Forty first. The Beginning

Yes, on June twenty;second,
yes, exactly at four o’clock,
not earlier, no, not the day before,
the earth learned the weight of bombs
and the malice of the armada threatening
to burn villages, fields and forests,
to plough the expanses of the heavens.

Suddenly, disaster arose,
and the explosions grew more frequent.
The enemy began to bomb cities.
Tanks cut up the roads.
He knew what to do then.
Our people are a diamond without a cut.

Our mobilized knew —
children, citizens, could perish.
The chorus’s vocals grew more fierce:
“The Union of Indestructible Republics...”
Workers were heading to the station.
Our coat of arms is a proud symbol, not a bagel.

And the anthem is not a dittie about mothers-in-law.
Everything here is ours, every glint in the forest.
Here we are given the painting of groves.
A defense committee emerged,
believing in the power of the Motherland.
The country needed ammunition.

A soldier needs a rifle,
and the authorities need legions.
Rise up to battle, country!