A keresés eredménye

Black Rose

Violin and guitar playing in the old gypsy style,
In the night restaurant drunken noise is insane,
So why do you keep looking with a very sad smile
At your unfinished glass of champagne?
 
I used to love merry gypsy dancing at night
And a pair of bay wild horses like wind in the steppes,
That time has passed, as in a fairy tale flew by,
And here I am without your love and caress.
 
That black rose, an emblem of sadness,
At that memorable night I brought to you dear.
We both sat, between us only silence,
We wanted to cry, but there were no tears.
 
And how I wish I could start again, my dear,
Start all over again, just you and I-
Look you in the eye, burst into tears
And kiss your burning lips and hungry eyes.
 
Violin and guitar playing in the old gypsy style,
In the night restaurant drunken noise is insane,
So why do you keep looking with a very sad smile
At your unfinished glass of champagne?
 

Charabanc

Ah, my charabanc1, my sulky!2
What a night, what a carousal!
If you want, drink, smash the dishes!
I don't care, I don't care...
 
I fled from Simbirsk3
With a note in my fist.
Ah, my charabanc, my sulky!
And I'm a girl, I'm a charlatan!
 
A fellow traveller - a сheerful character4 -
Was my fellow traveller and my master.
Ah, my charabanc, my sulky!
And I'm a girl, I'm a charlatan!
 
All Moldavanka5 agreed on a ban,
There will be sold my charabanc.
Ah, my charabanc, my sulky!
And I'm a girl, I'm a charlatan!
 
Hello, recidivist thieves,
Riff-raff,6 and activists!
Ah, my charabanc, my sulky!
And I'm a girl, I'm a charlatan!
 
All are in the war or on civvy street,
And all the thieves are in Moldavanka!
Ah, my charabanc, my sulky!
And I'm a girl, I'm a charlatan!
 
Why do we need guns, why do we need hooligans,
When we are loved in Moldavanka?
Ah, my charabanc, my sulky!
And I'm a girl, I'm a charlatan!
 
We have a serious joke in Odessa,
That here friendship is friendship, and legs are spread.7
Ah, my charabanc, my sulky!
And I'm a girl, I'm a charlatan!
 
Ah, my charabanc, my sulky!
What a night, what a carousal!
If you want, drink, smash the dishes!
I don't care, I don't care...
 

• 1. From the French char à banc, a type of open carriage.
• 2. The word американка (amerikanka) here refers to a type of two-wheeled carriage invented in America for horse-racing (source: ). An alternative for американка is качалка, which as far as I could find is the translation for 'sulky', which was originally a four-wheeled carriage invented in England that was then adapted into a two-wheeled racing one in America. In any case, the purpose here is to emphasise the narrator's motion.
• 3. This song is related to the Russian Civil War. The city of Simbirsk (modern day Ulyanovsk) was the site of fighting that resulted in a key victory for the Reds both for its strategic implications as well as the symbolism of its being Lenin's hometown. 'Charabanc' was a sort of battle song for the fleeing Whites and spread, as seen from this song, westward.
• 4. He was probably an officer in the White Army.
• 5. A dictrict in Odessa. So named because it was originally a majority-Moldavian settlement, but over time grew population-wise as well as geographically to cover the main port region. When Odessa became a free port in 1817, Moldavanka became the centre of the city's smuggling and contraband trade, a bit of a rogue-ish place as referenced to in the next verse.
• 6. Шиш = nothing, мусор = garbage. A direct translation would have sounded odd but I tried to capture the meaning.
• 7. The original saying is Дружба дружбой, а табачок врозь, literally 'friendship is friendship but tobacco apart' but meaning more that 'friends are okay as long as they don't get in the way'. The joke here replaces 'tobacco' with the diminutive form of 'legs'. It's a continuation of the light-hearted fun of Odessa mentioned in the previous verse.

