Sometimes we all can be happy and morose. Hut if we must choose, and the choice is difficult, We all just choose the wooden costumes, People, people, people. For long we will be offered not to lose, "Oh," some will say, "You haven’t yet begun to live. You only have to begin to five now." And then the offering: either-either... Either beaches, exhibitions, or even Boats or ships, their holds are full by now, Carriages, horse races, evening parties, journeys... Or just simply those "wooden costumes." And they’ll be happy, morose, and very lonely, They’ll play the roles of evil jokers and kind judges, Hut we’ll be offered the "wooden costumes" By the people, people, people. We can also be offered to have a smoke Some will say, "You haven’t smoked for long. You haven’t even begun to live yet..." And then the offering: either-either... The smoke of cigarettes is telling us something, Just one protraction is happier than the thought. Oh, how we want to smoke, oh, how we want to smoke! But first we must choose the "wooden costumes." And they’ll be polite and nice to all of us - They’ll offer us a happy life on a plate, But we will refuse... And they hit violently. People, people, people.
© Nathan Mer. Translation, 1991