Songs

Kvartirant sidit na chemodane
The tenant sits on a suitcase,
I zadumchivo rassmatrivayet pol:
Pensively scrutinising the floor:
Te zhe stulya, i krovat, i stol,
The same old chairs, and bed, and table,
I takaya zhe obivka na divane,
The same old upholstery on the sofa,
I takoi zhe “bigus” na obed, –
The same old stew for supper, –
No na vsyom kakoi-toi novyi svet…
Yet somehow everything seems so new…

Bleshchut ikry polnoi prachki Fyokly.
Before him flash the calves of comely Fyokla, the laundrymaid,
Peregnulsya silnyi stan vo dvor.
As her full figure leans out of the window into the courtyard.
Kak nestroinyi, shalovlivyi khor,
Like some playful, out-of-tune choir,
Bereshchat namylennye styokla,
The soapy windows squeak,
I zaplaty golybykh nebes
And beyond, patches of blue sky
Obeshchayut tyshachi chudes.
Promise thousands of miracles.

Kvartirant sidit na chemodane.
The tenant sits on the suitcase.
Styokla vymyty, opyat toska i tish.
The windows have been polished. Silence and melancholy descend again.
Fyokla, Fyolka, shto zh ty molchish?
Fyokla, Fyokla, why are you so quiet?
Bud khot ty reshitelnoi i yarkoi:
Go on, be brave and brash:
Podoidi, vozmi yevo za chub
Go up to him and grab him by the forelock
I ozhgi ognyom vesennykh gub…Ukh! Aha!!
And set him aflame with the fire of your springtime kisses… Aha!!

Kvartirant i Fyokla na divane.
The tenant and Fyokla are on the sofa,
O, kakoi torzhestvennyi moment!
Oh, what a solemn moment!
“Ty – narod, a ya – intelligent” –
“You’re a prole and I’m an intellectual,”
Govorit on yei sredi lobzanii, –
He tells her between kisses.
Nakonets-to, zdes, vdvoyom,
“At long last, we’re here together,
“Ya tebya, a ty menya – poimyom!”
We’ll understand each other!”