Black mole

Versions: #2
Don't look at me so, through your squinting eye,
Gentlemen, barons and ladies.
In twenty minutes I couldn't get drunk, if I tried
From a single glass of cold brandy,
 
After all, I'm a student, I'm chamberlain's child,
I'm a black mole, I'm a bat, blind and free.
Wine and men, it's the life I required.
Salute immigrants into the free Paris!
 
In October my father was taken alive,
But he helped the *Whites quite a lot.
And the cold words 'firing squad' when the time arrived-
The tribunal verdict, like sound of a shot.
 
And here I'm, a prostitute, in a bar, what's your desire,
I'm a black mole, I'm a bat, blind and free.
Wine and men, it's the life I required.
Salute immigrants into the free Paris!
 
I said to the colonel: Take me, here I'm!
There is no way with *Don 'currency' you're going to pay,
Sir, you better pay me with Francs,
And all the rest it's the dust on the roadway.
 
And here I'm, a prostitute, in a bar, what's your desire,
I'm a black mole, I'm a bat, blind and free.
Wine and men, it's the life I required.
Salute immigrants into the free Paris!
 
Only sometime, when I wild passion pretend
I recall the dust of Odessa, and dear acacia tree,
And I spit in their drooling faces then!
And all the rest is just a sad story.
 
After all, I'm a student, I'm chamberlain's child,
I'm a black mole, I'm a bat, blind and free.
Wine and men, it's the life I required.
Salute immigrants into the free Paris!
 

I won't sing about love

There's an old refrain of a song in a cafe
That I still remember and will never forget.
However the words will be different,
And I won't sing about love.
 
Narva* keeps coming back to me,
It caresses me instead of pushing me away.
Living without Narva is like living without fire,
And it is only in Narva that the heart can thaw.
 
A blizzard is raging in my Narva,
Winds are blowing from Leningrad**.
In the old cafe there are lots of friends -
I don't need anything else.
 
I don't know where my home is:
Could it be here - or in Leningrad?
I'll return to the old Neva*** later,
But in the meantime, I'm on the stage.
 
I sing for you a song of the soul,
And you don't judge me for it -
You are all so kind to me,
I'll come back - just wait...
 

Black Moth*

Don’t look at me like that, with your sneering eyes,
Gentlemen, barons and ladies **.
I couldn’t get drunk after 20 minutes
From a glass of cold brandy.
 
You see, I’m an educated girl, a chamberlain’s daughter,
I’m a black moth, I’m a bat.
My world is filled with wine and men.
Free Paris is the shelter of immigrants!
 
My father in October couldn’t get out,
But he did a lot to help the Whites***.
There came a deadline, and then the cold word “shot” –
A verdict pronounced by the tribunal.
 
And so now I’m a prostitute, a barfly,
A black moth, a bat.
My world is filled with wine and men.
Free Paris is the shelter of immigrants!
 
I said to the colonel, “Nate, take that away!
Don’t pay with Donskoy**** currency,
Give me Francs, Sir, to pay for my love,
For everything else is just dust in the road.
 
And you see I’m a prostitute, a barfly,
A black moth, a bat.
My world is filled with wine and men.
Free Paris is the shelter of immigrants!
 
Only at times, during a wild rush of passion,
I recall my homeland Odessa,
And then I spit in their drooling mouths!
And everything else is just a sad tale.
 
For I’m an educated girl, a chamberlain’s daughter,
I’m a black moth, I’m a bat.
My world is filled with wine and men.
Free Paris is the shelter of immigrants!
 

Once There Lived a Pair of Robbers

Once there lived a pair of robbers - ding, ding, ding,(1)
One was me, Gavril the other - ding, ding, ding!
And if you take to us at all - doo-doo, da da, la la,(2)
You can come knock at our door, ding, da-la!
 
We'll show you a trick or two - ding, ding, ding!
Open up a lock for you - ding, ding, ding!
We'll clear out the entire place - doo-doo, da da, la la!
Then drink the spoils away, ding, da-la!
 
