Bulat Okudzhava
The Omen

to A. Zhigulin

If there is a raven up above
It means things are moving toward war.

So there shouldn’t be a war
The raven has to be killed.
To kill the raven
A gun has to be loaded.

But when we start loading it
Everyone will want to shoot.
And as soon as the shooting starts
The bullet will find a hole.

The bullet pities nobody,
Wants lo hit just anybody,
One of theirs, one of ours...
That’s it, there’s nothing more.

That’s it, there’s nothing more.
That’s it, there’s nobody left.
Except for that raven,
And now there’s nobody to shoot it.

Translated by Gerald S. Smith