🎶 Acoustic Cover: Song for Odessa (Игорь Ганькевич) – with my friend Yavor
Hello, friends from DANCE & MUSIC community! 🌍🎸
Today I want to share something special — my acoustic cover of a beautiful Odessa song that has lived in my heart for many years.
🌊 About the Song
The piece was composed by Игорь Ганькевич (Igor Gankevich), a talented songwriter from Odessa who, sadly, passed away in 1990. His music carried the unique humor, warmth, and character of Odessa.
Later, this song became truly popular thanks to Сергей “Чиж” Чиграков (Chizh), whose version introduced it to a wider audience. Many people associate it with him, but its roots are very much tied to Gankevich and the streets of Odessa he sang about.
It mentions:
Мясоедовская (Mesoyedovska Street) and Молдаванка (Moldovanka) – historic neighborhoods of Odessa.
Duke de Richelieu statue – a city symbol where everyone has walked, smiled, and felt proud to belong.
The unmistakable humor of Odessa: playful, self-ironic, full of local flavor.
It’s a song about belonging, pride, and the special soul of Odessa.
🎧 My Story with the Song
I first heard this track when I was a university student, on an old cassette tape that my Russian friends shared with me. From the very first listen, I was captured by its humor, warmth, and sincerity.
Even though I wasn’t from Odessa, I felt the atmosphere of those streets, the southern sun, and the pride of being “born here and living here.” The song stayed with me for years.
🎸 Our Acoustic Cover
Now, many years later, I finally decided to record my own interpretation — in the most simple and honest way:
Vocals & rhythm guitar – myself 🎤🎶
Solo guitar – my good friend Yavor 🎸
Just two acoustic guitars and a voice — raw, heartfelt, close to how I first felt it back in my student days.
Music has this amazing power to travel across generations and borders. This song was born in Odessa, passed through cassette tapes, became famous thanks to Chizh, and today I’m grateful I can share my own acoustic take with all of you here on Steemit.
ENGLISH translation:
On Mesoyedovska it’s been calm for a while,
Respectable citizens stroll here in style.
You’ll always hear familiar slang in the air, mmm,
There’s always someone keeping up their flair, mmm.
I’ve never seen any bindyugas* here,
I was born in the boogie-woogie years.
I never wrote Odessa couplets at all, mmm,
For me, rock ’n’ roll was the start of it all, mmm.
Chorus
Smiling at the Duke, I walk down the boulevard,
From the second manhole I don’t glance at him hard.
He will reach out his hand, and I’ll answer true:
“I’m proud I was born here, and here I live too.”
Verse 2
On Moldovanka I walk on my own,
Every courtyard feels to me like home.
There aren’t many yards here, but here stands my old house, mmm,
It will soon collapse, tumble down — and then, somehow, mmm...
A faraway Poskot** will smile at me,
And there’s the same cheerful folk by the sea.
So many bright, warm and cozy flats there, mmm,
Where everyone’s got their own balcony — and their own loo, mmm.
Chorus
Smiling at the Duke, I walk down the boulevard,
From the second manhole I don’t glance at him hard.
He will reach out his hand, and I’ll answer true:
“I’m proud I was born here, and here I live too.”
Verse 3
What people here, what a lively crowd,
What a reliable naval fleet, strong and proud!
And if you’re not an artist — then you’re a swindler, mmm,
And if you’re a musician — then you’re a wheeler-dealer, mmm.
Beneath the southern sun my city blooms bright,
It laughs, it jokes, it sings songs day and night.
I’ll walk through and listen to that southern speech, mmm,
You know — Odessa’s a treasure we must keep, mmm.
Chorus
Smiling at the Duke, I walk down the boulevard,
From the second manhole I don’t glance at him hard.
He will reach out his hand, and I’ll answer true:
“I’m proud I was born here, and here I live too.”
Bindyuga – old slang for a shabby cheap inn / flophouse in Odessa.
** Poskot – a neighborhood in Odessa (often written "Poskot" or "Poskotz").
Original RUSSIAN LYRICS:
На Мясоедовской давно все спокойно
Здесь бродят граждане весьма достойно
Здесь всегда ты услышишь знакомый жаргон ммм
Здесь всегда кто то есть кто держит фасон ммм
Здесь никогда не видал я биндюги
Ведь я рожден во времена буги вуги
И Одесских куплетов я не сочинял ммм
Для меня рок н ролл был началом начал ммм
Улыбаясь Дюку по бульвару хожу
Со второго люка на него не гляжу
Он протянет руку и ему я скажу:
"Я горжусь, что здесь родился, здесь и живу".
По Молдованке хожу я пешком
Здесь каждый дворик мне чем то знаком
Здесь мало двориков зато здесь мой старенький дом ммм
Он скоро рухнет завалится ну а потом ммм
Мне улыбнется далекий ПосКот
А там такой же веселый народ
Там много теплых уютных и светлых квартир ммм
Там есть у каждого свой балкон и сортир ммм
Улыбаясь Дюку по бульвару хожу
Со второго люка на него не гляжу
Он протянет руку и ему я скажу:
"Я горжусь, что здесь родился, здесь и живу".
Какие люди какой здесь народ
Какой надежный здесь морской флот
И если ты не артист значит ты аферист ммм
А если ты музыкант значит ты спекулянт ммм
Под южным солнцем мой город цветет
Смеется шутит и песни поет
Я пройду и послушаю южную речь ммм
Шо вы знаете надо Одессу беречь ммм
Улыбаясь Дюку по бульвару хожу
Со второго люка на него не гляжу
Он протянет руку и ему я скажу:
"Я горжусь, что здесь родился, здесь и живу".
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