From the movie The Irony of Fate - lyrics by A. Aronov, music by M. Tariverdiev
If you don’t have a house,
Fire is not a threat,
And your cat won’t choke on a mouse
If you don’t have a cat.

If you don’t have a lover,
Your love will never end.
And your friend won’t invite himself over (at 2 in the morning)
If you don’t have a friend.

Oh, it can be so confusing,
So hard to decide what’s what.
You do the thinking, you do the choosing:
To have or to have not.

If you’re afraid of leaving,
You don’t have to say goodbye,
And if you never start living,
You’ll never have to die.

Oh, it can be so confusing,
So hard to decide what’s what.
You do the thinking, you do the choosing:
To have or to have not.

Words and music by V. Vysotsky

We’ll be sailing with the high morning tide,
When the ocean and the sky open wide.
We will take whatever fate has in store,
Even if we never make it to shore.
Climb the mast and make it fast, old mate.
Tell me, where will you and I land?
Probably the mainland - but wait!
Maybe it’s my Blue Island.

Those who have too much to lose turn around,
Do the reckoning and choose solid ground.
As for us, with just the shirt on our back,
We are glad to trade the port for the deck.
When they say, ‘He’s gone around the bend,’
You just smile and keep silent.
Some make do with any old land,
Others need their own island (Others need Bowen Island)

An old pirate said, ‘It’s all in your head!
I’ll believe it when I see it, me lad!’
Pirate, when the spirit’s weak, eyes are blind.
I believe that if I seek, I shall find!
Through the mist, the long awaited shore.
Rub the doubt from your eyelids.
What is it, the mainland once more?
Or is this my Blue Island?

Lyrics by A. Volokhonsky, music by V. Vavilov.

Beyond the emerald sea
Beneath the sapphire skies
Behind a veil of cloudy glass
A golden city lies
And in that city bright
There is a garden fair
With creatures strange and magical
Of grace beyond compare

Behold a lion with a mane of fire
A snow-white calf full of eyes within
Next to them a golden eagle flying
Whose all-seeing gaze is unforgettable

And in the sapphire skies
A lonely star does shine
That shining star is yours my love
Until the end of time
Love comes to those who love
True light is found inside
The shining star will guide you to
The garden of delight

You’ll see the lion with a made of fire
The snow-white calf full of eyes within
Next to them the golden eagle flying
Whose all-seeing gaze is unforgettable

Just say it – and I’ll learn to weave
And maybe even to sew
Just say it – and I’ll learn to live
And we will go with the flow
We’ll find some place far away
We’ll leave our shadows behind
And our days will be bright as day
And our nights will be dark as night

You’ll head for the wild woods
With rabbit-snares and a gun
Oh, we’ve never had it so good
Our life will be so much fun
I will bake muffins and pies
Darn your sweaters and socks
As for children – there will be five
And possibly even six

And grass will be growing tall
And sunshine will follow rain
And maybe, God help us all,
I’ll never sing again
And we will live and let live
We’ll take it easy and slow
Just say it – and I’ll learn to weave
And maybe even to sew.

LYRICAL SONGWords and music by V. Vysotsky

Here spruce-branches shiver, suspended in sleep,

Here birdsong is faint and beseeching.

You live in a forest, enchanted and deep,

Where no one can possibly reach you.

Let the ash-berry tree set the forest ablaze,

Let the creepers embrace you like lovers,

All the same I will take you away from this place

To a palace of music and flowers.

Your world has been languishing under a curse,

Concealed from my eyes and from sunlight.

And you are convinced that it’s heaven on earth,

This forest, forbidding and silent.

Let the moon spurn the clouds with a frown on her face,

Let the air drip its magical potion,

All the same I will take you away from this place

To a tower overlooking the ocean.

When finally I break the unbreakable charms,

You’ll slip through the curtains that hide you,

And then I will sweep you away in my arms

Where no one can possibly find you.

If you wish to be stolen, I’ll steal you of course.

There’s no end to the laws I’ve been breaking.

Won’t you settle for paradise under the stars

If the tower and the palace are taken.

