Polina, a young noblewoman, is asked to sing a song for her friend Liza and the assembled ladies in the parlor. Polina says she does not know what to sing, but then remembers a song and begins with "Oh, now I recall..." before singing this haunting melody. The tragic nature of the song puts everyone in a melancholy mood, and within the broader context of the opera this song foreshadows the tragic end of Liza and Herman's doomed love affair.