Former Cossack Elite, Translation Of The Song By Igor Talkov Poem by Victor Sklyarov

Former Cossack elite
Had been leaving for war
With the curses of dad
And the silence of brother
He responded: “I’d rather…
But you won’t admit…”
Hugged his wife just a bit
And then added: “I’d rather…”

And he mounted the horse
Galloped half of a mile
But hold back at the side
Of the river backwater
And he threw his awards
And his last shoulder boards
Like the ties with past
And they sank to the bottom

Wind appeared from nowhere
Wrinkled face of the water,
And the leaves whispered: no
Nature grew circumspected
And the Cossack heard flow
Saying: ”How can you go
To fight men of your own
For the people’s state goal! ”

Cossack jolted his head
And the prayer he read
And he put spurs to horse
To pore out his annoyance
And the horse jerked ahead
Like a devil it ran
To escape the cursed place,
Where awards sank to bottom.

He was carried about
With a wind through his land
Where the woods and the fields
Became champ of the battle
Former Cossack elite
Had succeeded in riot
And at very war end
He was leading an army.

But nature is so quaint
And the eye of the Lord
Sees mistakes we afford
Treading our thorny road
And last hour comes
On our own accord
At the end of our rope
We recall the God’s code!

Former Cossack elite
Now having no army
He recalled curse of dad
And the Voice he cut dead
And the breechblock had clicked
And by the nine grams of lead
Sinful soul was released
To be met at Last Judgment

And the river has kept
The awards in its depth
And his last shoulder boards
They shall forever remain
Till the end of the time,
Till we hear last trump,
The most inseparable domain
Of the river called Don

Till the end of the time,
Till we hear last trump,
The most inseparable domain
Of the river called Don