Dark Eyes (song)
"Dark Eyes" is a well-known and popular Russian romance folk song.
The lyrics were written by the Russian-Ukrainian poet and writer Yevhen Hrebinka. The first publication of the poem was in Hrebinka's own Russian translation in Literaturnaya Gazeta on 17 January 1843. A song using these lyrics is attested already in the 1870s, but its melody is not known.
In The Book of World-famous Music: Classical, Popular, and Folk, published in 2000, the author, J. Fuld, mentions that a Soviet musicologist had reported to him that the song is not "a Russian traditional song but a cabaret song", published in a songs book by A. Gutheil in 1897 and mentioned, at p. 131, as a "Gypsy romance based on the melody of Florian Hermann's Valse Hommage. Despite the claim made by Fuld that, "Of the original melody author, Florian Hermann, not a single music score is known," the sheet music for Hermann's piece and others of his works can be found. Here is his "Rêverie russe":
The reason why there is not a single music score known is because Sindo Garay is the author of the original melody of Dark Eyes. In Rebeca Chávez's 2010 documentary, 'Cuando Sindo Garay visitó a Emiliano Blez', Garay explains in detail the origin of the song. The melody of 'Ojos negros que fascinan', a bolero, was composed upon request by Garay to a Russian choir girl with beautiful and expressive eyes when an Opera company from Russia came to visit Cuba in the early to mid-1890’s. Garay stated that the melody of 'Ojos negros' went back to Russia with the musicians and it was not until many years later that he found out through a friend that the song was part of the soundtrack of a Russian film playing at the local theatre. Garay was pleased knowing his music was worthy of such a merit.
The most renowned and played version of this song was written by Adalgiso Ferraris, and published, when still in Russia in 1910, with German editor Otto Kuhl, as "Schwarze Augen". Ferraris then published it again in 1931 by Paris Editions Salabert, as "Tes yeux noirs " and with Jacques Liber, on 9 October 1931.
Ferraris, an Italian-born British composer, had spent many years in Russia before 1915. The song became one of his major successes in the 1920s and 1930s, being also played by Albert Sandler, by Leslie Jeffries in 1939, and sung by Al Bowlly in 1939 with words of Albert Mellor. Max Jaffa also recorded it.
Ferraris himself can be seen in a British Pathé film from 1934 of Alfredo and his Gypsy band playing "Dark Eyes", sitting in the orchestra behind the lead Alfredo.
Tommy Dorsey played it with his orchestra in 1937 and Jack Teagarden did also nearly 10 years before.
Ferraris's "Dark Eyes" was recorded by Harry Parry and his radio sextet in 1941, and that version is still played by many artists. Chet Atkins played an original interpretation of the song on electric guitar. Wynton Kelly recorded a jazz version in 1958. Feodor Chaliapin also popularised the song abroad.
The song was briefly played by the Three Tenors in their 1990 concert in Rome. It has become one of the signature songs of opera baritone Max Jaffa in his concerts.
Poem (original version by Hrebinka)
Lyrics (Chaliapin version)
Popular culture
"Dark Eyes" has become a jazz standard.- 1910 – Adalgiso Ferraris performed the song in German as "Schwarze Augen"
- 1931 – Adalgiso Ferraris performed the song in French as "Tes Yeux Noirs"
- 1933 – Krazy Kat and his girlfriend sang the song in the cartoon Russian Dressing.
- 1934 – Al Jolson performed a version in Russian for the film Wonder Bar.
- 1937 – In the finale of the film Shall We Dance, Fred Astaire dances with a group of female dancers all wearing Ginger Rogers masks, with the real Ginger Rogers hiding among them. After Rogers flirtatiously calls out "ochi chyornye!", Astaire picks her out from among the group and begins dancing with her alone.
- 1938 – Maxine Sullivan recorded a swing version in Russian and English, accompanied by Claude Thornhill and members of John Kirby's sextet.
