May There Always Be Sunshine (Russian: Пусть всегда будет солнце! or Солнечный круг) is a popular Soviet children's song created in 1962. The music was composed by Arkady Ostrovsky and the lyrics written by Lev Oshanin. The writer and immensely popular children's poet, Korney Chukovsky, later wrote that the inspiration for the song had been the four lines of the refrain, which were composed in 1928 by the four-year-old boy Kostya Barannikov.
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The song was first performed in "Good Morning!" (Russian: С добрым утром!) radio show in July 1962 by Maya Kristalinskaya. Performed in 1963 at the Sopot International Song Festival by Tamara Miansarova, the song earned her first prize there and immediately became popular throughout the USSR and in other countries too. It was frequently sung by Young Pioneers at their camps and school meetings, as well as by Little Octobrists in primary schools, and even by pre-school children. The song was widely regarded in the Soviet Union as expressing the people's desire for peace.
Lyrics
The song was translated into English by Tom Botting. The song (or at least its chorus) has been sung in English by Pete Seeger, and is featured on the live album Together in Concert recorded in 1975 with Arlo Guthrie.
The song was translated into German by Ilse and Hans Naumilkat and Manfred Streubel (as Immer lebe die Sonne) and was popular among Ernst Thälmann Pioneers.
Hebrew lyrics were written for the song by composer Gidi Koren. It was recorded (Hebrew title: אלוהים שמור על אמא) and made popular by his Israeli folk group, The Brothers and the Sisters.
In popular culture
The tune was used for the song "Gabrielle" by the Hootenanny Singers, led by Björn Ulvaeus. When this version became a hit song in 1964, the new lyrics were translated and performed by the group in Swedish, German, Finnish, Italian, Dutch, and English.
Raffi sang the original chorus and translations into English, Spanish and French on his album "Let's Play". There is also an instrumental outro of the other song's title after this song.
This song was included in a medley during the opening ceremonies of the 2014 Olympic Winter Games in Sochi, Russia.