But the drinking never began - ding, ding, ding,
An informer was there on hand - ding, ding, ding!
To the station, take us away - doo-doo, da da, la la!
To the cells without delay, ding, da-la!
 
Nine months pass to now from then - ding, ding, ding,
And the case comes to an end - ding, ding, ding!
They gather round for us to hear - doo-doo, da da, la la!
To give us both ten years, ding, da-la!
 
In we come to a bright hall - ding, ding, ding,
Judges sitting there and all - ding, ding, ding!
Prosecutor on our left - doo-doo, da da, la la!
He's also done some theft, ding, da-la!
 
The juror sitting on our right - ding, ding, ding,
My old friend from times gone by - ding, ding, ding!
On the left, another one - doo-doo, da da, la la!
Picks pockets just for fun, ding, da-la!
 
And the judge, what can I say? ding, ding, ding,
Anything they've got, he'll take! ding, ding, ding!
Having slipped some cash in hand - doo-doo, da da, la la!
To me, he's now like a dad, ding, da-la!
 
The defence lawyer then stands, ding, ding, ding,
And pursues a line such as, ding, ding, ding!
There's no pretext for sin, so - doo-doo, da da, la la!
I implore you, let them go, ding, da-la!
 
Here comes the moment of fate, ding, ding, ding!
The judges let us walk away, ding, ding, ding!
Then they hand us forged ID's - doo-doo, da da, la la!
And then we are released, ding, da-la!
 
Then off to a restaurant, ding, ding, ding!
Gavrila sneaks round while I rob, ding, ding, ding!
Now we've got enough to drink - doo-doo, da da, la la!
And go out on a binge, ding, da-la!
 
Once there lived a pair of robbers - ding, ding, ding,
One was me, Gavril the other - ding, ding, ding!
And if you take to us at all - doo-doo, da da, la la,
You can come knock at our door, ding, da-la!
 

No, madam, I have not been in Paris

You would like to have close acquaintance
And trying the right approach indeed?
No madam, I have not been in Paris
And Shakespeare only threatened to read.
No, madam, I have not been in Paris
And Shakespeare was too lazy to read.
 
Of Russo, of Spinoza and Kant
I, believe me, heard from you, I swear
And about this boulevard on Montmartre,
Believe me, I have not been there.
And about this boulevard on Montmartre,
Believe me, I have not been there.
 
And what for these clever speeches?
And bending for me the neck in an arch
And why are your legs on my shoulders,
I can get hernia to lift so much.
And why are your legs on my shoulders,
I can get hernia to lift so much.
 
I have been disgusted with myself,
But with you I'm disgusted threefold.
You won't see any prospects in love,
And you'll burn in the fire of hell.
You won't see any prospects in love,
And you'll burn in the fire of hell.
 
You would like to have close acquaintance
And trying the right approach indeed?
No madam, I have not been in Paris
And Shakespeare only threatened to read.
No madam, I have not been in Paris
And Shakespeare was too lazy to read.
 

Sofka Jumps Around and Shakes It

Sofka jumps around and shakes it early in the spring,
And because of this rascal, my world came caving in.
What an angel, what a darling,
Softer than a pillow's stuffing,
What to do - that's just the way it is.
 
Chorus:
 
Sofyushka, Sofia Pavlovna,
Sofia Pavlovna, oh, what a girl you are!
Sofyushka, not gonna lie,
I'd throw half a bottle aside,
Just to hold you in my arms one time!
 
Sofya once went out in nature just to tan up nice,
Turned her behind to the sky, the sun out of her eyes,
After that, she turned back round,
And then screamed 'bring a man now!'
That's just what our Sofyushka was like...
 
Chorus
 
Once our Sofya got a fever, took to bed and all.
Forty doctors tried to cure her, with a nurse on call...
Thought and thought and guessed for ages,
Tons of notes covered their pages,
Only a procedure helped at all...
 
