The story behind the song "I Love You, Life."

"I Love You, Life" is a composition popular in the Soviet years, based on poems by Konstantin Vanshenkin and music by Eduard Kolmanovsky. It was first performed in 1956 by Mark Bernays. Later it was sung by many famous artists, such as Iosif Kobzon and Edita Piekha... Few people know, but it was Yuri Gagarin's favourite song! The legendary pilot-cosmonaut of the USSR once said:

"When I was going to the cosmodrome, I faced a rather serious question: what music recordings should I take with me? There were various suggestions from my comrades, but my heart belonged to the composition "I love you, life"...".

In 2020, amidst a coronavirus outbreak, an old domestic song has found a new round of fame! And who would have thought that it would happen thanks to a Finnish policeman... Actually, let's talk about everything in order.

History of Creation

As it has been emphasised above, written to verses by Konstantin Vanshenkin, this composition was intended especially for Mark Bernes - the golden voice of the Soviet Union. In general, the song was firmly entrenched in the musician's repertoire until his death....

It's no secret that every famous song has its own unique and, sometimes, rather difficult fate... The fate of this particular work is very happy! However, it was not without difficulties....

It is worth noting that the poems by Konstantin Vanshenkin, who is in fact the author of "I Love You, Life", were given to composer Eduard Kolmanovsky by Soviet singer Mark Bernes. Initially, Bernes himself first read them in the newspaper Komsomolskaya Pravda. After that, the legendary artist lost his peace... The verses got stuck in his head. The fact is that Mark Naumovich had long been looking for such a steep turn of theme, which endowed his creation Vanshenkin. And now, he finally found his ideal... Mark Bernes wanted to convey to the audience what he heard in these lines. So he immediately started looking for a composer.

Mark Bernays cannot in any way be called a "plagiarist". He didn't just perform other people's texts and melodies - he was literally obsessed with art! And so, inspired by a poetic text, the artist began to offer it to composers. But with one condition: if he did not like the song, there could be no question of offering it to other artists for publication or performance!

It was quite difficult to satisfy such a demanding musician with a fine sense of beauty as Bernes... He was offered about ten variants written by recognised masters of his craft! But Bernes rejected them all. Including Kolmanovsky's early version... Already later Eduard Savelyevich recalled:

"At that time I was not yet familiar with Vanshenkin, but his poems made a strong impression on me! It was a deeply personal, one could say intimate experience... It did not leave me indifferent. And so, I quickly wrote music to them. Bernez and I called and arranged a meeting. I was very excited... When I started to play him the song, he shouted: "No! That's not it!" At the time, I was literally discouraged by this categorisation! Today, however, I am truly grateful to Bernays for that..."

A second attempt and... success!

As it is not difficult to guess, Bernays' categorical answer did not frighten the composer, but even on the contrary - it motivated him! The feeling of dissatisfaction did not leave Kolmanovsky until a new version of the song was recorded! And this time Bernays liked it so much that there was literally no limit to his joy! Overwhelmed by inspiration, he gave no rest to his comrades....

This touching composition was first played on the radio. A little later it was released on a gramophone record. To the great surprise of everyone who worked on it, it became a thundering Soviet hit surprisingly very quickly! This was a great rarity in those years: as a rule, each new work took some time to reach a wide audience.

The poet of the song, Konstantin Vanshenkin, a veteran of the Great Patriotic War, died in December 2012. In addition to "I Love You, Life", during his lifetime this man became famous for such works as "How Steamboats See You Off" and "Alyosha".

A new round of glory!

After many decades since its release, in April 2020, a forgotten song has regained popularity! It happened thanks to a video that the police of the Finnish city of Oulu published on YouTube: on it we see a policeman walking through an empty city and singing... Yes, yes! The very same piece of music "I love you, life" (the Finnish version was called "Love life - a new day will come!"). By the way: this policeman turned out to be one Petrus Schroederus.

According to the authors of the idea themselves, this particular song was performed to encourage the local population to stay at home during the outbreak of coronovirus infection! As for Petrus, after this video he became a local star! Many even see great potential in him as a singer!

Curiously enough, this composition has long been loved and respected in Finland. It was first performed in this country back in 1962! It was performed by Georg Ots. In the mid-90s it was performed by Martti Ahtisaari in honour of his victory in the presidential elections! Already in the 2000s it was recognised as one of the best-selling songs in Suomi.

Interesting facts

In fact, there are many truly exciting and beautiful stories associated with this composition! Let's recall some of them....

• On a memorable April morning in 1961, the record "I Love You, Life" went into space with Yuri Gagarin! The Soviet pilot-cosmonaut chose this song for a reason: strong and inspiring, it not only lifts your mood, but also helps you find new strength!
• A few years later, the World Congress of Women was held in the capital. In honour of this, several recordings of this composition were released: in English and French. Both versions were superbly performed by the much-respected Iosif Kobzon.
• Not many people know about it, but the song "I Love You, Life" literally saved the lives of a group of Moscow skiing students! It happened in 1967, when a team of guys lost their way and got lost in the Karelian forest. The frost was terrible - minus forty! The snow drifts were so deep that one could break a leg! When the guys were discovered by the trailing Valera Kalinin, they were already exhausted... They didn't even seem to hear him... They were so exhausted... Having tried to rouse the six somehow, and having realised that it was useless, Valera sang "I love you, life". No one had ever heard him sing! And whether it was some kind of magic or not, the group started to come round. Eventually they managed to get out of the forest.