From the movie White Desert Sun - words and music by B. Okudzhava

Your most gracious majesty, Lady Separation,
Your embrace is cold as ice, that’s the situation.
Send my letter flying like a wounded dove.
Unlucky in dying, better luck in love.

Your most gracious majesty, Lady of Blue Yonder,
You will never take me home, only make me wander.
I’m a helpless fly in your soft velvet glove.
Unlucky in dying, better luck in love.

Your most gracious majesty, Lady Luck, my precious,
Some are kindled by your flames, other turn to ashes.
Now the chips are down, I am calling your bluff.
Unlucky in dying, better luck in love.

Your most gracious majesty, Lady of Salvation,
So the game’s not over yet, and that’s the situation.
The Hounds of Hell are crying - hold on, call them off!
Unlucky in dying, better luck in love.

Words and music by B. Okudzhava

My horse is exhausted, my shoes are worn down at the heel.
Which way shall I ride, will you tell me, which way shall I ride?
Along the Red River, my joy, down towards the Blue Hill,
Keep riding towards the Blue Hill, by the Red River’s side.

But where is that river? My horse is exhausted tonight.
And how do I get to the hill, will you answer me, please?
Just head for the bright light, my joy, yes just head for the light,
Just head for the bright light, my joy, you will find it with ease.

But where is that bright light, pray tell me, why doesn’t it gleam?
I’ve carried the sky on my shoulders for many a night.
The lamplighter lights it, but he is asleep, it would seem
He must be asleep, and I’ve nothing to do with the light.

He melts in the night like a stone through a bottomless lake,
With nothing to guide him, not even a star in the sky.
But what are you after, my joy? I exclaim in his wake.
Good heavens, if only I knew it myself, he replies.

Words and music by V. Vysotsky

Who cares that your old lady’s always nagging?
Who cares that your career just took a dive?
Who cares that, once again, you’re off the wagon?
Be thankful that at least you’re still alive.

No sweat - your only jacket doesn’t wear well.
No sweat - the nightmares kept you up till five.
No sweat - somebody mugged you in the stairwell.
Be thankful that at least you’re still alive.

Oh well - you’ll never play the ukulele.
Oh well - you’re looking pale and sleep deprived.
Oh well - your hair’s been falling out lately.
Be thankful that at least you’re still alive.

So what if you’ve got footprints on your forehead?
So what if you are breaking out in hives?
So what if your cholesterol is horrid?
Be thankful that at least you’re still alive.

Big deal - you are a nail and not a hammer.
Big deal - another summons has arrived.
Big deal - your spent your weekend in the slammer.
Be thankful that at least you’re still alive.

It’s true - a man must pay for every blunder.
It’s true - I’ve made the bed in which I lie.
It’s all so very true - I only wonder,
Whom do I thank that I am still alive?

[Adapted from a translation by <A HREF=”http://www.elnitsky.com/vysotsky.html”>Serge Elnitsky</A>

Words and music by V. Vizbor

People say, ‘Don’t worry, love is always new.
Soon you’ll find your soulmate, fair and flawless.’
All I need is just a single glimpse of you,
And I’ll ask for nothing else, I promise.

Once again the cranes are winging through the blue.
Leaves are falling in the golden forest.
All I need is just a single word from you,
And I’ll ask for nothing else, I promise.

Put your arms around me, say a word that’s true.
You are both my anguish and my solace.
All I need is just a single life with you,
And I’ll ask for nothing else, I promise.

(alternate music link >)

Words and music by B. Okudzhava

When you see the raven fly
Trouble’s brewing in the sky.
If you let the raven soar,
If you let the raven soar,
Everyone is off to war.

For the war to pass us by
We must shoot the raven down.
And to shoot the raven down,
And to shoot the raven down,
First you have to load the gun.

And when the guns are loaded - why,
Everyone will want to try.
And when the bullet starts to fly
When the bullet starts to fly,
It will find you by and by.

See, the bullet doesn’t care
Who to sting and who to spare.
Be you for or be you friend
It will get you in the end,
Till there’s no one left to stand.

No one’s left - and that is that.
Nothing’s left - and that is that.
Nothing’s left - and that is that
But the raven overhead.
No one’s there to shoot him dead.