Здесь хорошо...

Sergi Vasil'yevich Rachmaninoff (1872-1943), possibly one of the most well-known Russian 

composers, was inspired by the text of poet Glafira Adol'fovna Galina (1873-1942) and composed 

'Здесь хорошо' for his wife in 1901 while on their honeymoon.  Rachmaninoff was just 

recovering from a deep depression and a four year period of no composing caused by the horrible

performance of his Symphony No. 1 in 1897 and made better by the popularity of his Piano

Concerto No. 2.

Below is the text in Russian and one of the numerous English translations. 

I have also included recordings of three different opera singers to give a contrast of the

piece sung by different voices. 

Fun Fact: All of the singers are from either the Ukraine or Russia!!

Здесь хорошо...  
Взгляни, вдали
Огнём горит река;
Цветным ковром луга легли,
Белеют облака.
Здесь нет людей...
Здесь тишина...
Здесь только Бог да я.
Цветы, да старая сосна,
Да ты, мечта моя!

How nice it is here...
Look - far away,
The river is a blaze of fire;
The meadows lie like carpets of colour
The clouds are white.
Here there is no one...
Here it is silent...
Here is only God and I,
The flowers, the old pine tree,
And you, my dream!