baconmeteor ([info]baconmeteor) wrote,
@ 2006-10-24 02:39:00
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Взвейтесь, соколы, орлами, полно горе горевать!
The lyrics are easy to find, and I know is that it's a tsarist soldiers' song, but can anyone shed further light on its provenance?

As a bonus question, I don't fully understand what is going on grammatically in "Взвейтесь, соколы, орлами". "Fly up, falcons, as eagles do?"

I apologize in advance for some simplistic questions like these, but I'm stranded for the moment in Beijing with only online materials to work with...

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[info]dil
2006-10-23 07:35 pm UTC (link)
It's straightforward, no hidden meaning there. Both "соколы" and "орлы" are symbols of courage, especially for military men.

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[info]baconmeteor
2006-10-23 07:42 pm UTC (link)
not the meaning, but why it's 'Взвейтесь, соколы, орлами' rather than 'Взвейтесь, соколы, орлы'

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[info]dil
2006-10-23 07:54 pm UTC (link)
Fly up falcons as eagles, just a verbal schema

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[info]edricson
2006-10-23 08:25 pm UTC (link)
Well, falcons are generally smaller and not as, um, majestic as eagles; otherwise, it's just trite hero-speak. It's a real pre-revolutionary army song, as you can see for yourself by Googling "взвейтесь, соколы, орлами, полно горе горевать"

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[info]0_5
2006-10-24 06:49 am UTC (link)
Well, it's because орлы has two syllables, and орлами - three. It's a song, after all.
"Взвейтесь соколы, орлы" just does not sound right.

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[info]vvagr
2006-10-23 08:12 pm UTC (link)
I'd always thought that an eagle is a bit more dignified bird conpared to falcon, therefore the meaning becomes - fly above yourself.

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[info]vdinets
2006-10-24 02:31 am UTC (link)
Many pre-revol. soviet songs are based on very poor verses. My guess would be, it was just the author's way of adding an extra syllable.

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[info]vdinets
2006-10-24 02:31 am UTC (link)
i mean, pre-revol. soldiers' songs, sorry.

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[info]mckuroske
2006-10-24 03:41 am UTC (link)
Grammatically and literally your phrase is correct, but do the words "falcons" and "eagles" have the same connotations in English?
Сокол and орёл are usual symbols for the brave and courageous men and of course the meaning here is "you are brave enough (to be called "сокол") but be even more brave (as an eagle)".

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[info]shasha_z
2006-11-03 09:50 am UTC (link)
Agree with mckuroske. "Сокол" is for common brave soldier, but "орел" may stand for a hero.

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[info]mckuroske
2006-11-03 09:53 am UTC (link)
Well said!

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