Near the Pakistani or maybe Turkish border, There’s a demarcation line, and further to the right, Our side’s border guards await the captain’s orders, In the bushes to the left - Turkish posts in sight. And all along the demarcation line The stunning flowers bloom so fine! Said the captain’s fiancåe: "Time to live together." She arrived and asked at once: "Darling, this and that..." One’s supposed to give the bride a bouquet, however. What’s a wedding without one? Drinking, for a fact! And all along the demarcation line The stunning flowers bloom so fine! And to their commander, as if under summons, His beloved came as well - what a twist of fate. And she too tells "Darling", only not in Russian, "We will have our wedding now, a wedding - no debates!" And all along the demarcation line The stunning flowers bloom so fine! All our border guards are courageous fellows - Three decided they would go, and the cap’n with them. How could they have known that the exact same evening, From across the border came the flower-seeking men? And all along the demarcation line The stunning flowers bloom so fine! Drunk with scents, the captain stands, where wild flowers flourish, And their captain wobble too, dead drunk with the scent. He went down in flower beds, groaning words in Turkish; With a Russian "Mother..." groan, down our captain went. And all along the demarcation line The stunning flowers bloom so fine! Our captain is sleeping and dreaming That the border is open like the Kremlin of late He does not care a whit of the borders deceiving, He just wanted to stroll down the no-man’s land. So, who’s making the call? Why can’t he take a stroll? It’s no-man’s land after all! And all along the demarcation line The stunning flowers bloom so fine!
© Kirill Tolmachev. Translation, 2023