Ленинградское время [Leningradskoe vremya] [English translation]

Right at midnight, to the minute,

To the hour and on the dot,

Every bar will shut its business,

All cafes and drinking spots.

And restaurants will close their doors,

And only men in uniform

Will guard what’s needed.

The angry watchdogs are released

Inside the big department store,

So every scoundrel could see,

Every crooked thief and foe,

That even if he's smart and mean,

he, god forbid, would never steal

the goods of people!

The restaurant’s waiters now can slack:

They’re driving home to relax.

Inside their trunks the bags are shaking

All stuffed with edibles and snacks.

They will not smoke in lieu of food,

They did the Language Institute

Or, maybe, Acting.

And near a subway there’s a dispute:

The taverns’ heroes and pubs’ brutes.

To separate them is long due,

But no one wants to volunteer.

The policemen turned [a] blind eye

So, only ladies left to cry:

“Will you stop fighting!”

Current time in Leningrad:1

Twenty four hundred hours [x3]

Exotic lights are shinning

On a very trendy hotel.

It’s unapproachable like a castle,

like a citadel.

Its entrance’s guarded well to boot,

Just like a secret institute,

And even stricter.

Retired colonels are standing

At the glass doors on guard.

It is a time for photo sensors

To finally replace these guys.

So it will be like this: the foe comes in –

And an electric-powered fist

Hits in his kisser!

But Alice and Larísa are inside:

They’ll wait for Johnny or Gerard.

It doesn’t matter in the end,

Since both are easy to befriend.

Girls take them quietly by their hame,

And then a cab to other dame

Whose name’s Marína.

They also want the latest vogue,

The finest garments, prettiest cloaks.

They all are reaching for the sky,

They must succeed while bust is high.

And thus, the motto of these dames:

“All flags are welcome all the same”

Is pretty sinless!

Current time in Leningrad:

Twenty four hundred hours [x3]

In order for a foreign guest,

Who has a “Camel” on his lips,

To calmly sip a beer and rest,

(Indeed: an idly resting pest!)

We open up all drinking joints

And we’re exchanging goods and coins

For dollar notes!

Leningrad night has stopped dead

In a phase of the moon.

Late night shift on commute:

The cream of the crop

Is returning from work,

Subway cars are shaking wildly

The insides of the roads.

Current time in Leningrad:

Twenty four hundred hours [x3]

1. Former name of Saint Petersburg https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Petersburg

• Artist:Secret (Russia)