If vodka could only be purchased for one How convenient this would be. But to have a good smoke you always need two And for vodka a threesome is always a must... And what is for one all alone? Just a cradle and grave, I suppose... From morning till next day, in times gone by Our songs were always so gay and so loud... But now all our friends and neighbors Have disappeared forever, there is not a sound... They are scattered all over, it appears, One here, one there, for many, many years... They say that a wife is meant only for one, This has been the age-old custom, you see; But it happens that a wife also has two, And it happens, a wife can have a threesome as well... And what is for one all alone? Just a cradle and grave, I suppose... From morning till next day, in times gone by Our songs were always so gay and so loud But now all our friends and neighbors Have disappeared forever, there is not a sound. They are scattered all over, it appears, One here, one there, for many, many years... How many guys are living in our house? How many are next door today? How many bums are singing my songs? How many will be taken away? Forever one there - one here, For many and many a year...
© Misha Allen. Translation, 1971