Sentimental and sad love song translated from Bulat Okudzhava

I translated Bulat Okudzhava’s song, Enchanting Woman, into English from his native Russian. In this post, let’s review the poetic lyrics of this song and the feel of this song.

What is Enchanting Woman About?

Enchanting Woman is a lovely and melancholic love song. It is about having love, losing it and looking back at that lost love. Therefore, it is naturally quite a sad song. Sometimes we appreciate what we have after we’ve lost it. I know the importance in appreciating what you have.

What Are The Origins of Enchanting Woman?

The words for Enchanting Woman were originally written by the Russian poet, Oleg Pogudin and put to music by Bulat Okudzhava. There have been a couple of covers.

Let’s watch the videos. The first is my version. We will then see Bulat’s version and finally the other cover song too.

Here is the original version by Bulat Okudzhava …

Here is the other cover song of Enchanting Woman…

I, myself, prefer Alex’s version. This is because I don’t speak Russian so I don’t understand the words of the other two versions.

The Lyrics

Verse 1

My soul is taken by…

one majestic Lady

Her eyes show glimpses of a different world

Where she inspires me to be elegant and tender.

The flowers dream to bloom as bright as her

Verse 2

Where she goes it’s as though angels are singing

Each of them plays golden harps.

She makes each note drift into in me and take root in my soul

Blossom and let me feel her melody.

Verse 3

When we’re apart, I write her letters in the clouds.

My smiles kiss her gently with sunlight.

When I feel breeze, I know she’s whispering to me.

But suddenly She went a different way.

Verse 4

Maybe she still remembers me and thinks of me with favor.

And so the heavens favor her for that.

She probably still writes to me but postmen have grown old

And long ago, all the addresses have changed.

She probably still writes to me love letters in the clouds.

But I’ve grown old and can’t read clouds anymore.

What Instruments Are Used in Enchanting Woman?

Apart from the guitar and vocal parts, you can also hear other instruments in the background. These are very subtle, but include a cello and a clarinet. However, these are very quiet my guitar and voice are the more prominent parts.

Other Romantic Songs By Alex Genadinik

If you like sad and sentimental love songs, here is a blog post where I keep a list of the best sad and sentimental love songs of all time, and sprinkle in a few of my own songs.

My other notable love song are Oh Michelangelo. This is a song about the tenderness of a lover’s touch.

My other love songs are a little more nuanced, focusing on the sadness of love just as much as the sweetness of love. They are What Was It For, and Wind Of Sighs.

I also wrote a number of love songs with Shakespeare’s lyrics in them like the Shakespearean Rhapsody and Shall I Compare You To A Summer’s Day.

My most fun love song is the Girl With The Pearl Earring.