Digteren Golenishchev-Kutuzov (1848–1913) havde imidlertid nået at se billedet på udstillingen, og skrev et digt inspireret af maleriet. Og Modest Mussorgsky (1839-1881) komponerede musik til digtet i 1874, en arie for sangstemme med ledsagende klaver og orkester.
Sangen hedder “Forgotten” og er på noderne dedikeret til kunstneren Vereshchagin.

He met his death in a foreign land, in a foreign land,
in battle with the foe,
But the foe was conquered by his troops, and the troops rejoice.
Only he abandoned on the battlefield, lies alone,
and a greedy crow drinks the blood from his fresh wounds
And pecks at the staring eye, the eye which
threatened death when all were dying,
And now, replete and satisfied, he flies off to distant lands…
Far away in his homeland
A mother feeds her child by the window:
“There, there! Don’t cry, my son, your daddy’s coming!
And a pie I’ll bake for him in celebration…”
But he, forsaken, lies alone.

Det omtalte Vereshchagin maleri eksisterer således ikke længere, og på YouTube er Mussorgskys sang “Forgotten”, sunget af Boris Christoff, nyligt censureret væk igen.