Chorus
 

Candles

Rain, lurking out the window pane,
The fog, in quarrel with the rain,
And a deep-sleeping evening,
And a deep-sleeping evening,
For something far-off and sky-born,
For something native and well-known,
The candles burn out, grieving.
 
Seems there was nothing to cry for -
Our lives are not bad, after all,
But, now and then, by evening,
But, now and then, by evening,
Behind the piano, you sit down,
A veil dropping to the ground,
You light the candles, grieving.
 
The candles cry out for mankind,
The strongest, who quietly cry,
And they just can't quite
Dry away hot tears.
And it is crucial for me now,
The wax fears nothing, burning down,
For me, the candles cry out,
These candles dear.
 
Rain, lurking out the window pane,
The fog, in quarrel with the rain,
And a deep-sleeping evening,
And a deep-sleeping evening,
For something far-off and sky-born,
For something native and well-known,
The candles burn out, grieving.
 

Aunty Chaya

Oi, Yosef, Yosef, lovely old Yosef -
What names there are in this world!
Have you worn down your painful callous,
Or does it still leave your feet curled?
 
Oi, Yosef, Yosef, lovely old Yosef -
Your beloved callous - have you worn it down?
Better no one knew,
Better it fell off, too -
Dare you even take your whole leg out!
 
Best of mornings, auntie Chaya, ay, ay, ay!
There's a parcel from Shanghai here, ay, ay, ay!
In the parcel, three Chinese guys, oy, oy, oy!
Three Chinese guys painting eggs white, oy, oy, oy!
 
At the market, I met Yosef, shopping.
He was buying foot cream, if I'm right,
Holding, in his teeth, а pot of sour cream,
With his arms, he held his callous tight.
 
I wanted to congratulate him primly,
Smiled widely, and took my hat off -
But suddenly he noticed Aunty Chaya,
Wagged his tail and then just walked straight off.
 
Best of mornings, auntie Chaya, ay, ay, ay!
There's a parcel from Shanghai here, ay, ay, ay!
In the parcel, three Chinese guys, oy, oy, oy!
Three Chinese guys painting eggs white, oy, oy, oy!
 
You know what she's like, Aunty Chaya,
And she's clearly wearing Yosef thin -
She's been sent a parcel from Shanghai here,
And Yosef's callous is gonna kill him!
 
But Yosef will wear down his cursed callous,
Beat someone in quite a splendid style!
The he'll go and meet our Aunty Chaya,
Put her in her place, but all the while...
 
Best of mornings, auntie Chaya, ay, ay, ay!
There's a parcel from Shanghai here, ay, ay, ay!
In the parcel, three Chinese guys, oy, oy, oy!
Three Chinese guys painting eggs white, oy, oy, oy!
 

Silver Hair

Silver strand.
These twelve letters, what's hiding within them?
For someone, it is war and despair,
For another, unfortunate children.
For someone, it is love's bitter taste,
For another, getting slung out in service,
As for you, leave these words in their place,
As for me, I don't think they deserve us.
 
There was one, on the fly, whose fast life
Was swept up in whiskey, gone downhill,
But don't go and wear it with pride,
Your old age is yet to come still.
I try to judge these silver locks.
But why try - after all, it's untouchable.
I get lost and then drown in my thoughts,
And it just causes sickness and trouble.
 
But what can I say, as I
Look at white, greying stands in the mirror?
My life somehow, somewhere passed by,
And an early autumn is now here.
Yes, I remember, in winter, those bombs,
'41 was a year of terror,
Youth flew past, war dragged it along,
Can't erase what you'll always remember...
 
But the reason for these silver strands
Doesn't lie in that faraway year
I didn't notice my spring passing, and,
from then, my nerves cowered in fear.
What to remember? In anguish, just howl -
All around, no familiar witness,
Camps and cells, and a brutal guard's growl,
And sickness, and sickness, and sickness...
 
I recall just the depth of your gaze,
Only, beside me, I cannot now see you.
Just one person I love, in a craze,
And that's what is sending me grey, too.
 

