Dark Is the Night (Soviet song)

Dark is the Night (Тёмная ночь, lit. Dark Night) is a famous Russian song associated with the Great Patriotic War. It was originally performed by Mark Bernes in the 1943 war film Two Soldiers.

The song was composed by Nikita Bogoslovsky (1913-2004), with lyrics by Vladimir Agatov. Leonid Utyosov was the first to record the song, but it was Bernes's performance that made it popular. In the film, Bernes is a soldier who recalls his wife and baby at night while singing the song.

The official experts were keen to accuse Bogoslovsky of propagating "Philistine" sentimental tunes. Though ostracized by the authorities, the song became a symbol of the war years for millions of Soviet people. It has been used as a trademark tune of the WWII period in such films as Andrzej Wajda's Ashes and Diamonds (1958).

Dark Is the Night has been described as "a gentle lyrical song imbued with a feeling of homesickness and expressing devotion to one's beloved" which helped "reveal the personal side of army life, indiscernable in the roar of warfare". It contrasted sharply with the prevalent type of war song, which was either a field marching song or a civil patriotic one.

Apart from Bernes and Utyosov, the song was performed by Ivan Kozlovsky, Lyudmila Gurchenko, Jason Kouchak, Noize MC, Zemfira, and Basta aka Naggano among many others.

In 2006, Utyosov's song Dark Is the Night was used as the main theme in the Swedish horror film Frostbite, foreshadowing the coming of vampires in a northern Swedish town.