Баллада о времени [Ballada o vremeni] [English translation]

The castle is hidden, enveloped, and covered by time

Into a gentle quilt of green shoots,

But the silent granite will loosen its tongue

And the cold past will speak

Of quests, battles, and victories.

Time hasn't erased these feats;

One needs only to remove its top layer

Or grab it firmly by the throat

And all its secrets will be revealed.

One hundred locks will fall, and one hundred chains will drop,

And a pile of centuries will be free of a hundred hardships,

And the legends of a hundred poems will flow

About tournaments, sieges, and free archers!

Prepare your ear for familiar melodies

And cast about an all-knowing eye,

For love will always remain love

Even in your faraway future.

Steel rang under the onslaught of swords,

Taut bowstrings gave off smoke,

Death sat on spear tips, growling,

Enemies fell into the dirt, begging for mercy,

Surrendering to the grace of the victors.

But not everyone who remained alive

Kept their hearts in kindness,

Saving their good name

From a scoundrel's obvious lies.

It's good when your horse chomps at the bit,

And your hand rests comfortably on your spear,

It's good when you see from whence the arrow flies,

And worse, when it comes from the side to stab you in the back!

How do they deal with scum where you're from? Do they beat them? Good riddance.

Do the witches frighten you with their Sabbath?

But still, isn't evil called evil

Even there, in your good future?

Unto ages of ages and through all time,

Cowards and traitors are always despised,

An enemy is an enemy and war is still a war,

And the dungeon is cramped, and there's only one freedom

Into which we always place our hope.

Time hasn't erased these values,

One only needs to remove its top layer,

And with steaming blood from its throat

Eternal feelings will flow at us.

Now and forever and unto ages of ages, old fellow,

A price is a price and guilt is guilt,

And it's always good when your honor is saved,

When a trusted friend is at your back!

Innocence and simplicity we take from the ancients,

Sagas and fairy tales we borrow from the past,

Because good will always remain good

In the past, the future, and the present!

• Artist:Vladimir Vysotsky