Текст песни (Lyrics)
Полный текст песни «Pust' Begut Neuklyuzhe» с английским переводом.
Пусть бегут неуклюже пешеходы по лужам, а вода по асфальту рекой. И неясно прохожим в этот день непогожий, почему я весёлый такой.
#English translation
Let the pedestrians run clumsily through the puddles, and the water run like a river over the asphalt. And it's a mystery to the passers-by, on this foul-weather day, why I'm so cheerful.
#Pust' Begut Neuklyuzhe at a glance
- Country of origin
- 🇷🇺 Russia
- Sung in
- Russian
- Words by
- Aleksandr Timofeyevsky
- First known
- 1971
- Best for ages
- 2–7
- Mood
- playful, traditional
- Last updated
- 25 July 2026
Meaning and origin
In the Russian-speaking world this is the birthday song, and it belongs to one of the most beloved characters in all of Soviet animation. In the 1971 cartoon Cheburashka, the gentle green crocodile Gena sits playing his accordion in the rain on his own birthday, and sings this: let the pedestrians splash clumsily through the puddles, let the water pour down the street like a river — no one can work out why, on such a grey and miserable day, he is so happy. The answer, of course, is that it is his birthday, and he has decided to be glad.
There is a lovely backstory. The lyricist Aleksandr Timofeyevsky, a studio editor with a reputation for a wistful, minor-key sensibility, was asked to write the words; his first draft came out too sad, and the composer Vladimir Shainsky sent him back to try again. The second attempt gave the song its perfect bittersweet-but-sunny tone — melancholy weather, a cheerful heart. Shainsky’s tune and Timofeyevsky’s words have been sung at birthdays across the region for over fifty years, usually with everyone joining in on the wish that follows: for a wizard to swoop down in a blue helicopter and show free films to all.
Common questions
- What is "Pust' Begut Neuklyuzhe", and what is it about?
- It is the "Song of Gena the Crocodile" — sung by the crocodile Gena on his own birthday. As pedestrians splash clumsily through the puddles and rain runs down the street, he wonders why, on such a miserable grey day, he feels so happy. Its famous later lines dream of a wizard arriving in a blue helicopter to show free films.
- Where does "Pust' Begut Neuklyuzhe" come from?
- From the 1971 Soviet animated film "Cheburashka" (Soyuzmultfilm). The music is by Vladimir Shainsky and the words by Aleksandr Timofeyevsky; in the film it was sung by Vladimir Ferapontov. It has been a birthday standard in the Russian-speaking world ever since.
- Is there a story behind the words?
- Yes. Timofeyevsky, a studio editor known for a wistful, minor-key mood, was asked to write it. His first attempt was too sad for the composer Shainsky, and it was his second version that produced the bittersweet-but-cheerful "Pust' begut neuklyuzhe".
