by Kino
“Kukushka” (“Cuckoo”) is a song by the Soviet rock band Kino, written and sung by Viktor Tsoi. It appeared on the band's last album, known as the Black Album, which came out after Tsoi died in a car crash in August 1990. In our translation the singer asks a cuckoo how many songs are still unwritten, echoing the folk belief that a cuckoo's calls tell how long a listener will live. He wonders whether to live in the city or on the outskirts, to lie like a stone or burn like a star. Later verses remember the strong and the brave who laid down their heads in battle, and ask where free will has gone. In the chorus his palm turns into a fist, and he asks for fire if there is gunpowder. In 2015 Polina Gagarina's new version became the official song of the film Battle for Sevastopol.
Koinei's own English translation. The original Russian lyrics are not shown on this page: open the reader to follow them word by word with the audio.
Of songs still unwritten, how many are there?
Tell me, cuckoo, sing
Should I live in the city or in the outskirts,
To lie as a stone or to burn like a star?
Like a star
Sun of mine, look at me
My palm turned into a fist
If there's gunpowder, give me fire
That’s how it is
Who will go the lonely path?
The strong and the brave have laid down their heads on the battlefield
Few now are left in clear memory,
In sober mind and with a steady hand in the ranks
In the ranks
(repeat the 4 lines from “Sun of mine, look at me”)
Where are you now, free will?
With whom do you now greet the gentle dawn?
Answer me
It's good with you, and bad without you
A head and shoulders, patient.
Under the whip
(repeat the 4 lines from “Sun of mine, look at me” x2)
| Word | Say it | Meaning | Type | In the song |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ненаписанный | nenapisanny | unwritten | participle | ненаписанных: genitive, past, passive |
| кукушка | kukushka | cuckoo | noun | кукушка: nominative, singular, feminine |
| солнце | solntse | sun | noun | солнце: nominative, singular, neuter |
| взглянуть | vzglyanut | to look | verb | взгляни: imperative, singular, perfective; here “look” |
| ладонь | ladon | palm | noun | ладонь: nominative, singular, feminine |
| превратиться | prevratitsya | to turn into | verb | превратилась: past, feminine, reflexive; here “turned” |
| кулак | kulak | fist | noun | кулак: accusative, singular, masculine |
| порох | porokh | powder | noun | порох: nominative, singular, masculine |
| дать | dat | to give | verb | дай: singular, perfective; here “give” |
| огонь | ogon | fire | noun | огня: genitive, singular, masculine |
| встречать | vstrechat | to meet | verb | встречаешь: present, 2nd person, imperfective; here “meet” |
| терпеливый | terpelivy | patient | adjective | терпеливые: accusative, plural |
«гореть звёздой» (goret zvyozdoy) “to burn like a star”
Звёздой is the instrumental of звезда (star), and камнем in the line before is the instrumental of камень (stone). Russian often uses the bare instrumental, with no preposition, to say in what way or in what role something happens: “to lie as a stone”, “to burn like a star”. The same case follows стать (to become) and the past of быть (to be): он был студентом, “he was a student”.
«превратилась в кулак» (prevratilas v kulak) “turned into a fist”
Превратиться в means “to turn into” and takes the accusative. Кулак (fist) looks like its dictionary form because masculine nouns for things have the same accusative and nominative. The verb ends in -ась because its subject, the word for “palm”, is feminine: past-tense verbs agree with their subject in gender, and the reflexive ending -ся shortens to -сь after a vowel.
«дай огня» (day ognya) “give me fire”
Огня is the genitive of огонь (fire); the о of огонь drops out in the other forms. After дать (to give) and other verbs of giving and taking, Russian often uses the genitive for an unspecified amount, the way English says “some fire” or “a light”. Дай is the imperative of the perfective дать. The same pattern gives налей воды, “pour some water”.
«с тобой» (s toboy) “with you”
С (with) takes the instrumental case, so ты (you) becomes тобой. Its opposite, без (without), takes the genitive, which gives тебя in the next line. Learning each preposition together with its case is the quickest way to get pronoun forms right: для тебя (for you) also takes the genitive, and ко мне (to me) takes the dative.
Translation, word notes and commentary by Koinei. Rights holders: see Copyright and takedown requests.