If only there were vodka for one - Is that too much to ask for? But it’s always to smoke is for two, but it’s always to drink is for three, so what’s left just for one? Well, for one, there’s the crib and the casket. We all sang from dawn to dawn in our courtyard, chattered of the time when all are gone, all are gone and scattered: in the end, every friend, for years and years on end. It is said that a wife is for one, that’s a very old habit. But it happens - a wife is for two, but it happens that she is for three. So what’s left there for one? Well, for one, there’s the crib and the casket. We all sang from dawn to dawn in our courtyard, chattered of the time when all are gone, all are gone and scattered: in the end, every friend, for years and years on end. So many pals living close by today, so many pals in attendance! So many felons are singing my lays, so many will serve their sentence: in the end, every friend, for years and years on end.
© Kirill Tolmachev. Translation, 2024