And all that was and what was not, it's taste is bitter-sweet.
My rock-n-roll it's not a goal, not a even a phase.
It's nothing new - starting anew; it's all about it.
The road to my home, and for love it's not a place.
And all the words will fall, like rain, And there, where you never speak my name, The silent night will bring you some fresh winds. From our eyes stars are gone, And only gray steaks of the dawn - The dawn where you never speak my name.
And what is next - it's just like you, the shadow of the present.
Long lonely road, where I went across sea and land.
There is no rest for us, my friend, and I will raise for you my hand.
I am bidding goodbye, as if to a legend.
And all the words will fall, like rain, And there, where you never speak my name, The silent night will bring you some fresh winds. From our eyes stars are gone, And only gray steaks of the dawn - The dawn where you never speak my name.
And all that was and what was not, it's taste is bitter-sweet.
My rock-n-roll it's not a goal, not a even a phase.
It's nothing new - starting anew; it's all about it.
The road to my home, and for love it's not a place.
This song is the exact opposite of "We are Gone." I hate the music here, but I do like the words! And, leaving my best friends in Russia behind again, I was singing this song all the way to Moscow.
And all that was, in the final draft
Will become clear later.
My rock-n-roll
Is not a goal and not even a method.
It is not new, it is starting again, Only it, and only about it. The road to my home, And for love it is not a place.
All the words will spill, like rain,
And there, where you are not waiting for me,
The winds in the night will bring you cool air.
On our face there are no answers,
And only gleams of the sunrise.
That sunrise where you are not waiting for me.
And next is the most important,
It looks like you,
Before the long road
I will braid my hair,
And, unable to find rest,
I will give you a sign with my hand.
I am bidding you goodbye
As if to a legend.
All the words will spill, like rain,
And there, where you are not waiting for me,
The winds in the night will bring you cool air.
On our face there are no answers,
And only gleams of the sunrise.
That sunrise where you are not waiting for me.
It is not new, it is starting again, Only it, and only about it. The road to my home, And for love it is not a place.
English version of this song with my own lyrics:
http://songslikebirds.blogspot.com/2012/08/2-my-rock-n-roll-bi-2-draft-1.html
This song has been bugging me for a long time. It is so dark and sad, but mesmerizing in a strange sort of way.
The structure of the song is difficult because of it's simplicity. Most sentences have 2-4 words in them (in their original language), and the sentences don't really connect with one another grammatically. Images come through mangled and incomplete, but very intense. I am trying to replicate the same feeling in English if I can.
No one writes to the Colonel (lyrics and vocals - Russian rock band BI-2; clip from the movie Brother-2 (Брат-2))
The original in Russian:
Большие города,
Пустые поезда,
Ни берега, ни дна
Всё начинать сначала.
Холодная война
И время, как вода,
Он не сошёл с ума,
Ты ничего не знала...
Полковнику никто
Не пишет,
Полковника никто
Не ждёт...
На линии огня
Пустые города,
В которых никогда
Ты раньше не бывала.
И рвутся поезда
На тонкие слова,
Он не сошёл с ума,
Ты ничего не знала...
Полковнику никто
Не пишет,
Полковника никто
Не ждёт...
The word-for-word translation:
Large cities, Empty trains, Neither shore, nor water All needs to be started over The Cold War And the time is like water He didn't loose your mind, She didn't know anything.
No one writes To the Colonel, No one waits For the Colonel.
In the line of fire Are the empty cities In which you have never Been before And the trains are ripping through Like thin words He didn't lose his mind She didn't know anything
No one writes To the Colonel, No one waits For the Colonel.
First draft of my version:
The sprawling city veins,
Unlit and empty trains,
Not start and not the end,
Not water, not the land.
The steps of this cold war,
The beauty and the gore,
All things she didn't know,
Oh, where did it go?
No one writes to the Colonel
No one waits for the Colonel
The cross-hairs of his eyes
Are on the burning skies
Above the empty screen
Of worlds she's never seen.
