“Song of military correspondents”

It is a very famous song. This song was dedicated to Soviet military correspondents, who went 
together with troops, and, especially, to the correspondents, who were killed in combats. It is a 
very good song.

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“Song of military correspondents”

(translation of Andrey)

There is no such a place 
Between Moscow and Brest
Where we didn’t wander in dust.
We went through a fire and severe cold
With "leika" [1] and with a notebook
But sometimes and with a machine gun.

It is difficult to begin to sing a song, comrade,
Without a drink of alcohol,
So let’s sit on a friendly table
And let’s drink for those guys who wrote,
For those guys who photographed,
For those guys who went under a fire!

We have a reason to drink 
For voennyi provod [2],
For “U-2” [3], for “emka” [4], for success . . .
We have a reason to drink for how we went on foot,
How we pushed by a shoulder [5], 
How we were in time before all others. 

We became to sing worse 
As a result of winds and cold frosts.
But we shall say for anyone who will reproach us with it:
“Let try to wander like we did, 
Let try to spend a night in field conditions like we did,
Let try to fight at least for an year”

We didn’t get personal tanks in the places
Where we were.
But we never lost our presence of mind:
We were first who came in cities, occupied by an enemy,
On a tattered jeep
And armed only with one nagan [6].

So let’s drink for the victory,
For our newspaper
And if we shall not live to see the victory, my dear,
So somebody will know about us, 
Will shoot a film and will write about us,
Somebody will commemorate me and you.

We became to sing worse 
As a result of winds and cold frosts.
But we shall say for anyone who will reproach us with it:
“Let try to wander like we did, 
Let try to spend a night in field conditions like we did,
Let try to fight at least for an year”

1943 

Remarks of Andrey:
[1] – “leika” is the type of a camera
[2] - voennyi provod (“military wire”) hmm… as I know it is the name of the organization which 
organized the connection of all military correspondents to their mass media
[3] – “U-2” is a famous Soviet plane, it is the archaic biplane with very low speed which was 
used as a light night bomber, or as a plane-messenger, or as a very light transport plane.
[4] – “emka” – people’s nickname of the type of Soviet military jeep.
[5] – “to push by a shoulder” means “to push out a truck from mud for pulling it up out of the gutter”
[6] nagan – the type of a revolver

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The Russian version (translit):

"Pesnia voennykh korrespondentov"

Ot Moskvy do Bresta 
Net takogo mesta, 
Gde by ni skitalis' my v pyli.
S «leikoi» i s bloknotom, 
A to i s pulemiotom, 
Skvoz' ogon' i stuzhu my proshli. 

Bez glotka, tovarishch, 
Pesniu ne zavarish', 
Tak davai za druzheskim stolom! 
Vyp'em za pisavshikh, 
Vyp'em za snimavshikh, 
Vyp'em za shagavshikh pod ognem. 

Vypit' est' nam povod 
Za voennyi provod, 
Za U-2, za «emku», za uspekh... 
Kak peshkom shagali, 
Kak plechom tolkali, 
Kak my pospevali ran'she vsekh. 

Ot vetrov i stuzhi 
Pet' my stali khuzhe, 
No my skazhem tem, kto uprekniot: 
- S nashe pokochuite, 
S nashe ponochuite, 
S nashe povoiuite khot' by god. 

Tam, gde my byvali, 
Nam tankov ne davali, 
No my ne terialis' nikogda:
Na pikape dranom 
I s odnim naganom 
My pervymi v'ezzhali v goroda. 

Vyp'em za pobedu, 
Za nashu gazetu, 
A ne dozhiviom, moi dorogoi, 
Kto-nibud' uslyshit, 
Snimet i napishet, 
Kto-nibud' pomianet nas s toboi. 

Ot vetrov i stuzhi 
Pet' my stali khuzhe, 
No my skazhem tem, kto uprekniot: 
- S nashe pokochuite, 
S nashe ponochuite, 
S nashe povoiuite khot' by god.

1943