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Dark is the Night (Тёмная ночь, lit. Dark Night) is a famous Soviet song associated with the Great Patriotic War. It was originally performed by Mark Bernes in the 1943 war film Two Soldiers.
The song was composed by Nikita Bogoslovsky (1913-2004), lyrics by Vladimir Agatov specially for the film Two Soldiers. Leonid Utyosov, without knowledge and without permission of authors and film unit, recorded the song, thus becoming the first to do so, but it was Bernes' performance that made it so popular. In the film, Bernes is a soldier who recalls his wife and baby at night while singing the song.

The official experts were keen to accuse Bogoslovsky of propagating "Philistine" sentimental tunes. Though ostracized by the authorities, the song became a symbol of the war years for millions of Soviet people.

Dark Is the Night has been described as "a gentle lyrical song imbued with a feeling of homesickness and expressing devotion to one's beloved" which helped "reveal the personal side of army life, indiscernable in the roar of warfare". It contrasted sharply with the prevalent type of war song, which was either a field marching song or a civil patriotic one.

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Lyrics:
Тёмная ночь, только пули свистят по степи,
Только ветер гудит в проводах, тускло звёзды мерцают.
В тёмную ночь ты, любимая, знаю, не спишь,
И у детской кроватки тайком ты слезу утираешь.

Как я люблю глубину твоих ласковых глаз,
Как я хочу к ним прижаться теперь губами!
Тёмная ночь разделяет, любимая, нас,
И тревожная, чёрная степь пролегла между нами.

Верю в тебя, в дорогую подругу мою,
Эта вера от пули меня тёмной ночью хранила…
Радостно мне, я спокоен в смертельном бою,
Знаю, встретишь с любовью меня, что б со мной ни случилось.

Смерть не страшна, с ней встречались не раз мы в степи,
Вот и теперь надо мною она кружится.
Ты меня ждёшь и у детской кроватки не спишь,
И поэтому знаю: со мной ничего не случится!

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English Translation:
Dark night, only bullets are whistling in the steppe,
Only the wind is waiting through the telephone wires, stars are faintly flickering.
In the dark night, my love, I know you are not sleeping,
And near a child's crib, you secretly wipe away a tear.

How I love the depths of your gentle eyes,
How I want to press my lips to them!
This dark night separates us, my love,
And the dark, troubled steppe has come to lie between us.

I believe in you, my dear friend,
That faith has shielded me from bullets in this dark night...
I'm glad, I'm calm in deadly battle,
I know you will meet me with love, no matter what happens.

Death is not terrible, we've met with it more than once in the steppe,
And now here it looms over me once again.
You await my return, sitting sleepless near a cradle,
And so I know: Nothing will happen to me!

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