He didn’t turn out so well, -
Had no titles, was no giant, either, Not for fame or pay,
In his own, strange manner,
He walked above the platform through life -
On a tightrope, on a tightrope,
Strained, like a nerve.

Look at him -
he walks without support.
A tilt to the right -
he will fall, he will perish!

A tilt to the left - still, nothing can save him...
But it seems that he really needs to
walk all four quarters of the way.

 
 
 
 
 
 

 
 
 
 

 
 
 

And the rays knocked his step down,
And stabbed, like laurels.
The trumpet went out of it’s way - As if there were two of them
The shouts "Bravo" deafened him,
And the kettledrums, the kettledrums -
Oh, did they ever thunder!

Look at him -
he walks without support.
A tilt to the right -
he will fall, he will perish!

A tilt to the left - still, nothing can save him...
But now there is less to walk -
three quarters of the way.

"Oh, how awful, how brave, how darling!
Battle with the death - in three minutes!" -
Their mouths agape in anticipation,
Looked down from the parterre somberly -
Lilliputians, Lilliputians -
They seemed to him from the top.

Look at him -
he walks without support.
A tilt to the right -
he will fall, he will perish!

A tilt to the left - still, nothing can save him...
But stay calm, all he has left
are two quarters of the way.

He laughed at the fleeting fame,
But wanted to be the first -
Dare to wreck someone like that!
Not on the wire above the arena -
On the nerves - on our nerves -
He walked under the drum beat!

Look at him -
he walks without support.
A tilt to the right -
he will fall, he will perish!

A tilt to the left - still, nothing can save him...
But stand still, - all he has left
is no more than a quarter of the way.

The animal trainer cried out and the animals -
Laid their paws on the stretcher...
But the verdict is simple and strict:
No matter if he was lost or confident -
But into the sawdust, into the sawdust
He spilled his anger and blood!

And today another one
walks without support.
A thin cord under foot
he will fall, he will perish!

A tilt to the right, to the left - and nothing can save him...
But for some reason he also needs to walk
All four quarters of the way!