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Piano Piece Pick of the Day #8 - Today's focus is shifting gears to bring you something from mother Russia. Entitled Дорогой длинною (or pronounced "Daroguy D'lina-you). This piece is simple to play and famous the world over, including Singapore. It's a great piece for children or adult beginners, plus it makes a great cultural crossover.

The song has been covered by many other singers including Bing Crosby, Roger Whittaker, Dolly Parton, and even sampled by 50 Cent in "When it rains... See More

Piano Piece Pick of the Day #8 - Today's focus is shifting gears to bring you something from mother Russia. Entitled Дорогой длинною (or pronounced "Daroguy D'lina-you). This piece is simple to play and famous the world over, including Singapore. It's a great piece for children or adult beginners, plus it makes a great cultural crossover.

The song has been covered by many other singers including Bing Crosby, Roger Whittaker, Dolly Parton, and even sampled by 50 Cent in "When it rains it pours". Originally composed by Boris Fomin, Eugene Raskin penned the English lyrics, and Welsh singer Mary Hopkin actually made it famous in 1968.

No guesses for what this song is. Just listen to it below (preferably the Russian version - sung by Sergey Lazarev):
Russian: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CmRynue6_MA
English: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y3KEhWTnWvE

Score: https://xa.yimg.com/kq/groups/20774692/164648859/name/Those+Were+The+Day...

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Gavin Koh

The irony here is that the Russian and English lyrics have not that much in common. The former called "By the Long Road" is a romantic gypsy song, whereas the latter "Those were the Days" is more... See More

The irony here is that the Russian and English lyrics have not that much in common. The former called "By the Long Road" is a romantic gypsy song, whereas the latter "Those were the Days" is more a celebration of life.

The saddest thing though for the Russian version was that romantic songs were eventually banned in Russia back in 1929. Poor Boris (the composer) eventually went to prison in 1937 for his songs and much later on died from tuberculosis in 1948. But in between, Boris had to endure the shame of composing songs that were considered anti-socialist in nature!

November 30, 2017 at 8:14pm
Gavin Koh

@Zensen: Helmut Lotti's singing shows us that he is quite a smooth crooner whereas Sergey Lazarev's singing tends to be more flamboyant. What can I say, I like both performances!

November 29, 2017 at 11:33pm
Goh Zensen

Yes! And I''m impressed that Mabel knows this song despite being so young!

November 30, 2017 at 10:39am
Mabel Ong

Zensen, it's in one of those Alfred learning books for beginners! ?

November 30, 2017 at 1:08pm