Are you looking for an English translation of the song "Життя починаеться знов - Zhyttya pochynaetʹsya znov" by Okean Elzy? Here it is! :)
 |
| © Okean of Emotions / AleXa - 2015 |
Life begins anew
Життя починаеться знов
From dawn, you're starting my day:
I see you in this pouring summer rain…
At breakfast time, you're my orange juice:
On the photo, you appear to me under a bright and shining veil…
At dinner, outside my window, you soar
In this breath of air that tastes like Spring…
A revival, again!
In this anonymous café, I understand this dark hair
As one of your "Good night"…
And the last sentence of this film
Has left a disconcerting mark on my soul...
No, you won't let someone else take your place:
You're in my life… And to stay here,
You're your best weapon, your most powerful argument!
Chorus
Out there somewhere in an ocean of chaos
Out there somewhere in my greatest dream
Out there somewhere where love reigns supreme
I can feel the melody that my heart is singing…
When you're by my side
Life begins anew,
Begins anew…
Over there, on the radio, I'm listening to the frightening calm
Of your words that seem so dear and familiar to me…
But here, what looks like a distant laugh
Leads me to madness... And at every moment,
I discern signs of Destiny,
Again and again...
From dawn, you're starting my day:
I see you in this pouring summer rain…
At breakfast time, you're my orange juice:
On the photo, you appear to me under a bright and shining veil…
At dinner, outside my window, you soar
In this breath of air that tastes like Spring…
A revival, again!
In this anonymous café, I understand this dark hair
As one of your "Good night"…
And the last sentence of this film
Has left a disconcerting mark on my soul...
No, you won't let someone else take your place:
You're in my life… And to stay here,
You're your best weapon, your most powerful argument!
Chorus
Out there somewhere in an ocean of chaos
Out there somewhere in my greatest dream
Out there somewhere where love reigns supreme
I can feel the melody that my heart is singing…
When you're by my side
Life begins anew,
Begins anew…
Over there, on the radio, I'm listening to the frightening calm
Of your words that seem so dear and familiar to me…
But here, what looks like a distant laugh
Leads me to madness... And at every moment,
I discern signs of Destiny,
Again and again...
Chorus
Життя починаеться знов (Zhyttya pochynaetʹsya znov) - © 2015
Any comment on how to improve this poetic translation is welcome!
For French translation, click here
I'm afraid that this translation doesn't sound English at all... even if understood in a poetic way! :)) Sorry... I did my best. :)
According to me, translating such very deep lyrics into a language that is not your mother tongue is probably one of the greatest challenges for a human brain! :) And I have to say that I was reluctant to post these words here... but I know that most of you are looking for English translations of Okean Elzy songs. So... I hope this will help you to understand a bit of what is said here. :) And, frankly speaking, it can't be worse than all these very poor translations that can be found on the Web! :))
Yes, I would have a lot to say about these English/French translations... :( 90% of them are the result of a copy/paste in Google Translator! How the hell is it possible to do that with Vakarchuk's texts?!! This drives me mad...
I'm afraid that those who are doing this do not understand at all the original text (there are always a lot to understand/feel in Vakarchuk's words!) and, for sure, they do not master English or French language... It's not a shame! ... but... what's the use of doing this as anybody can use Google Translator?!... I don't understand!
Well, my translation is probably poor (sorry, Svyatoslav!)... but it is a poetic one and it's the results of a "human algorithm"! Google Translator is an interesting tool but it's very bad at translating emotions... :) Thanks for your understanding.
 |
| To translate a song or a poem, you must use your right and left brain! |
You may think that the 2nd verse of this song is unclear... But if you analyze the text, you'll find some clues in it: In fact, these words are those of a soldier at the front. He thinks about his beloved. She is always in his mind... but far from his relatives, what's on the radio sounds ridiculous to him: how can civilians live the way they ever did - as if nothing were wrong?! ("the frightening calm of your words that seem so dear and familiar to me") And "what looks like a distant laugh" is, according to me, nothing more than shrapnel...
But we should never despair: when the soldier will return to civilian life, his life will begin... anew!
 |
| © Okean of Emotions / AleXa - 2015 |
A strong text about pain, love & hope. Here, the message could be: "Whatever the difficulties we face, we must keep in mind that brighter days are ahead."
Thanks again for these wonderful words, Svyatoslav!
More information about this song/video can be found here.
Pictures taken during the video shooting are available here.
