Whenever the evil years come That reek of the people's despair - Then, in that midnight hour, Quiet, unassuming, An old man comes out of the woods Then you look, and he's not old at all; On the contrary, he's rather young - The handsome Dubrovsky. Wake up, my Kostroma! Don't sleep, Saratov and Tver! Our despair won't last for a century, Nor will our cries for bread… Dubrovsky climbs into a plane; Dubrovsky soars high overhead; He flies over this sinful land, And writes upon the sky - Don't cry, Masha, I'm here; Don't cry, the sun will rise again; Don't hide from the eyes of God, Or how will he find us? The celestial temple of Jerusalem Burns on through the cold and the ice; It's right here, it stands all around us… And waits for us, and waits for us. He tossed off his shield and his sword, Threw his revolver into a ditch; He realized revenge would be no one's, And he joyfully breathes in the air… In the Motherland's darkest hour, His plane flies up high overhead, Beautiful - like an iconostasis, It's writing, it's writing - Don't cry, Masha, I'm here; Don't cry, the sun will rise again; Don't hide from the eyes of God, Or how will he find us? The celestial temple of Jerusalem Burns on through the cold and the ice; It's right here, it stands all around us… And waits for us, and waits for us.
I absolutely love this song, and -- from a translation standpoint -- the free verse makes it a lot easier to work with po anglijski. Any improvements or suggestions would be mucho appreciated ...