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Translation
Russian lad
A field of concrete, a forest of apartment blocks
Young men shout and scribble on leaflets
Tributes to the fallen, men stand in line,
Get into the street, there's no escape
Above a bed hangs an ominous prediction
A foreign princess has arrived and she is angry
She takes up the streets and buildings for her sleep
Her ladies-in-waiting, uninvited, toll the bells.
Imprisoned In our tin cans on wheels
By our own fathers and sons, we gobble up blackberries
Left right, left right - we march for progress
Slogans on walls defaced with five-pointed stars
Our dear neighbours, frightened of the landlord
Have betrayed us, have left their doors wide open
Now the hurricane roars all around us
Welcome, Russian lad!
My Russian lad, my Russian lad,
What a great hero you are. (x2)
Young boys' hands clutch their weapons
Hearts burst and there is no strength left
For love or understanding. There are no heroes in war
Power running loose with a hangman's noose is sad to see.
Take what you want, brother, as much as you can carry,
Force yourself under our skin and make merry with us
From the fields I hear the voices, "with you for all time
And never a step backwards", Russian lad!
My Russian lad, my Russian lad,
What a great hero you are. (x2)
Natasha, yes, the two of us, vodka and the tank
Go away, comrade, go away back east
We want a meek woman
Peace is going downhill
We're going to the Main Square
Russian lad!
My Russian lad, my Russian lad,
What a great hero you are. (x2)
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Submitted by 
FoundInTranslation on 2017-05-28
FoundInTranslation on 2017-05-28Added in reply to request by 
Lara Second
Lara Second ✕
Tomáš Klus: Top 3
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| 3. | Pocity |
Comments
Russia is waging a disgraceful war on Ukraine. Stand With Ukraine!
About translator
The song is a critical impressionistic snapshot of the reaction to the Warsaw Pact Invasion of Czechoslovakia in August 1968 with political references that only Czech speakers will understand fully. It contains plays on words between Czech and Russian some of which will, alas, be lost in translation. The refrain is written in "Czechified Russian". I've chosen to translate Narodka as Main Square. In fact it's the National Museum at one end of Wenceslas Square, which was riddled with machine-gun fire from the occupying soldiers in a pointless act of primitive vandalism.