Children on the Train Едут дети Jewish Songs. For All Russian text: Olga Anikina Project producer: Walter J. Kin https://jewishhit.com/create/children-on-the-train/ ABOUT THIS WORKING TEXT All 20 written lines from the cited Russian text. English explains meaning; it is not a singable adaptation. STORY Children travel under an indifferent sun. Small details, yellow patches and a disappearing train expose the terror beneath the simple words. The recording notes connect Miriam Harel's earlier song to the Lodz Ghetto deportations, a Polish children's melody, and Anikina's Russian adaptation (2017). RUSSIAN / LITERAL ENGLISH 1. Едут дети свет струится The children travel; light streams 2. В пыльное окно Through the dusty window 3. Солнце детям смотрит в лица The sun looks into the children's faces, 4. Солнцу всё равно It makes no difference to the sun 5. Солнце всходит на востоке The sun is rising in the east, 6. Провода гудят The wires hum 7. Едут едут по дороге Traveling, traveling along the way 8. И сестра и брат Both sister and brother 9. Может это всё ошибка Maybe all of this is a mistake, 10. Небу вопреки Contrary to heaven 11. Эти жёлтые нашивки These yellow patches, 12. Эти башмаки These shoes 13. Вой сигнала над платформой The howl of a signal over the platform, 14. Резок и уныл Harsh and bleak, 15. И качнулся ящик чёрный And the black box swayed 16. И поплыл поплыл And it floated, floated away 17. По дороге едут дети The children travel along the way 18. Знать бы мне куда If only I knew where 19. Но в туманном жёлтом свете But in the hazy yellow light 20. Тают поезда The trains melt away IDIOMS AND MEANING Солнцу всё равно Literal: It makes no difference to the sun. Nature continues without responding to the children's fate. The personification expresses indifference; it is not reassurance about their safety. Небу вопреки Literal: Contrary to heaven. The phrase questions the horror as something opposed to heaven or the natural order. It does not describe the train's physical direction. Эти жёлтые нашивки Literal: These yellow patches. In the deportation setting, the patches carry the meaning of imposed identification. Keep the Russian wording; do not add a shape or a location on the clothing that it does not specify. И качнулся ящик чёрный Literal: And the black box swayed. In the train scene, the carriage is reduced to a dark, enclosing box. Calling it a coffin would add an image not stated in the text. И поплыл поплыл Literal: And it floated, floated. The motion describes the departing carriage as gliding away. It does not turn the train journey into a boat trip. Тают поезда Literal: The trains melt away. The trains fade from sight in the hazy light. The image describes disappearance, not physical melting. YOUR BRIEF Keep the plain language and the contrast between children's vulnerability and nature's indifference. This is not a cheerful travel song. Leave the narrator's question about the destination unanswered. Check historical context and permissions before creating a new version. SOURCES RIGLI Russian recording: Children on the Train https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bgvivjE-LEc World ORT: Lodz Ghetto song, cited by the recording https://holocaustmusic.ort.org/places/ghettos/lodz/d-ghetto-1943-i/ Share only a public-page link for review: https://jewishhit.com/create/#submit Review is not acceptance, a payment promise or a rights transfer. Work-for-hire terms and permissions are agreed separately. OUR SOURCE AND APPROACH Olga Anikina’s Russian texts can substantially reimagine earlier Yiddish, Hebrew, Polish or other sources while preserving their spirit and central idea. Adapt her Russian text, not the earlier original anew. Stay close to her images, word meanings, expressions and structure; make the English sing without replacing her story. The producer confirms exclusive rights to these Russian lyrics; underlying music and recording rights are separate. TAKE PART IN YOUR OWN WAY Write, sing, produce, collaborate, or combine roles. Video or audio-only recordings are welcome: solo, duet, band, choir or another ensemble; live, with collaborators, Suno or other permitted tools. Clear song, backing-track and tool permissions before publishing. Recording links must be YouTube, Spotify or YouTube Music only; no other platforms or files. Lyric-only submissions still use your own public webpage. Strong original versions may be featured on JewishHit.com and possibly RIGLI's music channel with credit and permission. A strong performer may be invited for separately paid recordings even if their lyric is not accepted. Recording fees are agreed separately, not covered automatically by writing fees. Creative choices are partly subjective, not an objective talent ranking. Show us your strengths; we welcome a conversation about collaboration. https://jewishhit.com/create/#perform OUR EXISTING ENGLISH VERSION Children on the Train https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=kXCyUspSnWE You may improve our English draft or create an independent adaptation from the Russian. Accepted English-draft improvements: $100–150, with the amount agreed before acceptance. Independent adaptations: $200 if accepted unchanged; $100 if accepted with substantial team revision. No payment for rejected lyrics. Separate signed agreement required. https://jewishhit.com/create/#draft-terms