igenlode | The Little Cabin Boy (Reply)

As I wrote the last time I was foolish enough to do this, "I have, provisionally at least, *finished* my song translation... and have no intention of doing any more for the foreseeable future" :-D

This one is a rather different kettle of fish, because it's a narrative ballad where the main focus is on the story and the melody is relatively simple, with the main interest being in the background chords. And obviously it's *much longer* as a result! On the other hand, the melody, scansion and rhyme-scheme are all completely different for the 'chorus' section, which also tends to be more irregular in the original; I made the choice to imitate the scansion of each original chorus as closely as I could in order to be able to 'sing along', as opposed to working out the actual basic melody and writing lyrics to actually fit in with a regular representation of that. This was largely laziness, as it took me a long time to get the chorus into my head at all :-p

Watch on YouTube

Original lyrics: https://meddiator.ru/rasskaz-podvypivshego-bombardira.html

Literal translation: The Tale of the Tipsy Gunner	Verse translation: "The Little Cabin-Boy"
Our captain said not just once that all evils came from women And if even one was on board then the ship would not survive To her alone who is known as Good Fortune he was wedded; He would scarcely lead another down the aisle ["under the veil"]	Our captain said time and again that all women were blighted -- Let just one set foot on your vessel, and woe would betide. And Luck was the Lady to whom his allegiance was plighted; Small chance he would ever consider another his bride.
Signorinas and ladies fell in love with him, but what of that? He was both handsome and strong, and could bend doubloons in his hand. But the ocean to him was dearer than all the ladies in the world And as soon as she was repaired the ship disappeared off into the distance.	Fair ladies and sweet signorinas all swooned with emotion -- Both handsome and strong, he could bend gold doubloons in one hand -- But dearer than all the world's women to him was the ocean; No sooner repaired than our ship sailed away far from land.
But somehow, as will happen, Nature rose up -- Our cabin-boy fell in love and ran off somewhere or other to Ceuta(?) And we took a new one on board an hour before leaving, And the ship went off on duty: "A good voyage and God with us!" [set phrase]	But Nature will out, as it happens, in some way or other-- Our cabin-boy jumped ship and ran, for he'd fallen in love. So scarcely an hour before leaving we took on another, Then sailed off on duty: "Fair winds and God with us above!"
(CHORUS)	(CHORUS)
He was slender as an ear of corn, and not tall, but his little voice Softened the seams of your heart like the seams on board. Though his knowledge of the rigging was poor, in his soul he was a sailor, and that meant one of us, And the crew helped him with the rigging.	He was slender as a reed, and though not tall, his voice indeed Could tug your heart with song, the way we hauled the braces -- Though he might not know the ropes, he had a sailor's dreams and hopes, So the crew helped him to master ropes and spaces.
Two months of boredom, but here is some sail or other in the fog Look! on the flag: both a skull ["a cap"] and a cross made of bones. "Now then," said the captain, "once again good fortune has sent me A corsair! All aloft, by ten thousand devils!"	Two whole months of boredom, then fog where some unknown sail glided, And see! on their flag there, a skull and two bones that are crossed. "Oho," cried our captain, "again Lady Luck has provided -- "They're pirates, by ten thousand devils! Now all hands aloft!"
(CHORUS)	(CHORUS)
But the captain was mistaken -- two days, two nights on tiptoe Behind them in the fog we went with the silence of a panther. And then the showdown, and in the end we came alongside ["stood side to side"], face to face, And there would be battle, and that meant the galleys for them.	But there the captain had it wrong: two days and nights we followed long, In silent stealth just like the panther when she dallies, And then we brought them down at last, held face to face and grappled fast -- That meant a fight, and so a sentence to the galleys.
For us hand-to-hand fighting was a usual matter, But the battle was intense and the pirate fought fiercely ["with two hands"] It was then that I too -- see the scar -- was sliced by the sword of someone or other, But I paid him back on the spot, for it makes me queasy to be in debt.	For us, nothing new in this business of hand-to-hand fighting Though battle was fierce and our enemy's swordplay was slick And that day it was -- see this scar?-- that some pirate's blade sliced me But I paid him back on the instant, for debts make me sick!
