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.
#Transliteration
Pust' begut neuklyuzhe peshekhody po luzham, a voda po asfal'tu rekoy. I neyasno prokhozhim v etot den' nepogozhiy, pochemu ya vesyoly takoy.
#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.
#Rights
The words of this song are by Aleksandr Timofeyevsky and are still in copyright. They are reproduced here, credited, for family and classroom singing; no reuse licence has been obtained, and nothing on this page may be copied further. Rightsholders can ask for a correction or removal — see lyrics & credits.
Pust' Begut Neuklyuzhe at a glance
- Country of origin
- 🇷🇺 Russia
- Sung in
- Russian
- Words by
- Aleksandr Timofeyevsky
- First known
- 1971 (Soyuzmultfilm cartoon "Cheburashka"; music by Vladimir Shainsky, 1925–2017)
- Best for ages
- 2–7
- Mood
- playful, traditional
- Last updated
- 27 August 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.
The song was written for the Soyuzmultfilm studio’s 1971 film: the music by Vladimir Shainsky (1925–2017), the words by the poet, screenwriter and editor Aleksandr Timofeyevsky (1933–2022), and the singing in the film by Vladimir Ferapontov. It caught on at once — in 1972 it was a laureate of the Soviet “Song of the Year” festival, performed by the boy soloist Seryozha Paramonov with the Big Children’s Choir, and the audience response earned it a rare encore. Its perfect bittersweet-but-sunny tone — melancholy weather, a cheerful heart — has kept Shainsky’s tune and Timofeyevsky’s words 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 (1925–2017) and the words by the poet and editor Aleksandr Timofeyevsky (1933–2022); in the film it was sung by Vladimir Ferapontov. It has been a birthday standard in the Russian-speaking world ever since.
- Who wrote "Pust' Begut Neuklyuzhe", and is it still in copyright?
- The words are by Aleksandr Timofeyevsky, who died in Moscow in January 2022, and the music by Vladimir Shainsky, who died in 2017 — so both are recent enough for the song to remain in copyright. A year after the film, in 1972, it won at the Soviet "Song of the Year" festival, sung by the boy soloist Seryozha Paramonov with the Big Children's Choir, and was allowed a rare encore.
