My friend has left for Magadan -
Hats off to him, to his ambition!
Not with a convoy in a van -
By his decision, by his decision.

It’s not because his luck ran thin,
And not in spite of someone’s will,
Not to be labeled as a nut,
But just like that, but just like that.

And maybe folks will say "No thanks!
How could he do this? How could he leave this?
They have so many prison camps,
And in them - killers, and in them - killers..."

But he will say: "Don’t fall for lies!
They’re more among the Muscovites!"
And then he’ll pack his bags and run:
To Magadan! To Magadan!

It’s not a case of if I can -
I’ve jumped off trains at night, the blackest,
But I won’t leave for Magadan,
Forgetting habits, forgoing brackets.

I’ll strum my strings and sing with glee,
Of all the things my friend will see,
The things that I have never done
In Magadan, in Magadan.

My friend is leaving on his own -
He’s done with steering, he’s done with steering.
The guards won’t beat him in the zone -
He’s volunteering, he’s volunteering.

And I’ll live up to my God’s plan,
But maybe also - Magadan?
To chase my friend I want to keep
And dive so deep! And dive so deep!