And our captain was in the thickest [battle] -- there was no overcoming him. He and Good Fortune really were faithful to one another. He was fighting with three, when someone there from a musket Decided to give him a treat, from three paces behind his back.	Our captain was there in the thick of it -- no-one could touch him, For Luck was his Lady, and each to the other was true. He duelled with three, when a foe from behind with a musket Decided to send him a gift from three steps out of view.
(CHORUS)	(CHORUS)
Not a sword! A bullet, that was the thing! Three paces -- that can also be a journey. And-- the bullet did not end up encountering the captain. Yes, that was the thing -- three paces can be a journey! Someone's breast provided cover for him... That was how we lost the cabin-boy in that battle.	No sword, a bullet, that's the thing... for what a gap three steps can bring! And so that bullet never reached him as intended. Indeed that distance now was seen -- a body flung itself between... It was the boy's life in that moment that was ended.
But afterwards we said farewell to friends and those whom we loved, As it is written: "Slain -- remembrance, faith, love". In draughts of rum we paid our dues to the deceased, In order that the next time the crew might perhaps be remembering you.	Farewells we made later to friends and to those who were nearest, For is it not said: "To the slain -- faith, remembrance, applause"? In deep draughts of rum we gave tribute to those who'd paid dearest, For next time the name to remember might prove to be yours.
The cabin boy was like a brother to me. How was I to live with the eternal guilt? To whom to write? And I found in his sea-chest An envelope marked "Open if something happens to me"; In our brotherhood there was nothing unusual in such a superscription.	I'd cared for the boy like a brother -- guilt came to appall me. To whom could I write? In his sea-chest I found folded flat An envelope marked: "To be opened if aught should befall me"-- For men in our trade there was nothing unusual in that.
I opened it, and stood frozen ["stood like a bollard"], and could not get out a word... Stood and could not believe, but in my heart there were typhoons and mist/darkness: "I am not called Victor", it said-- "my name is Viola. Forgive me, but," it said, "I could not do otherwise!"	I opened it -- froze, as my heart filled with storm and confusion, Stock-still, disbelieving, completely bereft of my voice: "I'm Viola" -- thus ran the note -- "Victor's just an illusion... Forgive the pretence, but for me there was no other choice."
(CHORUS)	(CHORUS)
[May there be] always seven feet [of depth below] the ship! [set phrase] But I am in love, almost out of my mind! So pardon the deception -- I meant no ill... May the captain be happy: I cannot help but love him there In the heavens, or in the regions below.	"Long may our ship sail fair and free! But this mad love has hold of me-- I beg you pardon my deceit, I meant no evil. Now may the captain's life be blessed; I'll love him still when gone to rest Up there above or if I'm sent down to the Devil."
(FIRST VERSE REPEAT)	(FIRST VERSE REPEAT)
Our captain said not just once that all evils came from women And if even one was on board then the sailors were done for. To her alone who is known as Good Fortune he was wedded; He got drunk on that day and wept -- it must have been from random melancholy...	Our captain said time and again that all women were blighted, Let just one on board, and then doom for the sailors would come-- With Luck the sole lady to whom his allegiance was plighted; That day he drank deep and then wept -- it was doubtless the rum...

(Note that there are several places in which I deliberately failed to translate a Russian idiom literally -- e.g. to soften the seams of a ship at sea is not generally reckoned to be a desirable act in English nautical parlance, and would make no sense :-p

The location to which the original cabin-boy eloped is transcribed differently on various different lyrics sites; my best guess is Ceuta, because it is at least an ancient port city, but I have simply dodged the issue altogether (as well as simplifying my life; proper nouns are a nightmare to fit into lyrics) by omitting the name altogether! I also had to deliberately reverse the order of the storms in the heart and the voicelessness in the first half of the penultimate verse in order to come up with a workable rhyme-scheme there at all, though otherwise I've done my best to render a reasonably accurate translation of the content on a line by line basis.)