Thursday, March 05, 2009

[take this cup] and let the deadly hour pass me by




There've been some beautiful words written which fit the mood precisely.

Such a pity most of you don't read Russian because these below haunt me every time and I can't believe that Любэ did not include the song in their 'best of' collections:

Когда минуты роковые настают,
И волны чёрные до неба достают,
В недобрый час,
В недобрый час.

Помилуй, Господи, нас грешных ты спаси,
И если можно, эту чашу пронеси,
Не мимо нас,
В который раз.

Anyone who does have a smattering of Russian knows that what follows is not a translation but a rendering, as there is much which is idiomatic in the words above. In effect, the lines say:

When the deadly time, the testing time comes to you and in front of you the waves rise like a giant wall up to the heavens, this is an unpleasant hour or period of time you must live through.

Please Lord, forgive us our sins and if possible take this cup of wrath from our hands. In other words, let us escape the horror which is coming up.

That's interesting for this group to write because they'd have to have been as far removed from religion as any sinner. It goes to show that when we find ourselves in that hour where we're alone and have to go through it all by ourselves, how nice it would be to have that bitter cup lifted from our hands.

The context, by the way, in which the words were written was of troops in landing craft being ferried to the shore, presumably to be gunned down when they get there.


2 comments:

  1. my smattering of Russian is rusty, so thankyou for the translation.

    Heavy and thoughtful words. Something of which I felt when I found the grenade pin on the D-day beach.

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