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Reason
Reason
Eugene Volokh

Farewell to the Motherland: A Song of Departure

I thought this would be a good fit with Motherland, by Zemfira, which I blogged two weeks ago. It was originally written by Yevgeniy Kliachkin, about the 1970s Jewish emigration; but this cover is by Boris Grebenshchikov, one of the founding fathers of Russian rock and a major Russian musical figure. Grebenshchikov, a critic of the war, himself recently left Russia, which makes the song especially resonant, I think. Here's a doubtless imperfect translation of the lyrics:

Farewell I say to the country, where
I lived a life, I can't figure out whose
And for the last time, while I'm still here
I drink this air like wine.

But I carry no blame, my land
I'm not the worst of your sons
If you say you must be the center of our love
Let me decide for myself what should be the center

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