This song is probably instantly familiar to almost any Russian under a certain age. It’s written by Viktor Tsoi, the frontman of the legendary 80’s Russian rock band Kino. Over the last week that I’ve been working on this song, it occurred to me how well Tsoi painted with words and music. His music always takes me places and puts pictures in my head.

I’m dedicating this one to the man who first introduced me to Kino way back when we were roommates in college and I was just starting to study Russian: my dear friend Yuriy. Thanks for turning me on, man. Tsoi zhiv!

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A Star Known as the Sun
(translation by Anastassia and me, via www.lavalingua.com)
White snow, gray ice…
A city, bound by roads,
Covers the cracked ground like a quilt.
Clouds float overhead,
Muting the heavenly light,
And a yellow fog rises from the city
Which, for two thousand years,
Has lived under the light of a star known as the sun

Two thousand years of war,
War without cause or reason,
War is the business of the young,
War is a cure for old age.
Blood, red red blood,
In but an hour only the earth remains,
In two, the land is covered with grass and flowers,
And in three, it’s alive once more,
Warmed by the rays of a star known as the sun

And we know that it’s always been this way:
That fate favors he who follows other laws,
And is destined to die young.
He knows not the words yes or no,
He remembers neither title nor name,
But he can reach the stars,
Believing that it’s not a dream,
And fall, burnt by a star known as the sun.