Exploding silver trains
Collapsing city veins,
All things she didn't know,
Oh, where did it go?
No one writes to the Colonel
No one waits for the Colonel
My version of "Wolves." I am quite pleased with my efforts, except for the chorus. I is not as expressive as I would like (some meaning got lost) because it is difficult to make complete sentences out of 1-2 words in English, so I had to fit 1 sentence into 3 stanzas to substitute for 3 Russian sentences....
I will check with Michael about stanza #5, it seems to me it HAS to have "there is" in that sentence, but it won't fit in m melody-wise....
1. The wolves are leaving for the skies,
2. The cold light's shining in their eyes,
3. And to believe in fortune is
4. No longer wise.
5. And every day a different test
6. They don't know pain, they don't know rest.
7. The other pack is ready for
8. The brazen guests...
Chorus:
9. The souls cling to the day
10. To get away
11. At any cost.
12. We can escape, but we can't win
13. I feel with my skin -
14. It is all lost.
15. They can't see dreams, can't recall words,
16. They have become their own lords,
17. And in the end they will fall on
18. Their own swords.
19. The shame and glory are in their blood,
20. The death and love lay in the mud,
21. But one cannot completely tame
22. A wild heart...
Chorus (twice)
The wolves are leaving....
The wolves are leaving...
The wolves are leaving...
P.S. I just found out that there are no minus-versions of this song available online. So, I am really sad.
I wanted to make a decent translation for this song, and, possibly, make my own version. It is not one of my most favorite BI-2 songs, but the melody is very relaxing to me, and I feel like it would be fun to play with it for a bit.
Волки уходят в небеса
Горят холодные глаза
Приказа верить в чудеса
Не поступало
И каждый день другая цель
То стены гор то горы стен
И ждет отчаянных гостей
Чужая стая
Припев:
Спиной к ветру и все же
Вырваться может
Чья-то душа
Спасет но не поможет
Чувствую кожей
Пропащая
Не видят снов не помнят слов
Переросли своих отцов
И кажется рука бойцов
Колоть устала
Позор и слава в их крови
Хватает смерти и любви
Но сколько волка не корми
Ему все мало
My "true to the text" translation":
The wolves are leaving for the skies,
The cold eyes are glowing.
No one gave an order to believe in miracles.
And every new day there is a new target.
One day it is the walls of the mountains,
The other - it is the mountains of walls.
And the other pack
Is already waiting for the brazen guests...
Chorus:
Standing with back to the wind,
And yet
Someone's soul might get away.
It will save, but it won't help.
I feel with my skin -
It is all lost.
They don't see dreams, don't remember words,
They outgrew their parents.
And it seems that the fighters' hands are growing tired.
The shame and glory run in their blood,
And plenty of death and love to go around.
But no matter how well you feed the wolf,
The call of the wild is stronger...
Chorus:
Standing with back to the wind,
And yet
Someone's soul might get away.
It will save, but it won't help.
I feel with my skin -
It is all lost.
The wolves are leaving...
The wolves are leaving...
The wolves are leaving...
This song turned out to be a lot of fun to translate, but, unfortunately, the translation is not as close as I would like it to see yet. Plus, some lines do not fit into the beat nicely. So, some cleanup to do later. In the meantime, I will return to my GRE studies and try to kick some butt on Logical and Quantitative Reasoning exercises.
My new victim. It is one of my old favorites of BI-2.
в окнах гаснет свет
как будто навсегда
уходит из под ног
чужая планета
полцарства за билет
оплачено сполна
из тысячи дорог
я выбираю эту
припев:
держаться за воздух,
за острые звёзды
огромного неба
коснуться рукой
держаться за воздух,
за острые звёзды
и там над землёй
дышать им с тобой
мой зеркальный враг
мне верен до конца
и на ветру дрожат
воздушные своды
как трудно сделать шаг
ещё сложнее два
дорога наугад
я выбрал свободу
My word-for-word translation:
The lights go out in the windows
As if this foreign planet
Is forever slipping
From underneath my feet
Half a kingdom for the ticket,
All paid in full.
