Песня о Волге [Pesnya o Volge] [English translation]

On Volga-mother, river-breadwinner

There are ships with goods, strugs (type of ship) and shallops

And it )river) didnt overstrain and is not tiered.

The burden is not heavy - ships are own (russian, not foreign)

Swiming on the ship down Volga,

I pass thresholds

I look right:

Riverside is flat.

There reed moves

And across breaks

Right riverside is flat

Left riverside is high-pitched

Volga heard songs harder then "Dubinushka" (folk song about war, probably the author means what Volga saw many wars)

All water is beaten with bullets of enemies

And water was with our blood

It was like red foam near riversides

Long time to fresh water

Cryed

High-pitched riversides,

And flat riversides

Cryed. It (riversides) is trampled

With acute horseshoes.

But now hard wounds are

slicked with waves.

What is happened, old citys

With antique walls and kremlins on hills?

Fairy-tale heroes woke up

And with big crowd

Are up from the ground.

Moving with big hands (probably the author means paddles)

Ships try,

Pull barges from the Caspian

Pull and overstrain,

Pull and dont look back.

And for many miles

There are high-pitched

And flat riversides

• Artist:Vladimir Vysotsky