Lyrics and notes to 2, 5, and 6 from 8 Songs

by Yevhen Markovskiy, translated by John Freedman

2. Everything Is Dead

You think everything here is dead?
That’s not true, that’s not true.
Marr-rrrarar-a-I . . .
This is Shumenskiy neighborhood.*
The Shumenskiy micro-neighborhood.

*The Shumenskiy district is a section of Kherson where almost a third of the city’s population lived before the war. It is a so-called “bedroom community” located quite far from the city center. My family and I have lived in this area since 1977 when we received a three-room apartment. Of course, many memories and circumstances are associated with this place. Many friends and acquaintances, relatives, neighbors, and so on have lived there. This area was completely autonomous. There was no need to go into the city center for any reason. We had our own grocery stores, small shops, pharmacies, markets, a clinic, and veterinary services. It had everything a person needed to enjoy city life without ever having to leave the general area.

5. Freedom Square

I went downtown, I went downtown.
I wanted to grab a glimpse of life.
On every corner,
On every corner
A guy with a machine gun stands.
Oh-oh-oh!
Freedom Square,
Freedom Square,
Freedom Square,
Freedom Square.
Eee-ya-i-eee-ya-i-eee . . .

6. Slovianochka-Kubanochka

Everybody knows early of a morning,
At lunch or even before breakfast
Slovianochka* tastes so good.
In everyone’s house —
In Odesa and Lviv —
Slovianochka tastes so good.
In every house in every town
Slovianochka tastes so good.
Ukraine — the land of milk and honey,
Slovianochka tastes so good.
Slovianochka tastes so good.
Slovianochka tastes so g . . .
Slovianochka tastes so . . .
Slovianochka . . .
Slov . . .
Kubanochka is so tasty,
Kubanochka is so tasty,
Kubanochka is so tasty.

*“Slovianochka” is a Ukrainian brand known for its canned goods, mayonnaise, produce in jars, dairy products, and other such things.

“Kubanochka” is a Russian equivalent: the same basic thing, but Russian-made.

In the beginning I sing the song about “Slovianochka” in Ukrainian. It is an actual advertising jingle that you could hear in Kherson supermarkets up until March 2022.

In the end I switch to Russian and imitate — that is, parody — that same song, only this time singing about “Kubanochka,” because after March 1, 2022, “Slovianochka” began disappearing from store shelves in Kherson, replaced by “Kubanochka.”

As such, this song ironically symbolizes the change of reality in Kherson, wherein the Ukrainian city became Russian.

For obvious reasons there was a shortage of many goods and services in Kherson in March 2022. People had to stand in line in the cold for three to four hours just to buy a kilogram (two pounds) of potatoes. Even then, it was far from guaranteed that you would even get anything)))). I myself stood in such lines for many hours. I once managed to buy two rotten cabbages, but, as a result of the crush of people in the line, one of my shoes was shredded. That was very sad, because no other shoes were to be had at that time.