From thousands of paths,
I am choosing this one.
Chorus:
To hold on to the air,
And on to the sharp stars,
To touch the sky with my hand.
To hold on to the air,
And on to the sharp stars,
And there, high above,
Just to breathe together with you.
My enemy in the mirrow
Is faithful till the end,
And the airy vaults
Are undulating in the wind.
How hard it is to make a step,
And even harder is to make two...
This is a road traveled by touch,
And I am choosing this freedom....
I finished the first draft in a couple of hours last night. It came to be out a lot further from the original text that I would like to see, so I will need to keep scratching my head for a bit to find a way to work at least the best parts of the discarded original into the English version.
I talked to my honey, and he was originally not very impressed with the song.
He didn't like the idea of the made-up words ("un-air raid" and "sur-squared"), and had trouble understanding them even after I tried to explain several times. He also didn't understand the reference to the dog and the lion. He said he never heard of it, it is not part of the Bible that is usually read or quoted. That is very sad, indeed, as it is an interesting reference that I hoped would be well understood by the audience.
He and I also tried to find, unsuccessfully for now, a replacement for the word "seized" (by Jerushaliam), since the word "seized" has a very specific connotation that makes that sentence harder to understand than it already is.
However, when he listened to the song, he said he liked it a bit better. I guess the melody provides a nice enough background to compensate for the complexity of the meanings.
1. The Fates once again are changing the scripts -
2. What have been sown shall now be reaped.
3. Casting the dice are a dog and a lion.
4. The rings of old chains are starting to fasten
5. Hiding the curse under the luster.
6. I have been seized by Juerushaliam....
Chorus:
C1. Stay in the row,
C2. Messier Captain of my prodigal soul,
C3. While the city sings the strange lullaby
C4. Of un-air raid alerts.
C5. Go with the flow,
C6. Don't surrender, do not sell yourself low.
C7. Flaring up, raining down from the sky
C8. The un-air raid alerts.
7. The sand in the glass runs faster and faster.
8. Best of intentions have been a disaster.
9. Trouble again in the heavenly shore.
10. Steady Tin Soldier is slumped in the chair.
11. He is surrounded; he is sur-squared.
12. Time to get up and finish this war.
Chorus:
C1. Stay in the row,
C2. Messier Captain of my prodigal soul,
C3. While the city sings the strange lullaby
C4. Of un-air raid alerts.
C5. Go with the flow,
C6. Don't surrender, do not sell yourself low.
C7. Flaring up, raining down from the sky
C8. The un-air raid alerts.
I have to consult with my husband about lines #4, 9, C1, C4, and C6.
The chorus gave me the most trouble, obviously, because of the major points that I wanted to keep about The Steady Tin Soldier being "sur-squared" and the "un-air raid" sirens don't really land themselves to easy manipulations.
Here is my next victim. I can see right away that working with the chorus part will be difficult, since the original sentences are short, and are very specific in their meaning.
Вновь у судьбы меняются планы
С неба вернулся брошенный камень
Было одним, стало другим.
В долгой цепи замыкаются звенья
Каждый звонок, как состав преступленья
Держит меня Иерусалим.
Ровно дыши,
Капитан моей распущенной души
В этом городе так странно звучит
Безвоздушная тревога
Жить не спеши,
Не сдавайся, не меняй на гроши
Разгорится и погаснет в ночи
Безвоздушная тревога
В этой картине сгущаются краски
Искренне любят, но терпят фиаско
Что-то опять случилось в раю.
Стойку обнял оловянный солдатик
Он окружен, а точней оквадрачен,
Время платить и закончить войну.
