The iconic Нежность (or Nezhnost, Tenderness), performed by legendary Maya Kristalinskaya, is one of the most beloved songs of Soviet-era music. Released in 1965, it became a hallmark of romantic balladry in the USSR – and remains a cultural touchstone for many Russians today.
Нежность: music and lyrics
Нежность (Tenderness) was conceived in what must have been a harmonious marriage. Александра Пахмутова (Aleksandra Pakhmutova) composed the music, while husband and frequent collaborator Николай Добронравов (Nikolai Dobronravov) wrote the lyrics. Together they created this timeless and hauntingly beautiful ballad on love, longing, and separation. See the Нежность lyrics here, also below (with stress marks).
Maya Kristalinskaya: The Voice of Нежность
Maya Kristalinskaya (1932-1985) was one of the most popular Soviet singers of her time. Although she had many hits to her name – for instance Два берега (Two Banks) from the movie Жажда or Thirst (1959), Текстильный Городок (Textile Town) and А снег идет (And the Snow Falls) also endure as classics of Soviet popular music – ‘Нежность’ became her signature piece and will always be closely associated with her name.
Signature piece
Nezhnost and Soviet Cinema
The song gained widespread popularity after it was prominently featured in the 1965 Soviet film Три тополя на Плющихе (Three Poplars in Plyushchikha or Three Poplars on Plyuschikha Street, directed by Татьяна Лиознова (Tatyana Lioznova) (1924-2011).
While Maya Kristalinskaya is renowned for her rendition of this song, in the film it is performed by the lead actress, Tatiana Doronina (Татьяна Доронина). Find Nezhnost in the movie here, in the fragment below, and subtly in this final. Watch the movie here in black and white, or here colored (2010 version).
Nezhnost and Yuri Gagarin
The song owes part of its fame to the fact that is was a favorite of Yuri Gagarin, the son of Russia who went into space a mere mortal, and returned as a hero simply by returning.
Gagarin did not hum or sing any Нежность tune or line while he was out there. His historic flight took place in 1961, four years before the song was written. But he, and the Soviet Space Program of which he was now the figurehead, have undoubtedly inspired the writers of Нежность. The song, in turn, may have been a dose of tender psychedelics for Gagarin, gently bringing him back to the stars.
Tender psychedelics
Maya Kristalinskaya: Illness and Passing
Kristalinskaya had faced health challenges for much of her life, including thyroid problems that led to surgery earlier in her career. Due to the visible scars it left, she began wearing what would later become her signature scarf or shawl during performances.
Maya Kristalinskaya died as a result of lymphoma on June 19, 1985, at the age of 53.
Lyrics Нежность
Опусте́ла без тебя́ Земля́.
Как мне не́сколько часо́в прожи́ть?
Так же па́дает листва́ в сада́х,
И куда́-то все спеша́т такси́.
То́лько пу́сто на Земле́ одно́й без тебя́.
А ты, ты лети́шь и тебе́
Да́рят звёзды свою́ не́жность.
Так же пу́сто бы́ло на Земле́
И когда́ лета́л Экзюпери.
Так же па́дала листва́ в сада́х,
И приду́мать не могла́ Земля́,
Как прожи́ть ей без него́, пока́ он лета́л,
Лета́л. И все звёзды ему́ отдава́ли
Свою́ не́жность.
Опусте́ла без тебя́ Земля́,
Е́сли мо́жешь, прилета́й скоре́й.
More classical in the playlist Russian Classical by Music in Russian on Spotify.
Songs covered here can also be found in this YouTube playlist.
© Music in Russian 2024
