I was told "privyet"1,
I was told "zdrastvuy"2
And "davay do svidaniya"3
They told me.
And all this would be fine,
All this would not be scary,
If it was in St. Petersburg,
Or in Moscow.
But in such words
I am met by the capital of the
Yellow and blue country4,
What awaits the tranche
For some reason, it does not understand
My language: when I say "pryvit"5,
I am asked, "ty sa L'vova?"6
Chorus:
No, I'm from Ukraine - it's opposite from Europe,
This is where Khreshchatyk7 is, this is where the Dnieper is.
No, I'm from Ukraine - I'm not against you,
But I need to know who's who
Yes, I'm from Ukraine! Yes, I'm from Ukraine!
And on the wall, the collective farmer says "everything's alright",
And every day begins with the anthem,
And the shirt is white,
And the language of the nightingale8,
On all channels -
"Dobryy vechyer, Ukraina"9
And how to be here, what to expect,
One land - and Donbas, and the Carpathians,
But the country does not hear me -
My language is just cool, not nightingale's.
Chorus x2
1. Russian for "Hi"2. Russian for "Hello"3. Russian for "Goodbye"4. Ukraine. Ukraine's flag consists of yellow and blue colors5. Ukrainian for "Hi"6. Russian for "Are you from Lviv". Most people in Lviv speak Ukrainian, unlike major cities in central and eastern Ukraine7. Kyiv's main street8. Ukrainians call their language "соловʼїна" because it sounds as pleasant as a nightingale's singing9. Russian for "Good evening, Ukraine"