The night before I was supposed to fly back to Baltimore in August there was a heavy thunderstorm. I recorded my grandma singing Russian lullabies to my sisters, one of whom was very scared of the thunder. My grandma would sing the same ones to me when I was little, and we also sang them together during car rides when she would drive me from Brooklyn to New Jersey or the way back. At one point I moved over to Moussia's bed to comfort her. The poor thing eventually fell asleep in fear, cradled in my arm. I struggled to get out from underneath without disturbing her, and was successful but unwilling to say goodbye to my sisters and grandma yet.
Transcribed Audio from Track 1:
Grandma: Quieter, quieter, its good to sleep to the sound of the rain
Me: Mm hmm, Mouss', don't be scared
Grandma: Moussia why did you clench yourself up? What a nightmare, what a horror, its horrible -
Yita: What?
Grandma: To be so cowardly. Its a scary thing.
(Yita laughing because the word trusihoi sounds…
The night before I was supposed to fly back to Baltimore in August there was a heavy thunderstorm. I recorded my grandma singing Russian lullabies to my sisters, one of whom was very scared of the thunder. My grandma would sing the same ones to me when I was little, and we also sang them together during car rides when she would drive me from Brooklyn to New Jersey or the way back. At one point I moved over to Moussia's bed to comfort her. The poor thing eventually fell asleep in fear, cradled in my arm. I struggled to get out from underneath without disturbing her, and was successful but unwilling to say goodbye to my sisters and grandma yet.
Transcribed Audio from Track 1:
Grandma: Quieter, quieter, its good to sleep to the sound of the rain
Me: Mm hmm, Mouss', don't be scared
Grandma: Moussia why did you clench yourself up? What a nightmare, what a horror, its horrible -
Yita: What?
Grandma: To be so cowardly. Its a scary thing.
(Yita laughing because the word trusihoi sounds like trusi which means underwear)
Me: She didn't say underwear
(Laughing and shushing more)
Yita: Moussia is underwear
Grandma singing with Yita chiming in
(Song about a blue boxcar)
(Song about a smile)
Grandma singing with me for some parts, and Yita too
(Song about pioneers and the Russian landscape)
Grandma: Papa's sleeping. Oh its already the 12th hour!
Me: Papa went to sleep already?
Grandma: Yes, and you should be going too. Go, I'll stay here a little longer.
Me: Well, I want to record some more
Grandma singing with me accompanying, and Yita toward the end
(Song about a sea captain)
Grandma singing with me accompanying... and Yita with some quips
(Song about friendship)
Grandma: So, enough?
Me: I remember we sang this a hundred times in the car. And at night too.
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