Songs

Ja-b umeret' khotel na kryl'jakh upojen'ja,
I should like to die on the wings of ecstacy,
V lenivom polusne, navejannom mechtoj,
In lethargic slumber, brought on by dreams,
Bez muk raskajan'ja, bez pytki razmyshlen'ja,
With no torments of repentence, no anguished meditation,
Bez malodushnykh sljoz proshchanija s zemlej.
No pusillanimous tears of parting with the earth.

Ja-b umeret' khotel dushistoju vesnoju,
I should like to die in the fragrant spring,
V zapushchennom sadu, v blagoukhannyj den',
In an overgrown garden, on a sweet-scented day.
Chto-b kupy temnykh lip dremali nado mnoju,
Dark linden-trees will cluster, dreamily, above me,
I kolykhalasja cvetushchaja siren'.
And the lilac blossoms will sway to and fro.

Chto-b rjadom by ruchej tainstvennym zhurchan'em
Nearby a stream will stir and trouble the wordless stillness
Nemuju tishinu trevozhil i budil,
With its mysterious babbling,
I sinij nebosklon torzhestvennym molchan'em
And the solemn silence of blue sky above
Ob rajskoj vechnosti mne vnjatno govoril...
Will impart to me the mysteries of heaven’s eternity…

Chto-b ne molilsja ja, ne plakal umiraja,
Let me neither pray nor weep as I die,
A sladko zadremal, i chtoby snilos' mne...
But rather fall into a sweet slumber, where I shall dream…
Chto ja plyvu... plyvu, i chto volna nemaja
That I am floating… floating, and that one wordless wave
Bezzvuchno otdajet menja drugoj volne...
Is soundlessly passing me to another…