Chizhik-Pyzhik
Chizhyk-Pyzhik (Russian: Чи́жик-Пы́жик) is a Russian folk song which runs as follows:
Чижик-пыжик, где ты был?
На Фонтанке водку пил.
Выпил рюмку, выпил две —
Зашумело в голове.
Chizhik-Pyzhik, where've you been?
Drank vodka on the Fontanka.
Took a shot, took another -
Got dizzy.
Chizhik-Pyzhik, gdje ty byl?
Na fontankje vodku pil.
Vypil rjumku, vypil dvje -
Zashumjelo v golovje.
The origin of the song in unclear. According to one urban legend, the rhyme refers to the students of the Imperial School of Jurisprudence, who frequented a pub belonging to the merchant Nefedov on the Fontanka Quay in Saint Petersburg. The school was founded by Duke Peter of Oldenburg in the nearby house #6. The students of the college wore uniforms with yellow and green colors, which resembled the colors of the bird called the siskin (Russian: Чиж; hypocoristic: chizhik). Because of that, they were nicknamed Chizhyks-Pyzhiks.
Its extremely simple melody (mi-do-mi-do-fa-mi-RE, sol-sol-sol-(la-ti)-do-do-DO) is suitable for teaching small children to play piano (with a suitable "nursery" lyrics).
Several Russian classical composers, including Sergey Prokofyev, Isaak Dunaevsky and Rimsky-Korsakov, were inspired with Chizhik.
In 1994, the municipal authorities of St. Petersburg installed a bronze statue of Chizhik-Pyzhik just opposite the former School of Jurisprudence. The statue perches on a ledge in the embankment, in the proximity of the First Engineer Bridge.
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