Fire up the steam bath for me - I’ve forgotten what it’s like to see the light of day. The steam is suffocating, and maddening, Hot steam unties my tongue in frays. Fire up the bath house for me, m’ lady, I’ll fire myself up, until white hot, Resting on the ledge, at its very edge, I’ll extinguish my doubt. I’m going to unwind until I reach indecency A ladle of cold water - and it’s all a memory. And a tattoo from the times of cult of personality Turns bluer on my left chest, gradually. Fire up the steam bath for me - I’ve forgotten what it’s like to see the light of day. The steam is suffocating, and maddening, Hot steam unties my tongue in frays. How much faith and wood has fallen, What grief and what highways I’ve traced, And on my left chest - a profile of Stalin, On my right - Marinka full faced. Oh, here’s to my faith, incorruptible How many years I have rested in paradise! I bartered my otherworldly stupidity For a life of darkness and demise. Fire up the steam bath for me - I’ve forgotten what it’s like to see the light of day. The steam is suffocating, and maddening, Hot steam unties my tongue in frays. I remember, how in the early morning, “Help!” I managed to yell to my brother And then two handsome guards, Took me from one Siberia to another. Then, was it in the open-pit, or in the marsh, Swallowing tears and raw aches, We tattooed the profiles, close to the heart For Him to hear, how the heart breaks. Fire up the steam bath for me - I’ve forgotten what it’s like to see the light of day. The steam is suffocating, and maddening, Hot steam unties my tongue in frays. The chronicles of the story chills, The steam drove all thoughts out of my mind. From the fog of cold past ills I immerse myself in the smoldering haze. These thoughts entered through the crown, Turns out, for nothing they branded me, With birch switches I beat it down The legacy of our times, ever so gravely. Fire up the steam bath for me - I’ve forgotten what it’s like to see the light of day. The steam is suffocating, and maddening, Hot steam unties my tongue in frays.
© Lisa Min. Translation, ?