Today, I want to talk about the song “The Last Poem”—a song many people know, but few truly understand its real meaning.
I’m sure many remember the Soviet film “Love and Lies” (a literal translation of its Russian title is “You Could Never Have Dreamed”)—a story about two teenagers in love, whose cruel parents prevent them from being together. As a child, I saw this film one way, but now, as a father of many children, I see it very differently. The girl convinces the boy not to pursue his education, claiming that learning is unnecessary—just drop everything, and we’ll simply live. It’s a compelling theme if you don’t dig too deep. And suddenly, the so-called antagonists don’t seem so bad anymore, while the supposed heroes reveal their own flaws and peculiarities.
But what I really want to focus on is the song—one that many know even better than the film itself. “The Last Poem” features the brilliant music of Alexei Rybnikov and was performed for the movie by Irina Otieva. However, in the USSR, it was also sung by other artists, including the band Yalla (whom I personally associate more with one song—“Uchkuduk, Three Wells”).
The song is deeply lyrical, and many perceive it as an anthem of youth and love. And that would be fine—if not for its origins. I had heard this story several times before, but for many, it’s a revelation (just as it was for me the first time).
Yes, the music was composed by the brilliant Alexei Rybnikov. But the lyrics… they are actually a translation of a poem by Nobel Prize-winning writer Rabindranath Tagore. Who, by the way, was Indian. And if you carefully read the lyrics, keeping in mind that they were written by an Indian poet and recalling the traditions and beliefs of this ancient culture, the song suddenly stops being about teenage love.
The poem is actually about death, the transition to another world (which, in Hindu tradition, is accompanied by the cremation of the deceased), and reincarnation. Listen to the song again, then read the lyrics carefully.
And then live with this knowledge.
And here is the lyrics (translated into English literally):
Did the wind bring this old name around,
I have no route back to places long abandoned.
Trying to see me from far away,
You won’t recognize me,
You won’t recognize me,
My friend, farewell.
I’m drifting away carried on by
From place to place,
From coast to coast,
From shoal to shoal,
My friend, farewell.
I know that some day
From a distant shore,
From a distant past,
The wind on a spring night
will bring you a sigh from me.
Look around, look around,
Look if there is
something left after me.
And in the darkness of oblivion at the nearing end
of your life,
Look around without despair,
Look around without despair,
If it will flash, if it will appear
this long forgotten image,
nearly accidental.
Will it appear his long forgotten image,
nearly accidental.
It’s not a dream, it’s not a dream –
This is all I believe,
This is true.
The eternal law that even death can’t void –
This is my love
This is my love
This is my love…
