Dubinushka

Many songs have I heard in my native land

Songs of joy and sorrow

But one of them was deeply engraved in my memory:

It’s the song of the common worker

I just finished reading Chapter 2 of I Married a Communist. Nathan is sitting on the porch with Murray Ringold, his once high school teacher, discussing the rise and fall of his younger brother, Ira Ringold. They talked about Ira’s relationship with Murray’s daughter, Lorraine, and how he introduced her to the music of the Soviet Army chorus. The one song that Lorraine loved the most was Dubinushka and she would line up her dolls in her room to sing the song.

When books mention any other works such as music or a painting. I’ll write them in a little notebook to look up later or google it immediately.

Haruki Murakami references a lot of jazz musicians and other artists he grew up listening to and I enjoy playing the music while reading the book.

Dubinushka means “little club” which were used by foremen to keep the Russian serfs in check.