I thought this was very well done: the lyrics work well with the generally understated sound and the intimate visuals. The artists are using the song to raise funds for Ukraine (via the Ukraine government’s United24), at CollaborateForPeace.com, but for reasons that elude me they don’t seem to have an English translation of the lyrics there. With my mother Anne Volokh’s help, I’ve put together the following, though of course I’d be glad to link instead to an authorized translation should one be made available.
Note that Grebenshchikov, who lives in England, has been protesting the war since at least March 2; for his performance of Vertinsky’s anti-war “That Which I Must Say,” regrettably a perennial, see here. Stewart and Grebenshchikov have apparently known each other for over 30 years; Stewart produced a 1989 album of Grebenshchikov’s band Aquarium, which Wikipedia says was “the first contract of a Russian (then, Soviet) rock musician with a Western label.” (Stewart and Nicks also apparently go way back.)
Babkin was the cofounder of 5’Nizza (apparently pronounced as the Russian word “Friday”), a band that was prominent both in Russia and Ukraine; for another of his war-related songs, with an interesting pre-war backstory, see here.
In any event, here are the lyrics:
[Dave Stewart, with vocals by Stevie Nicks, in English]
I’ll say goodbye to you, Mother
I hope one day that I’ll come back home
Father please don’t watch me go
‘Cause I’m old enough to know
I’ll walk along the street I love
The street we played in as friends before
This time it seems the street’s not the same
As we make our way to war[Boris Grebenshchikov, in Russian]
From January to the first leaves
To stride is like to sing
But the one whose heart is dead pulled the trigger
And instead of Spring came death
The day will arrive, and the war will become a dream
And in the sky the light will return
But it is just where my home once was
It’s no longer there[Serhii Babkin, in Ukrainian]
Closed eyes bring back the azure of the sky
The quiet is like memory of the soul’s fragile opposition
Finally that morning will arrive
The lives will awaken together in the same moment
And someone will whisper, let’s go home quicklyHearts soaked to their core fall into the bottomless Dnieper
The memory will be gradually dying, absorbing the warmth of the sun
The outstretched arms of the faces will revive the broken glass
And it will be impossible not to hear this victory cry:[Chorus, with Stevie Nicks]
Face to face [repeated]The distance drops its weapons and falls on its back
The world will no longer be how it was before
The water will again retreat and will leave behind just a pile of trifles
And even all the dead will gain new life
The post "Face to Face": Dave Stewart's, Boris Grebenshchikov's, Serhii Babkin's, and Stevie Nicks's Ukraine War Song appeared first on Reason.com.
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