I Will Grow Through to You as Grass

Gennady Shpalikov—poet, film screenwriter, and known author of the film “I Walk Through Moscow,” who wrote the lines “Everything is good in the world happens”—that became a song. His screenplays were titled “I Come From Childhood,” “I’m Twenty Years Old,” “All Our Birthdays,” “A Long Happy Life”—but his own life was neither long nor happy. His sincere, bright gift was in demand by cinema and society only during a short period now called “the Thaw”—and then it was ruthlessly rejected.

He died terribly early.

We managed to collect recordings of his voice and talk with his friends—his friends from youth. Listen to how Yuliy Fayt, Naum Kleiman, Natalya Ryazantseva, and Georgy Danelia remember Shpalikov. Songs to his lyrics are sung by Nikitin, Todorovsky, and Sukachev. And you probably sang “Oh, you deck, oh deck,” thinking it was a folk song. No—its author exists. And his name is Gena Shpalikov.