Song of the Demobilized Soldier

Jun 25

Tomb of the Unknown Soldier (Могила Неизвестного Солдата) in Moscow, at the Kremlin wall.

Гражданская оборона (Civil Defense) is one of my favorite bands, and I think this is one of their best songs, with incredible lyrics that are not easy to translate. The song’s title is an adjective from дембель (from демобилизация) — a demobilized soldier. The irony, apparently, is that the speaker in the song has been “demobilized” by death in battle — or, at the very least, this death is clearly anticipated. Conflicting temporal markers make it hard to tell if we are hearing a voice from beyond the grave, or hearing from a dead man walking — or perhaps we are hearing the collective voice of all the soldiers, alive and dead.

Russian students should note the aspectual distinction, used to great effect, in the lines: “Как мы дожидались, как не дождались / Как мы не сдавались, как мы не сдались.” The pairs are дожидаться АЙ / дождаться (to wait) and сдаваться АВАЙ / сдаться (to give up, give in, surrender). Thus, the first verb in each line describes an extended period of time over which they kept waiting, and refused to surrender — and the second shifts the focus to the result: in the end, they 1) failed to wait long enough (for the war to end, presumably), but 2) never gave up (presumably, they died fighting).

Also, does anything in the chorus sound familiar to you lovers of Russian poetry? It contains a clear allusion to Lermontov’s well-known poem Из Гёте (From Goethe), which describes the tranquility of a nocturnal landscape, and the speaker’s desire to share in its stillness. The poem ends: “Подожди немного, / Отдохнёшь и ты” "(Wait a bit / You too will find rest).

I should note that many Civil Defense videos, including this one, feature troubling and challenging historical footage; combined with the lyrics, the result is layer upon layer of irony and sincerity, bitterness, defiance, praise of bravery and endurance… This band’s texts are dialogically very complex, often appropriating authoritative Soviet discourse in subversive and deeply existential ways. Worthy of analysis by a Bakhtin scholar.

The second video link below contains footage from the war — from the announcement of the Nazi invasion until the victory parade on Red Square. It recently received the “May be inappropriate for some users” badge from YouTube. But you can click through and watch the video on YouTube… if you dare.

Alas that history is so often “inappropriate!” Perhaps the vigilance of YouTube can protect us from it?

Song of the Demobilized Soldier

by Civil Defense

A courageous little word struck like a match against the ice.
The little heart flared up, the machine gun whirled up in rage.
The roads poured past, the bridges shook.
Wait a bit longer and you too will find rest.

Glory, my glory — a resounding yoke.
A succulent ditch, a watchful walleye.
A foam of mourning, the soot of crows.
If reinforcements come, I too will find rest.

A late weariness falls upon your shoulder.
How many of us are left, how many still?
How much open expanse, how many gray hairs,
How much disgrace, how much winter?

Memory, my memory, tell of
How we died in the blue sky
How we kept waiting, how we didn’t wait long enough to see it end,
How we kept refusing to give in, and how we never did, till the end.

Woe, my woe — a bit of rain in the morning
A rainbow above the field, a banner in the wind
Cold, alarm — the festivities of war.
Be patient for a bit longer, and we too will find rest.