- 1940 – Ernst Lubitsch's movie The Shop Around the Corner, based on the play La Parfumerie, features cigarette boxes which play "Ochi chyornye". The song is mentioned frequently and is heard in the background during the café scene.
- 1940 – Django Reinhardt recorded three instrumental versions under the French translation "Les yeux noirs".
- 1941 – A recording of "Dark Eyes" played by Harry Parry and his radio sextet was made.
- 1945 – Danny Kaye sings a comical version of the song in the film Wonder Man with lyrics modified by Sylvia Fine.
- 1945 – In Rene Clair's film adaptation of Agatha Christie's And Then There Were None, Prince Nikita Starloff dies shortly after playing the first measures of "Ochi chyornye" on a piano.
- 1947 – Frank Sinatra and Jimmy Durante sing a duet of the song in the film It Happened in Brooklyn.
- 1950s – An original interpretation of the song, for electric guitar, was first played by Chet Atkins.
- 1957 – A version in Yiddish and appeared on Cadence Records' The Barry Sisters Sing Traditional Jewish Songs.
- 1958 – Wynton Kelly performs the song as an instrumental with Kenny Burrell, Paul Chambers, and Philly Joe Jones on the album Piano.
- 1960 – The first rock and roll version of the song is performed by the Tillman Brothers.
- 1966 – This song is featured in the 1966 movie Batman during Bruce Wayne's date with a Soviet journalist, Miss Kitka.
- 1970 – Violetta Villas recorded the song, which later became her signature hit in Poland.
- 1973 – Sara Montiel recorded a pop-rock version in Spanish, entitled "Ojos Negros".
- 1982 – "Nostalgie ", sung by Julio Iglesias, uses this song as a refrain.
- 1983 – Ajda Pekkan performed the song in Turkish as "Bir Günah Gibi".
- 1987 – The song gives its name to Nikita Mikhalkov's film Dark Eyes.
- 1987 – Romanian gymnast Daniela Silivaș uses the song as a part of her floor music during the 1987 World Championships. She scored a perfect 10 to become the World Champion.
- 1990 – The song is performed on the best-selling classical music album of all time, The Three Tenors in Concert.
- 1994 – The song is performed in The Leningrad Cowboys' Total Balalaika Show, featuring the full 160-member Alexandrov Ensemble.
- 1996 – Red Elvises feature a version entitled "Scorchi Chorniye" on their debut album Grooving to the Moscow Beat. The lyrics are nonsensical and unrelated to the original Russian.
- 1998 – The movie Six-String Samurai includes the Red Elvises version in its soundtrack, rendered as "Scorchi Chornie".
- 1999 – Sabine Azéma sings this song in the French film La Bûche.
- 2000 – A version recorded by the American band DeVotchKa is featured on their debut album SuperMelodrama.
- 2004 – The song was used as the main theme for the TV mini-series The Mystery of Natalie Wood, a biopic about the actress Natalie Wood.
- 2004 – The song is performed by the jazz vocalist Sophie Milman on her album Milman.
- 2004–06 – After choosing this piece as her free skate music in the 2000–01 season, American figure skater Sasha Cohen uses this song again for her short program for two consecutive figure skating seasons, including her SP at the 2006 Winter Olympics.
- 2006 – Swedish duo The Knife release the single "Marble House", the vocal melody of which is reminiscent of "Dark Eyes".
- 2008 – Russian-born American gymnast Nastia Liukin used the version of "Ochi chyornye" from the Well-Tempered Productions CD Gypsy as her floor exercise music at the Summer Olympics, where she won a gold medal in the Women's All-Around Final.
- 2012 – Russian figure skater Elizaveta Tuktamysheva uses the piece for her free skate/long program.
- 2018 – The song was used as the backing music on the BBC trailer for the 2018 FIFA World Cup. The recording was made at Abbey Road Studios and sung in Russian by Sir John Tomlinson.
- 2018 – Used as the theme tune for the assassin Villanelle in the television show Killing Eve.