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Juz Aleškovskij / Юз Алешковский
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Versione francese interpretata da Yves Montand
THE CIGARETTE BUTT

From the white hell of Kolyma
We were walking to the Zone in the freezing smoke,
I noticed a cigarette butt with red lipstick
And rushed out of the column to it.

"Stop or I'll shoot!" exclaimed the guard
A nasty dog ripped my thick coat
Dear little guards, calm yourselves --
I'm already coming back.

I haven't seen any birds for four years,
But at last I've had some luck
Oh little butt, maybe from a Tu-104
A wild wind swept you down to me.

Both Kapalin who'd strangled his wife
And an active homosexual
Were sighing every step back to the zone
They didn't take their eyes of the cigarette butt.

Who are you carrying on with, bitch?
Who are you sharing a fag with?
You're couldn´t even get a ticket on the piss at Vnukovo
Even to fly over my head.

In your honour I fired round some booze,
And treated everyone to French cognac
But I felt drunk from how you had smoked
"Number 3" with a gold rim at the end.

I lost that butt at cards, I did,
Although it was dearer than a thousand roubles
Even here I just can't get any luck
Cos of hankering after the queen of hearts.

I lost my stash and my goods,
Sugar for two years ahead.
So I'm sitting on the bunks, hugging my knees,
As I've got nothing to go to the line-up in.

I went down for that cigarette butt
Cursing no-one, blaming no-one
The influential senior camp cons
Respected my panache.

I went to the hole with bare feet,
Calm and quiet Like Christ,
Ten days I painted with bloody lips
The ends of my rollups.

Scoundrel, on the outside you spent
A million on glittering ladies
Well yes -- I say -- Mr Overseer
But there's just no need -- I say -- Mr Overseer
To slap me round the chops
LE MÉGOT

A Kolyma, à Kolyma qui est un enfer blanc
Tout près du camp, un jour de brouillard
J'ai vu un mégot avec du rouge à lèvres
Et j'ai couru pour le ramasser

Quatre ans ici, sans voir une femme
Et puis enfin un coup d' chance
Ce mégot peut-être tombé d'un avion
Et que le vent sauvage m'a apporté

Je pense à toi, avec qui fais-tu l'amour ?
Avec qui partages-tu ta cigarette ?
Je sais bien que toi, tu ne prends pas l'avion
Pour voler par-dessus ma tête

Ce mégot-là, tous me l'enviaient
L'assassin comme le pédéraste
Même les droit-commun, les aristos du camp
En avaient pour moi du respect

Ce mégot-là, je l'ai perdu aux cartes
Il valait pourtant mille roubles
Mais, là aussi, la chance ne m'a pas aidé
Je pensais à ma dame de trèfle

J'ai tout perdu de ce que j'avais
Ma ration de sucre pour deux ans
Et je reste là, les mains sur les genoux
Et pour travailler, rien sur le dos

Rappelle-toi, salaud, comme tu claquais l'argent
Pour les femmes aux lèvres rouges
Fallait-il pour ça, camarade gardien,
Taper si fort de votre poing ?

Alors, ils m'ont conduit au cachot
Les pieds nus comme Jésus-Christ
Et pendant dix jours, de mes lèvres en sang
J'ai fardé de rouge mes mégots


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