Cranes Were Out Flying

Faraway, faraway, the cranes were out flying,
Leaving fields behind, where wild blizzards were crying,
Faraway, faraway, these old cranes couldn't bear to hold their flight,
And they dropped down below, in a dark forest clearing at midnight.
 
And in morning they rose, and flew far, to the south, now much longer,
But one stayed on his own, in the field, alone, just to wander,
And he cried after them: 'won't you help me, please, brothers,
There's no strength in me left, I can't get in the air without others!'
 
So they all dropped back down, helping out their tired old brother,
Even though they now knew, getting home would be so much harder.
And they rose up again, a quick-winged flock of cranes, up from lower,
And, their brother with them, they flew on, up above, round and over,
 
So, in life, now and then, falling back from your flock, flying onwards,
Even so, we still know, rules of friendship will always fly longer.
But then, even fate can begin to play jokes and berate you,
Even friends then fly round, and nobody is left to come aid you.
 
Faraway, faraway, the cranes were out flying,
Leaving fields behind, where wild blizzards were crying,
Faraway, faraway, these old cranes couldn't bear to hold their flight,
And they dropped down below, in a dark forest clearing at midnight.
 

Hello, Beloved Other

Hello, beloved other,
My dream, my brightest ray,
How I would have loved you,
Until our dying days!
 
Years gone never come back,
Tears won't get us by,
But how I want to run back,
And kiss your daughter's eyes...
 
How we couldn't hold on,
Just to hold above,
Even draw in crayon,
That thing they call love!
 
The autumn of our friendship
Screams out, decrepit,
Now my spring is ending,
And we're left to regret it...
 
Years fly by like weekends
And the tears wriggles free,
I believe, old and weakened,
You'll think back of me.
 
Beloved other, who was mine too,
where did you go away?
How I would have loved you,
Until our dying days.
 
Years gone never come back,
Tears won't get us by,
But how I want to run back,
And kiss your daughter's eyes...
 

Coachman

Coachman, let the horses ahead!
I'm not going to sing about love -
Fate rides on bitterly instead,
and freezes my fiery blood...
 
Oh, freedom, I bid you farewell,
While singing this sad melody.
I ride, soul empty as a shell,
Slow down, my coachman, hold your speed!
 
Coachman, let the horses ahead -
I know where you're planning to go!
Oh, fate will catch up in the end,
No more sunny days lie in tow...
 
All life is now left behind me,
The convoy will come to me soon...
Slow down, my coachman, hold you speed -
Let me live just one more day through!
 
Coachman, let the horses ahead -
I don't need to rush at such speed,
I've no more to catch in my stead,
In this senseless life that I lead.
 
Coachman, help me leave it behind,
Wipe out all of my memories!
Why is it you rush, tell me why?
No more can I live full at ease.
 
Coachman, let the horses ahead!
I'm tired of wandering free!
I've no more to catch in my stead,
In this senseless life that I lead.
 
Coachman, let the horses ahead!
I'm not going to sing about love -
Fate rides on bitterly instead,
and freezes my fiery blood...
 

Sky Blue Taxi

I remember the courtyard, silky snow on the white ground,
You stood by the front door of a sky blue taxi.
And the snowflakes still glistened on your silvery eyebrows,
And your gaze, tired and tender, spoke of love, dyingly.
 
Days of parting pass by us, and your senses have withered,
I, as ever, sit yearning, think of you and no more.
May these cruelest of years, fly by, gone forever,
But I will, as ever, loving you, remember all.
 
I know, my dear, I know, we'll again see each other,
I'll forget all my failures, when I meet you once more.
And, again, those white snowflakes will twirl in a blue haze,
Like, in the cloudy heavens, they did once before.
 

A Soviet Jew's Letter to Israel

I address this letter here, not to China -
I enclose, for Israel, this reminder.
To Dayan and Golda Meir's tough guys,
Here's my protest, written from left to right.
 
