I have a drinking bout out of loneliness -
In the night I hear a voice...
Listen, it suddenly called me by my middle name,
. . .

The Devil squirmed his ugly face and winked,
And I ever-so-quietly said to him:

"Man, I must have drunk too much cognac!
And you too are probably liquored up...
Listen, my devil-devlish-devly-demon friend
Sit with me - I would be so glad...

Is it possibly (to hell with it) that you are a coward?!
Get off my shoulder, I will cross myself!"

The Devil said he was acquainted with Borisov -
This is our drunken landlord.
The Devil stuffed his cheeks full of bread,
He had no aversion to the bottle.

The cognac was emptied (it wasn’t a whole lot).
We’ll go pick up some more down the street.

I was tired, so my devil went off on his own...
I wake up and he returned - I fear that
He either came to me in a dream
Or else, I really was seeing him.

The Devil cursed and swore, then
Climbed on my back and wagged his tail.

I smiled at him until my sides hurt
And asked: "So what’s Hades really like,
What’s it like for our alcoholics -
They say that they fry in liquor?"

The devil swore again and said:
"Even in hell, the wrong comrade runs the show!"

...It was all over, light crept in my room,
Me and the devil wanted some hair of the dog,
But the devil dissolved as if in a whirlpool...
I will wait for him until he comes back...

I won’t be so crazy then,
It’s better with the devil than all by yourself.