Перевод стихотворения Орлуши на английский. Конечно, для английского или американского читателя нужна справка, но нам здесь все понятно.
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Swan Lake
They say Russia’s presidents really shit their pants
When they hear the rhythm and tap of the little swans’ dance
For they know ballerinas gliding across the screen
Is a deadly omen to them and has always been
You may be an absolute ruler and a villain too
But you know that sound and it scares the crap from you
It’s the sound of white ballet shoes treading firm
Getting closer and closer, making you sweat and squirm
After you are gone – what is left to see?
Just that damn ballet via state TV
You may die of cancer or a bullet between your eyes
There is no escape from swans dancing on your demise
Your worst nightmare makes your nights insanely long
Do you hear Ukraine singing that hated song?
You cannot escape from that sound no matter how hard your try
Intertwined arms, voices rising onto the sky.
No amount of bombing can kill this threat
Row of dancers grows longer and louder grows their tread
Every time you fire a missile into schools and farms
Longer grows the chain on intertwined arms
I foretell how useless your attempts will be
You can go to Siberia to live in the shaman’s tree
You can bow and beg before the icon on the granite floor
Dance of freedom will frighten you to your very core
For a while I saw no sense in turning the TV on
The programs there make you want to either puke or to yawn
But yesterday I turned it on and just sat silently in the chair
Hoping against hope for Swan Lake to come on the air