Here is my "true to the song" translation:
Once again, the Fate is changing it's plans, And what we have sown will be reaped, What once was one is now different. The links in this long chain are locking in, Each call is like an element of a crime, I am being seized by Jerusalem
Chorus: Steady, now, The Captain of my loose soul, This city is strangely full of sounds Of un-air raid alerts. Do not hurry to live to the fullest, Do not surrender, do not sell yourself short. Flare up and fall into the night The an-air raid alerts.
The prospects are rapidly darkening. Loving truly, but suffering a full fiasco. Something has happened again in the heavens! The Steady Tin Soldier is hugging the bar, He is surrounded, or more like sur-squared. It is time to pay up and finish this war.
Chorus: Steady, now, The Captain of my loose soul, This city is strangely full of sounds Of un-air raid alerts. Do not hurry to live to the fullest, Do not surrender, do not sell yourself short. Flare up and fall into the night The an-air raid alerts.
I made some adjustments to the original text to make it understandable to English audience. I could not find fitting translations for "C неба вернулся брошенный камень" and "В этой картине сгущаются краски". My hubby is telling me that there are no parallel proverbs / saying in English. Also, the reference to the Tin Soldier required a bit of research on Wikipedia!
I cannot wait to start working on the "rhyming" version, I loooove this song and have it playing over and over again, it is such a soothing melody (to me). But, it is almost 2 am. I think I better let it go for the night.
P.S. I need to locate someone who can speak Hebrew and tell me how to pronounce the name "Jerusalem" properly. Since Jerusalem does not have any natural or easy rhymes in English, I may just as well "go Hebrew" and see whether any words will rhyme with the original pronunciation.
This is a song that I have been dying to translate since I first heard it. The harsh lyrics of the song really made a lasting impression on me.
The more popular BI-2/AK/Lumen version is shorter by one куплет, and this is the one I will be using for my translation for now. The thirds куплет is too strange in it's meaning for me.
This is my own "true-to-the-song" translation:
You were discovering the night,
All in it that you could afford,
Tearing off the masks,
Keeping your soul bound.
There is blood on your cheek,
Which you will claim to be a lipstick,
Fuck the maze of words,
Angels don't need no words.
But we are no angel, boy,
We are no angels,
We are dark beasts,
And our screws are lose,
And if you would ask us what do we want,
We would soar, yes, we would soar.
But we are no angels, boy,
No, we are no angels,
There in the fires
We have lost our stripes,
Those of our kind are neither loved, nor trusted
People trust only those who have the feathers.
Hundreds of sleepy roofs
What were you looking there for, boy?
You have been in a slumber for too long,
Too long for a beast like yourself.
Isn't it time to go down,
Down, where you breathe with your body?
Loose your clean sheet,
Beasts don't wear white.
This song was kind of tough to master because I was not always sure what the author was trying to say in the first place. Also, the laconic phrases (and the corresponding beats) left very little wiggle room. English sentences demand presence of certain structures that Russian sentences do not, so I also had to find a way around the long English structures.
Draft 1 of my "Americanized" version:
You plunged into the night
As you dreamed through the day,
Bounding your soul tight,
Throwing the masks away.
There is blood on your face
Tell them it is just lipgloss
Words won't knit the lace of phrase
But angels don't need no words.
Chorus:
But we are no angels, by far,
No, we are no angels,
Dark beasts that we are,
And we burn no candles,
And if you were to ask us what we were longing for,
Then we want to soar, yes, we would want to soar.
But we are no angels, by far,
No, we are no angels,
Having lost our stripes and stars
In the fires of many hells,
We are being neither trusted nor loved no more.
People want to see just the wings that we wore before.
Where do you belong?
Over how many roofs you flew?
In a slumber for too long -
Too long for a beast like you.
Isn't it is time to fall down,
Down where your eyes glow bright?
Drop your white robes and crown.
Beast - they don't wear white.
There are some obvious sentence structure problems with a couple of the sentences, but I will leave everything like it is now and go drink some more milk and honey and watch another round of LOTR. :)
