by Tatiana Kurtukova
“Matushka” is a folk-pop song by the Russian singer Tatiana Kurtukova, with music and lyrics by Peter Andreev. It came out as a single in March 2022 and became a hit in Russia and abroad in 2024, when it topped Russia's TopHit chart for the year. Matushka is an affectionate word for mother, and in the chorus she is Mother Earth. In our translation the singer lists small gifts of nature: a wreath of wildflowers, a sip of birch sap, cold spring water and honey in the comb. She wants to walk a forest path, chat with a birch tree about love, ask the cuckoo how many years she has left and read her fortune on a daisy. The chorus calls to Mother Earth and the little white birch: for her it is Holy Rus, an old religious name for the Russian land, while for others it is a thorn.
Koinei's own English translation. The original Russian lyrics are not shown on this page: open the reader to follow them word by word with the audio.
A little wreath of wildflowers, a flower in the morning dew, the nightingale's opening note, a sip of birch sap,
To listen to the will of silence, down a path in the thick forest
To talk to a birch tree as much as I want, about him and about love
Mother Earth, little white birch
For me, Holy Rus, for others, a thorn
Mother Earth, oh, little white birch
For me, Holy Rus, for others, a thorn
How many more little years am I to ask the cuckoo about?
My girlish love's fortunes, to read with a daisy?
Some cold spring water, a little fresh honey in the comb
In an open field on a dark night,
I'll drown in the starry sky
(repeat the 4 lines from “Mother Earth, little white birch”)
Mother Earth,
For me, Holy Rus
Mother Earth, little white birch
For me, Holy Rus, for others, a thorn
(last 2 lines x2)
Mother Earth, oh, little white birch
For me, Holy Rus, for others, a thorn
Mother Earth, for others, a thorn
| Word | Say it | Meaning | Type | In the song |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| веночек | venochek | wreath | noun | веночек: nominative, singular, masculine |
| берёзовый | beryozovy | birch | adjective | берёзовый: nominative, singular, masculine |
| послушать | poslushat | to listen | verb | послушать: infinitive, perfective |
| поболтать | poboltat | to chat | verb | поболтать: infinitive, perfective |
| матушка-земля | matushka-zemlya | Mother Earth | noun | матушка-земля: nominative, singular, feminine |
| белый | bely | white | adjective | белая: nominative, singular, feminine |
| святой | svyatoy | holy | adjective | святая: nominative, singular, feminine |
| русь | rus | Rus | noun | Русь: nominative, singular, feminine |
| занозонька | zanozonka | little splinter | noun | занозонька: nominative, singular, feminine |
| кукушка | kukushka | cuckoo | noun | кукушки: genitive, singular, feminine |
| поспрошать | posproshat | to ask | verb | поспрошать: infinitive, perfective |
| ночь | noch | night | noun | ночью: instrumental, singular, feminine |
«белая берёзонька» (belaya beryozonka) “little white birch”
Folk songs pile up diminutive suffixes for warmth. Берёза (birch) becomes берёзка and then берёзонька; заноза (splinter) becomes занозонька; венок (wreath) becomes веночек, and год (year) gives годочков. English has to add “little”, but in Russian the suffix often sounds tender rather than small. The title works the same way: матушка is a loving form of мать (mother).
«для других» (dlya drugikh) “for others”
Для (for) always takes the genitive. The pronoun я becomes меня, so для меня is “for me”, and другие (others) becomes других. The chorus sets the two side by side, which makes it a handy pattern to memorise: для тебя (for you), для нас (for us), для всех (for everyone).
«у кукушки» (u kukushki) “of the cuckoo”
To ask someone something, Russian often says спросить у with the genitive, literally “ask at someone”, so кукушка (cuckoo) becomes у кукушки. The song uses a folk, dialect form of спросить here. The question also uses сколько (how many), which takes the genitive plural, here of a diminutive meaning “little years”. People count a cuckoo's calls to learn how many years they have left.
«тёмной ночью» (tyomnoy nochyu) “on a dark night”
Russian names parts of the day and seasons with the instrumental case and no preposition: утром (in the morning), вечером (in the evening), ночью (at night), летом (in summer). An adjective joins in the same case, so тёмный (dark) becomes тёмной to match feminine ночь. The same line also places the scene with в and the prepositional case: “in an open field”.
Translation, word notes and commentary by Koinei. Rights holders: see Copyright and takedown requests.