I’m flying again from Moscow to Odessa -
And again our plane is not allowed to go!
Now our blue-clad stewardess glides by like a princess -
Quite as reliable as the air force, you know.

Over Murmansk - there are no clouds at all
And you can fly straight to Ashgabat today.
Kishinev, Kharkov and Kiev are entirely clear of squalls
And Lvov, too - but nothing going my way.

They said to me: "Just forget it for today -
It really isn’t even worth a prayer!"
"The Odessa flights delayed" crackles out the damned PA
"The runway is now icebound", they declare.

Ice is gushing off the roofs in Leningrad
So you could head off there, you know.
In Tbilisi, I’m glad, not a warmer day’s been had!
But its Odessa where I want to go.

Hear that: Rostovites are taking off ok!
But it’s to Odessa that I need to go!
But for traffic heading that way, there’s a three days delay
So, yes, I’m stuck in Moscow, you know.

I just need to go where snow is piling high
Where tomorrow, more snow is on its way.
Of course somewhere nearby, there is sun and clear blue sky;
It’s nice but not my route today.

So we can’t leave here and were not accepted there
I’m really cheesed off. But then we hear a quiet PA:
The stewardess drones "Take care, we will soon be in the air"
As reliable as the air force, every day!

The remotest of airports have a clear runway -
In places they couldn’t pay you to go!
Even Vladivostok, they say, has opened up today
Paris, too, but that’s not my aim, you know.

We’ll be off when it clears - the ban’s lifted, but
While the plane’s vibrating and the turbines roar
I’m doing my nut - what if Odessa’s still shut
There could be as many problems as before.

I need to go where it’s blizzarding and how!
And snow is promised for another day
London, Delhi, Magadan yes, they’re open now
They’re all open, but none are on my way.

Shall I laugh or cry, were grounded once more
And she leads us from our seats and off the plane
Slim as a TU134, our stewardess like before
As reliable as the air force, again.

And on the PA - won’t be until eight they admit
And folks fall asleep anew
I’m sick and tired of it, so you know, damn it -
I’ll fly wherever they’ll take me to!