New Year's duet - translated

[igenlode]

And of course I ended up writing a singable rhymed version of the New Year's duet, which was very much harder than one would expect due to the constraints of extremely short lines that have to rhyme with each other -- in several places I had to resort to reversing the order of two lines in order to fit them in, so while the meaning of the couplet as a whole is translated, the line being sung may not represent the content of the corresponding Russian at that point...

I also took the conscious decision to 'fudge' the four repeated lines beginning with 'Tomorrow' (even if I ended up rewording two of them in the end) to add an extra syllable to the melody, which happens naturally enough when singing, in order to account for the fact that 'завтра' is not only shorter but, critically, starts with a stressed syllable, which the English equivalent doesn't: in a rhymed line that short there simply isn't any other place available to which the three syllables of the word 'tomorrow' can be moved! (Sadly one can't use even the archaic 'morrow' as a substitute, because according to normal usage it has to be 'the morrow'...)

I'm quite pleased with the chorus, though :-)

Original song and literal translation

New Year’s Song

Frost once more in patterns
Glistens on the pane
Just as if some music
Flying upwards came.
Candle flames that quiver,
Magical to see,
New Year’s Eve together
And you’re here with me...

CHORUS:
In the past what’s been has been,
Wind and the snow have wiped it clean,
Wind and the snow have wiped it clean.
New Year awaits tomorrow.
New year’s dawning, old year’s night,
All borne on tides of festive light,
All borne on tides of festive light!
Once more it comes tomorrow.

Tomorrow can be joyful
Tomorrow can be grey
It holds anticipation
Again it’s on its way.
Turn upon tomorrow
Gentle eyes and kind,
Meet the year to follow,
Brightest dreams in mind...

CHORUS:
In the past what’s been has been,
Wind and the snow have wiped it clean,
Wind and the snow have wiped it clean.
New Year awaits tomorrow.
New year’s dawning, old year’s night,
All borne on tides of festive light,
All borne on tides of festive light!
Once more it comes tomorrow.

INSTRUMENTAL

New year’s dawning, old year’s night,
All borne on tides of festive light,
All borne on tides of festive light...
Once more it comes tomorrow.