the whole, bustling mass of com\u00admuters in the hall that led from the bus plat\u00adforms to the trains was trans\u00adfixed. Teenagers, who would nor\u00admal\u00adly turn up their iPods as they trudged obliv\u00adi\u00adous\u00adly past any busker, were stop\u00adping to drop coins into the accordionist\u2019s hat. The woman start\u00aded to dance as she sang. The crowd was mes\u00admer\u00adized. When the song end\u00aded, with moth\u00aders, chil\u00addren, busi\u00adness\u00admen, stu\u00addents, and sub\u00adway work\u00aders applaud\u00ading, the accor\u00addion\u00adists did not skip a beat, and launched imme\u00addi\u00adate\u00adly into anoth\u00ader song. Some opera tune, vague\u00adly famil\u00adiar to me, but which I could not iden\u00adti\u00adfy. The woman jumped into it instant\u00adly, singing the full aria in Ital\u00adian. More applause. Again, only a second\u2019s hia\u00adtus, and they were doing B\u00e9same mucho<\/em>, a song so corny that nor\u00admal\u00adly it\u2019s unbear\u00adable. But she gave it dignity.<\/span><\/p>\n

Three songs, and then she obvi\u00adous\u00adly had to get to work, or what\u00adev\u00ader. I spoke to her for a moment as we head\u00aded for the trains. Her accent was Kore\u00adan. Did she speak Russ\u00adian? No, she said, she had mere\u00adly mem\u00ado\u00adrized the words pho\u00adnet\u00adi\u00adcal\u00adly. And she dis\u00adap\u00adpeared, name\u00adless, with her gro\u00adcery bags, down a crowd\u00aded esca\u00adla\u00adtor into the sil\u00adver cars that sped under the earth.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u041f\u043e\u0434\u043c\u043e\u0441\u043a\u043e\u0432\u043d\u044b\u0435 \u0412\u0435\u0447\u0435\u0440\u0430 (Pod\u00admoskovnye Vechera)<\/span>
\n [\u201cMoscow Nights\u201d, some\u00adtimes \u201cMid\u00adnight in Moscow\u201d or \u201cNights on the Edge of Moscow\u201d]<\/span><\/p>\n

\u041d\u0435 \u0441\u043b\u044b\u0448\u043d\u044b \u0432 \u0441\u0430\u0434\u0443 \u0434\u0430\u0436\u0435 \u0448\u043e\u0440\u043e\u0445\u0438,<\/em><\/span>
\n \u0412\u0441\u0451 \u0437\u0434\u0435\u0441\u044c \u0437\u0430\u043c\u0435\u0440\u043b\u043e \u0434\u043e \u0443\u0442\u0440\u0430.<\/em><\/span>
\n \u0415\u0441\u043b\u0438 \u0431 \u0437\u043d\u0430\u043b\u0438 \u0432\u044b, \u043a\u0430\u043a \u043c\u043d\u0435 \u0434\u043e\u0440\u043e\u0433\u0438<\/em><\/span>
\n \u041f\u043e\u0434\u043c\u043e\u0441\u043a\u043e\u0432\u043d\u044b\u0435 \u0432\u0435\u0447\u0435\u0440\u0430.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

\u0420\u0435\u0447\u043a\u0430 \u0434\u0432\u0438\u0436\u0435\u0442\u0441\u044f \u0438 \u043d\u0435 \u0434\u0432\u0438\u0436\u0435\u0442\u0441\u044f,<\/em><\/span>
\n \u0412\u0441\u044f \u0438\u0437 \u043b\u0443\u043d\u043d\u043e\u0433\u043e \u0441\u0435\u0440\u0435\u0431\u0440\u0430.<\/em><\/span>
\n \u041f\u0435\u0441\u043d\u044f \u0441\u043b\u044b\u0448\u0438\u0442\u0441\u044f \u0438 \u043d\u0435 \u0441\u043b\u044b\u0448\u0438\u0442\u0441\u044f<\/em><\/span>
\n \u0412 \u044d\u0442\u0438 \u0442\u0438\u0445\u0438\u0435 \u0432\u0435\u0447\u0435\u0440\u0430.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

