Today I’m a proper kings daughter
And there’s one thing I love—won’t tell!
Because today I’m taking a stroll
Onto the platform with a cigarette
On the platform are soldier boys
With stripes on their pants and they too
Are eagerly awaiting the fast train
The fast train to platform two
I shall pull on a mini-skirt
And shmooze up with a fag in my mouth
And you will never forget me
The boy screws and the girl just hangs about.
There’s no plane from Ashkhabad
No boat from anywhere
And I see our poor soldier lads
Blubbing while they still can
Soon I’ll be old, I’ll be old
And I’ll gather flowers in the wood,
I’ll say my hubby’s away on business
he’s lying on the ocean bed.
Translated by Daniel Weissbort