kineret
12-21-2005, 01:01 PM
military related songs, (in any language)
this one is one of my favorites, its by Vladimir Vissotski, a famous russian poet/singer. Its called "A Soldier's Song", about a guy who comes home from the front from battle, and finds his wife and his house abandoned him. Very sad and powerful song.
----------------------------------------
Я полмира почти через злые бои
Прошагал и прополз с батальоном,
А обратно меня за заслуги мои
С санитарным везли эшелоном.
Подвезли на родимый порог,-
На полуторке к самому дому.
Я стоял - и немел, а над крышей дымок
Поднимался не так - по-другому.
Окна словно боялись в глаза мне взглянуть.
И хозяйка не рада солдату -
Не припала в слезах на могучую грудь,
А руками всплеснула - и в хату.
И залаяли псы на цепях.
Я шагнул в полутемные сени,
За чужое за что-то запнулся в сенях,
Дверь рванул - подкосились колени.
Там сидел за столом, да на месте моем,
Неприветливый новый хозяин.
И фуфайка на нем, и хозяйка при нем,-
Потому я и псами облаян.
Это значит, пока под огнем
Я спешил, ни минуты не весел,
Он все вещи в дому переставил моем
И по-своему все перевесил.
Мы ходили под богом, под богом войны,
Артиллерия нас накрывала,
Но смертельная рана нашла со спины
И изменою в сердце застряла.
Я себя в пояснице согнул,
Силу воли позвал на подмогу:
"Извините, товарищи, что завернул
По ошибке к чужому порогу".
Дескать, мир да любовь вам, да хлеба на стол,
Чтоб согласье по дому ходило...
Ну, а он даже ухом в ответ не повел,
Вроде так и положено было.
Зашатался некрашенный пол,
Я не хлопнул дверьми, как когда-то,-
Только окна раскрылись, когда я ушел,
И взглянули мне вслед виновато.
rough translation
---------------------------
Through many a battle and half the world
With my battalion I trudged and crawled.
They sent me home for my services
In a slow medevac convoy
In a truck they delivered me to the door
To my house, right on the threshold.
As I stared and didnt realize what I saw
The smoke in the chimney didn't seem right
The windows were bent on avoiding my eye,
And the lady inside didn't greet me,
Didn't throw herself onto my breast with a cry,
But instead wailing loudly, threw her hands to the sky
And the dogs started barking and tugging the chain
As I passed into the homely shadows,
And I stumbled on something that wasn't even mine,
Felt the door, and went weak in the knees.
There sat at the table, where I used to sit,
The new man of the house, looking grim
With his shirt and his woman about him
And that's why the dogs are barking.
Under fire, I hurried back home
Under fire, denied all mercy and wisdom,
He moved things around my house in his way,
And changed them around as it pleased him.
While we prayed to God before every attack
That his covering fire might not fail...
But this deadlier blow was struck from the back,
And it stuck in the heart like betrayal.
I doubled up, painfully stabbed in the heart
Summoned all of my will and resort:
"Pardon me, citizens, I have made a mistake,
Wrong house number it seems, wrong court"
"What I meant was: May you have peace
In your house, and bread in your oven..."
As for him, well, he didn't even look up,
As though what had happened was normal.
The floorboards swayed as though bereft,
But I didn't slam the door as I did in the past
Only the windows opened as soon as I left,
And gave me a guilty look from a distance.
its sounds much better in Russian though, obviously
this one is one of my favorites, its by Vladimir Vissotski, a famous russian poet/singer. Its called "A Soldier's Song", about a guy who comes home from the front from battle, and finds his wife and his house abandoned him. Very sad and powerful song.
----------------------------------------
Я полмира почти через злые бои
Прошагал и прополз с батальоном,
А обратно меня за заслуги мои
С санитарным везли эшелоном.
Подвезли на родимый порог,-
На полуторке к самому дому.
Я стоял - и немел, а над крышей дымок
Поднимался не так - по-другому.
Окна словно боялись в глаза мне взглянуть.
И хозяйка не рада солдату -
Не припала в слезах на могучую грудь,
А руками всплеснула - и в хату.
И залаяли псы на цепях.
Я шагнул в полутемные сени,
За чужое за что-то запнулся в сенях,
Дверь рванул - подкосились колени.
Там сидел за столом, да на месте моем,
Неприветливый новый хозяин.
И фуфайка на нем, и хозяйка при нем,-
Потому я и псами облаян.
Это значит, пока под огнем
Я спешил, ни минуты не весел,
Он все вещи в дому переставил моем
И по-своему все перевесил.
Мы ходили под богом, под богом войны,
Артиллерия нас накрывала,
Но смертельная рана нашла со спины
И изменою в сердце застряла.
Я себя в пояснице согнул,
Силу воли позвал на подмогу:
"Извините, товарищи, что завернул
По ошибке к чужому порогу".
Дескать, мир да любовь вам, да хлеба на стол,
Чтоб согласье по дому ходило...
Ну, а он даже ухом в ответ не повел,
Вроде так и положено было.
Зашатался некрашенный пол,
Я не хлопнул дверьми, как когда-то,-
Только окна раскрылись, когда я ушел,
И взглянули мне вслед виновато.
rough translation
---------------------------
Through many a battle and half the world
With my battalion I trudged and crawled.
They sent me home for my services
In a slow medevac convoy
In a truck they delivered me to the door
To my house, right on the threshold.
As I stared and didnt realize what I saw
The smoke in the chimney didn't seem right
The windows were bent on avoiding my eye,
And the lady inside didn't greet me,
Didn't throw herself onto my breast with a cry,
But instead wailing loudly, threw her hands to the sky
And the dogs started barking and tugging the chain
As I passed into the homely shadows,
And I stumbled on something that wasn't even mine,
Felt the door, and went weak in the knees.
There sat at the table, where I used to sit,
The new man of the house, looking grim
With his shirt and his woman about him
And that's why the dogs are barking.
Under fire, I hurried back home
Under fire, denied all mercy and wisdom,
He moved things around my house in his way,
And changed them around as it pleased him.
While we prayed to God before every attack
That his covering fire might not fail...
But this deadlier blow was struck from the back,
And it stuck in the heart like betrayal.
I doubled up, painfully stabbed in the heart
Summoned all of my will and resort:
"Pardon me, citizens, I have made a mistake,
Wrong house number it seems, wrong court"
"What I meant was: May you have peace
In your house, and bread in your oven..."
As for him, well, he didn't even look up,
As though what had happened was normal.
The floorboards swayed as though bereft,
But I didn't slam the door as I did in the past
Only the windows opened as soon as I left,
And gave me a guilty look from a distance.
its sounds much better in Russian though, obviously