Songs for Ukraine

Songs for Ukriaine-Songs from Kharkiv

"Sorrow and Joy" and "The Sun is Dying"-Jakiv Stepovy on words by Oleksandr Oles "The Boundless Plain"-Mykolo Lysenko on words by Ivan Franko

Ben Flanders-baritone with Sam Martin-piano

These songs are presented as an expression of love and support for the Ukrainian people as a whole and for the many friends and family members who have given me so much joy and taught me so much over the years. My life would be a darker place without you. Ukraine is a free and democratic nation being invaded by the Russian Federation. Please donate to Ukraine, join a march, talk to friends and family about why Ukraine matters. Please do not lose hope, if all of us do one small thing we can move mountains. Please-do one small thing. That’s all it takes.

Sorrow and Joy

With sorrow, joy is entwined… In my tears, like pearls, my laughter. And night is one with the mystery of dawn, And how can they be parted? Joy embraces sorrow. One rises, the other falls… And always this battle between them, And which will win, I do not know.

The Sun is Dying

Dying is the sun of warmth and kindness, My flowers are beaten down by the frosts,- No songs for me, tears on lashes tremble , And sorrow has enshrouded my soul. Dying is the sun-the enchanting dream, And I wander, once again lightless… My soul for one moment, For one moment, bloomed like a flower, And closed again like a coffin.

The Boundless Plain

The boundless plain, the snowstorm howls, Oh, give me your vastness and freedom! I, alone, with my steed beneath me With unbearable pain in my heart. Fly with me, my steed, over the clear field, Like the whirlwinds, which roam this place, Perhaps I can outrun this fierce pain, Which is tearing my heart to pieces.