\u0427\u0442\u043e \u0436 \u0431\u044b, \u043c\u0438\u043b\u0430\u044f, \u0441\u043c\u043e\u0442\u0440\u0438\u0448\u044c \u0438\u0441\u043a\u043e\u0441\u0430,<\/em><\/span>
\n \u041d\u0438\u0437\u043a\u043e \u0433\u043e\u043b\u043e\u0432\u0443 \u043d\u0430\u043a\u043b\u043e\u043d\u044f\u044f?<\/em><\/span>
\n \u0422\u0440\u0443\u0434\u043d\u043e \u0432\u044b\u0441\u043a\u0430\u0437\u0430\u0442\u044c \u0438 \u043d\u0435 \u0432\u044b\u0441\u043a\u0430\u0437\u0430\u0442\u044c<\/em><\/span>
\n \u0412\u0441\u0451, \u0447\u0442\u043e \u043d\u0430 \u0441\u0435\u0440\u0434\u0446\u0435 \u0443 \u043c\u0435\u043d\u044f.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

\u0410 \u0440\u0430\u0441\u0441\u0432\u0435\u0442 \u0443\u0436\u0435 \u0432\u0441\u0451 \u0437\u0430\u043c\u0435\u0442\u043d\u0435\u0435.<\/em><\/span>
\n \u0422\u0430\u043a, \u043f\u043e\u0436\u0430\u043b\u0443\u0439\u0441\u0442\u0430, \u0431\u0443\u0434\u044c \u0434\u043e\u0431\u0440\u0430.<\/em><\/span>
\n \u041d\u0435 \u0437\u0430\u0431\u0443\u0434\u044c \u0438 \u0442\u044b \u044d\u0442\u0438 \u043b\u0435\u0442\u043d\u0438\u0435<\/em><\/span>
\n \u041f\u043e\u0434\u043c\u043e\u0441\u043a\u043e\u0432\u043d\u044b\u0435 \u0432\u0435\u0447\u0435\u0440\u0430.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

Even whis\u00adpers aren\u2019t heard in the garden,<\/em><\/span>
\n Every\u00adthing has died down till morning.<\/em><\/span>
\n If you only knew how dear to me<\/em><\/span>
\n Are these Moscow nights.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

The riv\u00ader moves, unmoving,<\/em><\/span>
\n All in sil\u00adver moonlight.<\/em><\/span>
\n A song is heard, yet unheard,<\/em><\/span>
\n In these silent nights.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

Why do you, dear, look askance,<\/em><\/span>
\n With your head low\u00adered so?<\/em><\/span>
\n It is hard to express, and hard to hold back,<\/em><\/span>
\n Every\u00adthing that my heart holds.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

But the dawn\u2019s becom\u00ading ever brighter.<\/em><\/span>
\n So please, just be good.<\/em><\/span>
\n Don\u2019t you, too, forget<\/em><\/span>
\n These sum\u00admer, Moscow nights.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

One of those lit\u00adtle moments of beau\u00adty. I was in the Finch sub\u00adway sta\u00adtion. There are musi\u00adcians who busk in many of the sta\u00adtions. In this case, it was an old man with an accor\u00addion. He struck up a few chords, instant\u00adly famil\u00adiar to \u2026<\/p>\n

Read more \u00bb<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"wp_typography_post_enhancements_disabled":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1,12,947,24],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-470","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-a-blog","category-au-blog-2006","category-c-listening","category-cu-listening-2006"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.philpaine.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/470","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.philpaine.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.philpaine.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.philpaine.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.philpaine.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=470"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"http:\/\/www.philpaine.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/470\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9499,"href":"http:\/\/www.philpaine.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/470\/revisions\/9499"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.philpaine.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=470"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.philpaine.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=470"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.philpaine.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=470"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}