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.