Write it. Sing it. Make it yours
Adapt Olga Anikina’s Russian lyric into singable English. Keep her images, word meanings, expressions and structure. No Russian needed. Write, sing or collaborate.
Song story · Make a recording · Full working text
Literal English and idiom notes are working materials, not finished lyrics.
The song’s story
A boy sells cigarettes and saccharin in the ghetto. His proud jokes and denials barely conceal his loneliness.
The recording credits original Yiddish words to Leyb Rosenthal, music to Misha Veksler in the Vilna Ghetto, and Russian adaptation to Olga Anikina (2017).
Start from Olga’s Russian
Her Russian text is our starting point. Olga reimagines earlier songs while keeping their spirit.
Keep her images, word meanings, expressions and structure. Make the English sing without replacing her story.
Producer-confirmed: exclusive rights to these Russian lyrics. Rights to underlying music and recordings are separate.
Russian → literal English
Meaning to work from, not words to sing.
All 20 written lines from the cited Russian text. This does not add further performance repetitions. English explains meaning; it is not a singable lyric.
| Russian source | Literal English meaning |
|---|---|
| 1 Купите папиросы отдам почти за так | Buy my cigarettes, I will let them go for almost nothing |
| 2 И сахарин я б тоже вам продал | And saccharin, I would sell you that as well |
| 3 Тут жизнь идёт за грошик а если за пятак | Here life goes for a tiny coin; and if it is a five-unit coin |
| 4 Для гетто это целый капитал | For the ghetto that is a whole fortune |
| 5 Я Исролик я вырос в нашем гетто | I am Yisrolik; I grew up in our ghetto |
| 6 Пусть я мал но привык не быть в долгу | I may be small, but I am used to owing nothing |
| 7 Ничего за душою нету | I have nothing at all to my name |
| 8 Зато я петь умею и свистеть могу | But I know how to sing, and I can whistle |
| 9 Штаны из мешковины пальто моё с дырой | My trousers are sackcloth, my coat has a hole |
| 10 Калоши есть но нету башмаков | I have galoshes, but no shoes |
| 11 Но если кто посмеет смеяться надо мной | But if anyone dares to laugh at me |
| 12 Я покажу ему кто я таков | I will show him who I am |
| 13 Я вовсе не бездомный есть мама у меня | I am not homeless at all, I have a mother |
| 14 И папа есть он звал меня «сынок» | And I have a father; he used to call me 'son' |
| 15 И я совсем не плачу ведь я не размазня | And I am not crying at all; I am no weakling |
| 16 А ветер он ведь тоже одинок | And the wind, you know, is lonely too |
| 17 Я Исролик вам видно показалось | I am Yisrolik; you must have imagined it |
| 18 Я не плачу заплачешь и пропал | I am not crying; once you start crying, you are lost |
| 19 То что в горе не поможет жалость | That pity is no help in grief |
| 20 Знает даже тот кто очень мал | Even the very smallest one knows |
Idioms & meaning
Папиросы / сахарин
Literal: Cigarettes / saccharin.
These are the small goods the boy offers for sale. Saccharin is a sugar substitute, not another kind of tobacco.
За грошик / за пятак
Literal: For a tiny coin / for a five-unit coin.
The diminutive and coin contrast emphasize how little money buys survival, and how much a slightly larger amount means. Do not imply a verified modern exchange rate.
Ничего за душою нету
Literal: There is nothing behind my soul.
An idiom meaning he owns nothing or has nothing to his name. It does not mean he lacks a soul, conscience or emotional depth.
Я не размазня
Literal: I am no weakling.
The boy insists that he is tough enough to cope. The line is bravado, not a reason for the listener to deny his suffering.
Вам видно показалось / Я не плачу
Literal: You must have imagined it. I am not crying.
He tries to explain away the tears someone has noticed. Keep the denial and the pain beneath it, without adding an explicit stage direction to the lyric.
И папа есть он звал меня «сынок»
Literal: And I have a father; he used to call me 'son.'
The shift from 'have' to 'used to call' matters. Preserve it without deciding, beyond the words, exactly what has happened to his father.
Your writing brief
Keep the boy's quick, proud voice rather than making him merely an object of pity. His claims about family and tears reveal vulnerability.
Do not resolve those denials into a cheerful ending. Verify permissions for the source work, Russian adaptation and recording.
Your voice. Any lineup
Video or audio only. Solo, duet, band or choir. Write, sing, produce or collaborate; use your voice, Suno or other permitted tools.
Your voice and stage presence can shine even if the lyric needs work. Clear song, backing-track and tool permissions before posting.
Recording links: YouTube, Spotify or YouTube Music only. No files or other platforms.
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Credits & sources
- Russian text
- Olga Anikina
- Producer
- Walter J. Kin
- Russian recording
- Performed by Elechka. Produced by Walter J. Kin.
Working materials, not a blanket recording license. Agree rights separately.