Production Mezhrabpom Film
Screenplay and Direction: D. Vertov
Assistant: E. Svilova
Photography:
Surenskii, Magidson, Monastirstkii
Sound: Shtro
Composer: Shaporin
Orchestra: Blok
Three Songs of LENIN
In every corner of the planet Earth,
in the countries of Europe and America,
in hot Africa and beyond the Polar circle,
they sing songs of Lenin,
the friend and deliverer of every slave.
No one knows
the nameless authors of the songs,
but the songs themselves
pass from mouth to mouth,
from tent to tent, from hut to hut,
from mountain camp to village on the plain.
Our film has been made out of three
such songs from the Soviet East.
One song is of woman,
throwing off her veil, of electricity,
brightening the mountain village,
of water, flowing through the desert,
of the illiterate, reading and writing,
of that which is ILYICH-LENIN
One song is of the October Revolution,
of that which is ILYICH-LENIN
One song is of the war
for a new and happy life
of that which is
Ilyich
LENIN
The room in Gorki where Lenin died,
its windows face the park.
Here is the bench
we know from the photograph...
SONG ONE
"My face in a dark prison lay"
My face in a dark prison lay
And blind my life remained
No learning mine nor light of day,
a slave although unchained
Till through my darkness shone a ray
and Lenin's truth I gained
We never looked upon his face
We never heard his voice
Yet closer than a father he
much closer to us was
No father for his children did
what LENIN did for us
MY State farm
MY State farm
MY country
MY land
MY land
- Do you see the mark?
- I do.
- And the bull's eye?
- Clearly.
- Hold your breath.
- OK.
- When you feel you're ready, shoot.
- OK.
- The target is easy.
- I see.
- Get ready to shoot.
- OK.
Pull the trigger
and discharge the cartridge.
From darkness thick he made a light
from deserts gardens green
And out of death the life he brought
through him the poor have seen
MY university
MY factory
MY collective farm
MY collective farm
MY collective farm
A million sand grains make a mound
A million corn a sack
A million of the weakest straws
Break the strong camel's back
MY family
MY hands
STEEL hands
MY party
With all he had he took our part
He gave his brain, his blood, his heart
SONG TWO
"We Loved Him..."
We loved him as we loved our steppes;
no, more than that!
If he would but return, we would
give away our tents and steppes
If he would but return,
we would give away our lives
Never will we forget him
Our grandchildren's
grandchildren shall remember
He founded our party of steel
He built it from year to year
Taught it and tempered it
In the stubborn and ceaseless
struggle it was tempered
He was tireless in work
His eyes were full of irony
and sparkling with wisdom
Now he smiles kindly
His burning speech
is inspiring the masses
THE FOUNDER
OF THE COMMUNIST INTERNATIONAL
THE LEADER OF WORLD COMMUNISM
THE LOVE AND PRIDE OF THE
INTERNATIONAL WORKING CLASS
THE BANNER OF
THE DOWNTRODDEN EAST
THE HEAD OF THE WORKERS'
DICTATORSHIP IN RUSSIA
He was simple
and straight in his manner
The Russians called him just ILYICH
He lived in a hut;
in a hut beyond the marshes
In this place in July and August 1917
in a hut made of twigs
the leader of the World October
lay hidden from his pursuers
and wrote his book.
We have built a monument of granite
The Workers...
In October he led them into battle
through breakdown
yet they come
through cold
YET THEY COME
through hunger
YET THEY COME
through fire
YET THEY COME
THEY ARE LED BY
ILYICH LENIN
STAND TOGETHER
BRAVELY FORWARD
AGAINST THE FOE
TO US VICTORY IS ASSURED
THE POWER OF THE LANDLORDS AND
CAPITALISTS IS BROKEN IN RUSSIA
AND WILL BE CONQUERED
THROUGHOUT ALL THE WORLD
LENIN
Ah, now he moves not
LENIN
Ah, he is silent...
THE MASSES
MOVE
THE MASSES
ARE SILENT
YOUR HERITAGE AND YOUR WORK
WE SHALL COMPLETE
HOW OFTEN HERE
ON THIS RED SQUARE
We saw him - the LIVING Lenin!
SONG THREE
"In the big stone city"
In Moscow
In the big stone city
In a square there stands a tent
And in it lies LENIN
And if you should ever be in sorrow
Then go you to this tent
and look on LENIN
And your grief will pass away from you,
like water
And your grief will pass away from you,
like water
And your sorrows float away,
like leaves upon the brook
The day is bright
And I'm so happy
Dancing in the street
For my mother and father
We're happy
Why shouldn't we dance?
The spring is in full blossom
Our life is become sturdy and joyful
True is our Lenin path
And on every sector of the front,
step by step,
we are conquering
for Socialism our huge country.
I was working on the dam
across the River Dnieper,
handling cement to supply
the crane in bay 34.
We poured 95 baskets of the stuff
into the body of the dam.
When we pulled out one of the baskets
and levelled the concrete,
I noticed that a piece
of pitched paper roofing had fallen
on the freshly laid surface.
I picked it up and put it back
in its proper place.
But suddenly I lost my balance.
At first, I grabbed the stairway.
But I wasn't able to hold onto it.
Everybody got very frightened.
Another girl started screaming
and our foreman pulled me out.
I was completely covered
in liquid concrete and soaked to the skin.
To the skin.
My face was covered with concrete
and my hands were stained by liquid tar.
They pulled me out
and took me upstairs
to the drying room,
where there was a small heater.
I went back to my post
and I worked until the end of my shift.
THE DNIEPERSTROY
BUILDING FACILITY
I was awarded the Order of Lenin
for fulfilling production quotas.
NO FORTRESS IS INSURMOUNTABLE
FOR THE BOLSHEVIKS
This magnificent structure
is our greatest memorial
to the builder of Communism
and the first made
to bring electrification
to the Soviet Union, Comrade Lenin.
If LENIN could see our country now
I am 63 years old.
This year I have harvested
5,500 kgs of wheat.
When I brought it to the state evaluator,
there was a special meeting
and festivities.
If all collective farm workers
worked as hard as I did...
We're working relentlessly,
notwithstanding the fact
that we have no flour.
I feel that our leaders are
speaking real words of wisdom.
These words must be written down
and remembered.
They must be passed on to everyone
when you return home.
We want to do everything
the way our leaders tell us.
You want to lead a life on
the collective farm in the right way.
You may think of how it was in the past,
but the Bolsheviks reject any retreat.
You must not think of past difficulties
but always look to the future,
how to proceed forwards.
It is not easy, you have to live
through it and digest it,
to understand how to approach it.
And only after you understand it all,
may you act.
If LENIN could see our country now!
OUR Oil
OUR coal
OUR metal
If LENIN could see our country now!
Our Magnitostroy
If LENIN could see our country now!
If LENIN could but see our country now!
If LENIN could see our country now!
STAND FIRM
STAND TOGETHER
ONWARDS BRAVELY
AGAINST THE FOE
TO US VICTORY IS ASSURED
THE POWER OF THE LANDLORDS
AND THE CAPITALISTS
IS BROKEN IN RUSSIA
AND WILL BE CONQUERED
THROUGHOUT THE WORLD
OCTOBER
CENTURIES WILL MARCH
ACROSS THE FACE OF THE EARTH
WITH IRON HEELS
AND PEOPLE WILL FORGET
THE NAMES OF THE COUNTRIES
WHERE THEIR ANCESTORS
USED TO LIVE
BUT THEY WILL NEVER FORGET
THE NAME OF LENIN
THEY WILL REMEMBER
HIS NAME FOREVER
THE END