Fly and fly, little letter, quick as you can,
From a good, simple Jewish working man,
From welders, from foremen and electricians,
Hands off of our Arabs, Yids, end your mission!
 
You were hoping for our strength, and our aid,
You're the ones who drove Nasser to his grave.
You came up to heaven and poisoned the air,
The Yids came to Odessa and brought cholera there.
 
Even if we both have circumcisions,
I ask you to give up your false position!
Now, because of your thieving expeditions,
They've taken our booze prices and made additions.
 
I spit on your Judas fifty bucks,
Neither Tal, nor Botvinnik will get on your bus,
None of our doctors, or actors, will come to you,
Even Jewish miners won't dig their way through.
 
Yudkevich and Gershkovich won't come your way,
Solzhenitsyn's pal Rastropovich won't sway,
My neighbour, Izya Blumer, won't come to your side,
Because, just yesterday, he keeled over and died.
 
Even Joseph Kobzon doesn't dream of Israel,
There's so much shit there, he couldn't stand the smell -
So don't expect us to come to you as guests,
And don't muddy our water here, give it a rest!
 

On Deribasovskaya

They opened up a pub on Deribasovskaya
And many gathered there in gangster attire,
Even the girls swung by: Tamara, Roza, Raya,
With them, the scumbag of Odessa, dirty Styopa.
 
He would burst in the place with kisses in the air,
And said to pretty Roza, 'let's dance, yeah?
We'll tell the suckers sitting at the tables there,
that, tonight, we'll do the salon tango proper.'
 
But pretty Roza didn't fancy dancing with him,
Already sweating, she was practically dripping,
In the embraces of men, fat as chickens,
She couldn't take a minute more of bother.
 
Some fancy fucker came up, right in someone's ear:
'I'd recommend you try to cosy up to Vera,
I'd rather not offend your dearest of mothers,
or leave a blood stain on your lovely hat, my brother.'
 
But dirty Kostya - he was a lad of great passion,
He took a bottle to the fat man's head and smashed him,
He took a fork and gave the waiter's ass a lashing,
And just then, the salon tango started proper.
 
It really wasn't anything like Argentina,
Me and a friend got caught up in the fever,
They tossed us right out of the pub, with that hothead,
Left with black eyes and bumps on our foreheads.
 
Now, as we all lay on the pavement on our bellies,
Some foreigner got up and rose to Rozanelli,
With flaming passion, he then whispered in her ear:
'Oh, Roza, won't you be mine, my dear?
 
I'll take you down to our lovely town Batumi,
You'll eat sultanas, Turkish delight!' He said shrewdly,
'Like the fanciest of chicks I'll come and dress you,
If you want to sleep, then I'll come undress you.
 
I'll give you any earthly pleasure, you can take it,
No offence, you haven't even got a bracelet,
Even a slip gown, or proper stockings wrapped around ya,
And, now I think of it, you don't even have trousers!'
 
And so down went the pub on Deribasovskaya,
Many still gathered there in gangster attire,
Even the girls swung by: Tamara, Roza, Raya,
With them, the scumbag of Odessa, dirty Styopa.
 

As the Night-lights Sway

Just as the night-lights sway around in the late evening,
And it's too risky to walk down dark alleyways,
I come out of the pub,
not gonna meet no one,
I've got no energy for love now, anyway.
 
Loose ladies used to kiss me everywhere, like crazy,
One widow drank away her whole estate with me,
And just my cocky laugh,
Could get me more than half,
But my youth flashed past and left me on my knees.
 
Up on my high horse, like a king on his birthday,*
And yet I dream of getting my rations on time,
I look out, like a cat,
the window of my flat,
and I don't care, I'll light this little lamp of mine.
 
Just as the night-lights sway around in the late evening,
And, like a demon, a black cat runs down the street,
I come out of the pub,
not gonna meet no one,
My all-time record is now forever beat!