Boyarsky was born in Leningrad (now Saint Peterburg) the family of Sergey Boyarsky and Ekaterina Milenteva, both Komissarjevsky Theatre actors. He studied piano in a music school affiliated with the Conservatory. After school, Boyarsky entered Institute of Theatre Music and Cinema, finishing in 1972 and begun working in the Lensoviet Theatre for Igor Vladimirov.
In the cinema, he made a debut in the films Bridges and The Straw Hat (1974), becoming well known in 1975 after his role in the picture Eldest Son. He found much greater popularity in the main role of Troubadour in the theatre musical The Troubadour and His Friends, with the princess played by Larissa Luppian, who soon became his wife. In 1976, he played the big bad wolf in the movie Ma-ma.
His popularity really took off in 1978 after Boyarsky starred in the musical film d'Artagnan and Three Musketeers. After that, he was typecast as a swashbuckler for two decades; he reprised his role as d'Artagnan in three sequels and portrayed other "sword and hat" characters in adventure movies like The Dog in the Manger (1978), The Prisoner of Château d'If (1988), Gardes-Marines, Ahead! (1988), Don Cesar de Bazan (1989), Viva Gardes-Marines! (1991), Queen Margot (1996), Taras Bulba (2009), among others. Being a singer, he also often starred in musical films. Occasionally he played against type, like in Extra Ticket or The Waiting Room.
Песня мушкетеров
Михаил Боярский Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Красавице и кубку счастливому клинку
Пока пока покачивая перьями на шляпах
Судьбе не раз шепнем мерси боку
Опять скрипит потертое седло
И ветер холодит былую рану
Куда вас сударь к черту занесло
Неужто вам покой не по карману
Красавице и кубку счастливому клинку
Пока пока покачивая перьями на шляпах
Судьбе не раз шепнем мерси боку
Нужны Парижу деньги се ля ви
А рыцари ему нужны тем паче
Но что такое рыцарь без любви
И что такое рыцарь без удачи
Пора пора порадуемся на своем веку
Красавице и кубку счастливому клинку
Пока пока покачивая перьями на шляпах
Судьбе не раз шепнем мерси боку
Пока пока покачивая перьями на шляпах
Судьбе не раз шепнем мерси боку
Судьбе не раз шепнем судьбе не раз шепнем
Судьбе шепнем
Мерси боку мерси боку мерси боку
The song "Песня мушкетеров" or "Song of the Musketeers" by Михаил Боярский is a nostalgic tribute to the age of chivalry and adventure. The opening lines "Пора пора порадуемся на своем веку (It's time to celebrate on our own century)" introduce a tone of jubilation and camaraderie among musketeers who are proud of their era. The "красавице и кубку счастливому клинку (beauty and the happy sword)" represent the charms and victories of the musketeers, who are confident in their prowess but also grateful to fate for their good fortune. The musketeers acknowledge the fragility of their luck and the uncertainty of their future through the lines "Судьбе не раз шепнем мерси боку (We will whisper thanks to fate again and again)" and "Куда вас сударь к черту занесло (Where did fate take you, sir, to hell?)" The reference to Paris and the role of knights in the city's affairs adds a backdrop of political intrigue and romance to the song. The musketeers cherish their identities as knights and lovers, but they also acknowledge that without money and luck, their status might be futile.
Overall, the song is a tribute to the romanticism of the musketeer era, where loyalty, bravery, and love were intertwined with adventure and danger. The lyrics celebrate the joys and challenges of being a musketeer, while also acknowledging the fragility of fate and the need to remain grateful for every moment.
Line by Line Meaning
Пора пора порадуемся на своем веку
It's time, it's time to celebrate our lives
Красавице и кубку счастливому клинку
To beauty and a lucky blade
Пока пока покачивая перьями на шляпах
For now, for now let's sway our feathered hats
Судьбе не раз шепнем мерси боку
To fate we'll whisper thanks more than once
Опять скрипит потертое седло
The worn saddle creaks again
И ветер холодит былую рану
And the wind cools the old wound
Куда вас сударь к черту занесло
Where have you ended up, sir, damn it?
Неужто вам покой не по карману
Don't you fancy peace?
Нужны Парижу деньги се ля ви
Paris needs money, c'est la vie
А рыцари ему нужны тем паче
And knights he needs even more
Но что такое рыцарь без любви
But what is a knight without love?
И что такое рыцарь без удачи
And what is a knight without luck?
Судьбе не раз шепнем судьбе не раз шепнем
To fate we'll whisper many times
Судьбе шепнем
We'll whisper to fate
Мерси боку мерси боку мерси боку
Thanks to fate, thanks to fate, thanks to fate
Contributed by Abigail H. Suggest a correction in the comments below.