Moy Bluzhdayuschiy Ogon

ⓘ This lostwave is classified as nearly solved.
Мой Блуждающий Огонь
The woman in the music video of the song, appearing as the artist
Alternative name(s)	My Wandering Fire, Moy Bluzhdayuschiy Ogon, My Will-o'-the-Wisp; МБО, MBO, MWF, MWW
Language	Russian
Artist(s)	Natalya Yablonskaya (supposed name)
Genre	Russian pop, Estrada
Length	0:35 (snippet)
Year	1995
Status	Unsolved
Original poster	Dmitry Sokolov (reference), Alexander Alexandrov (snippet)
Search started	1999
File:MyWanderingFire.mp3

Мoй Блуждающий Огoнь (transliterated as Moy Bluzhdayuschiy Ogon, also known as My Wandering Fire in English) is a lost song with music video that was composed by Viktor Chaika and written by Viktor Ionov-Dolgusha, and aired on the Russian television channel NBN between 1996-1997.

Background

On December 29th, 1999, user Dmitry Sokolov posted the chorus lyrics of the song to the fido7.su.music.lyrics FidoNet forum, asking for the singer's name and the full lyrics. He received no response, and the search was not continued back then. The user was contacted and stated that he had no information about the song other than the fact that it aired about once a week.

On May 24th, 2017, the song was posted by VK user Alexander Alexandrov, joining the group "Good Old St. Petersburg NBN, NBN+TVC, Rambler" and asking if anyone knew the singer's name or had the full music video. Alexander was contacted to see if he still had the tape, but he confirmed that his tape recording no longer exists.

From 1996 to 2007, NBN was a Russian television channel that broadcast in the Saint Petersburg area. The video's white "22" logo indicates that the snippet was likely recorded in the first quarter of 1996, as it was originally known as Channel 22 in January-March 1996.

According to the Russian Authors' Society registry, the song was written by composer Viktor Sigal (Viktor Chaika) and poet Viktor Ionov (Viktor Ionov-Dolgusha). Ionov-Dolgusha published the full lyrics on his personal website in 2010, confirming that he wrote the song, but it is impossible to contact him as he died on May 25th, 2011. According to the YouTube upload's description, Viktor Chaika was contacted by an unknown person in 2018 and stated that he did not know the woman in the video.

On August 31st, 2020, VK user Alexey Garyavin posted a complete list of songs by composer Viktor Chaika, and the song appears at number 29 under the title "29. Wandering Fire (v. Viktor Ionov) sung by ?", prompting searchers to examine the list for a possible singer.

On December 17th, 2020, danceforum.ru user Konan posted Alexandrov's snippet in a thread dedicated to song identification.

On April 14th, 2023, YouTube user Anon0122 first uploaded the video on YouTube, causing a gradual increase in interest in the search and offering a 50 euro prize to anyone who could find the full song. The search is mostly conducted in Russian on Anon0122's Telegram channel and Discord server.

On June 5th, 2024, searchers discovered an article from 2001 where Viktor Chaika states that he destroyed his solo album "Lonely Woman" after it had already been recorded, implying that this song may have been similarly destroyed and unreleased.

On July 16th, 2024, Russian Authors' Society was contacted, and their employee claimed that performer's name is Natalya Yablonskaya. But many people thought it was a hoax, and there was no confirmation from another searcher yet.

On July 23rd, 2024, the OP Alexander Alexandrov was contacted again and claimed that he might still have the VHS tape containing the full recording, and that the recording of the music video that is available was shot in the 2000s with a Samsung Vita phone.

On July 31st, 2024, the song was confirmed to be sung by singer with name Natalia Yablonskaya, after the Russian music publishing company First Music Publishing Ltd was contacted.

It was discovered that MV was recorded on Lenfilm's pavilions, and that Lenfilm made alcove-rotunda that appears in MV. Lenfilm didn't made the MV, though.

Leads

Possible

• Natalia Yablonskaya: According to a YouTube comment, a representative from the Russian Authors' Society claimed this was the singer. This name is confirmed from July 31th.
• Alexander Maistrenko: St. Petersburg clarinet player alleged to be the one seen in the music video.
• Alexander Igudin: Film director who has collaborated with Viktor Chaika on several music videos.

Debunked

• Natalia Shturm: Russian singer and actress, did not create the song, as she never collaborated with Sigal or Ionov.
• Tatiana Bulanova: Popular Russian ballad singer, did not make the song.
• Olga Favorskaya: Russian singer who has a cancelled album that was worked on by Viktor Sigal, confirmed to have not made the song.
• Anna Leontyeva: Actress and model investigated due to perceived similarities to the singer in the video, did not make the song.
• Evgeny Lykov: A producer who worked at NBN during the time when the song would have aired, did not know the song and stated that all archives from the station were gone.
• Irina Kudryavina: A YouTube user who claimed to be the singer in the music video, saying she worked for NBN in 1997. She claimed the video was created by the channel's crew to fill gaps in broadcasts. Despite being asked to contact investigators, she declined and deleted her account, making her story a probable hoax. Additionally, their profile picture was likely AI-generated, and no information about the singer can be found online.
• WatZatSong "Extended Snippet": Remix created by OP in FL Studio, claimed to have recorded it from a cassette in 1996.

Lyrics (Russian and English)

Presumed Lyrics Оконное стекло (The windowpane)

мне холодит ладонь (chills the palm of my hand)

Из мрака я гляжу в ночную тьму (I look out of the gloom into the night)

В моём дому никак (In my house)

не хочет жить огонь (The fire doesn't want to live)

И не могу понять я: почему? (I can't understand why)

Удерживать его (If I hold it back)

он злостью опалит (It will scorch with anger)

Испепелит презреньем как врага (And scorch it with contempt like an enemy)

И не простит вовек (And will never forgive)

нечаянных обид (for wrongs done to him)

Ему свобода слишком дорога (Freedom is too dear to him)

Мой блуждающий огонь (My wandering fire)

Затерялся без следа (Lost without a trace)

В чужедальней стороне. (In a foreign land)

Ветер-сплетник иногда (The gossiping wind sometimes)

Горький дым приносит мне. (Bitter smoke brings me)

Мой блуждающий огонь (My wandering fire)

Ярко светит, да не там (Shines brightly in the wrong place)

Жарко греет, да не тех (It warms the wrong people)

Не за ним ли по пятам (Doesn't it follow him)

Ходит мой замёрзший смех (My frozen laughter)

Я спички извожу, (I'm using up matches)

даю ему сигнал; (I'm signaling him)

Хочу быть маяком в его пути (I want to be a beacon in his path)

Быть может, он остыл, (Maybe he's cold)

быть может, он устал (Maybe he's tired)

И вспять дорогу не сумел найти (And he can't find his way back)

Конечно, я сама (Of course I'm wrong)

во многом не права (I'm wrong about a lot of things)

Ведь глупую игру вела с огнём (I've played a foolish game with fire)

В камин я заложу (I'll put some dried wood)

подсошие дрова (I'll put some dried wood in the fireplace)

Мне ночь гореть-горюниться о нём (I'll burn for a night to grieve for him)

Gallery

• 

  The music video snippet

Links

• Lead Document