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In reply to the discussion: What songs do you like when you're feeling old and nostalgic? [View all]I was just never a big fan of the English version or Mary Hopkin. I never was captivated by her like the Beatles were. Before I ever learned Russian, I was always captivated by their music. When I entered college at age 18, I happened to land at the one college in the entire USA with its very own balalaika orchestra. They used to order their instruments directly from the Lunacharskaya factory in Leningrad. I was in seventh heaven. I was already studying Russian by then, and knew the lyrics to those melodies we used to play that were actual songs.
I never retained that one song. I was 16 or 17 at the time, and never recorded any of my own stuff until I was 22, and I had forgotten that one by then. At 22 I did what was called a "gig album" that I used to sell at concerts and folk festivals I used to perform at in Germany. Ironically, a French website recently discovered a copy somewhere and started singing its praises. Some guy in Oregon asked to buy up the last remaining copies I had, and rather than have them end up in a recycling plant some day, I sent them up there. If you are really interested, look up the Facebook page of "Okonkole y Trompa" and scroll down (this will require some patience) to their entry of Feb. 3, 2016. The song they liked most from the album was also my favorite. You can hear it there.