Nochnoi Dozor Soundtrack Translations

Over the last couple days, I've been posting translations of most of the songs on the Russian soundtrack album for the urban fantasy movie Nochnoi Dozor, aka Night Watch (2004). You will find them below.

Why did I do this? Partly because I finally got ahold of the soundtrack only in the last month or so. Partly because I was going crazy singing along with songs when I couldn't quite make out the lyrics, or didn't know the words I was singing. But mostly because I could and felt like it, having finally finished unofficially translating the 1998 novel by Sergei Lukyanenko on which this movie (and its in-production sequel, Nochnoi Dozor 2: Chalk Circle of Fate) are based.

I was ecstatic to find that the novel, and our friend Anton, actually has a happy ending! Not a foregone conclusion for any Russian novel, and especially not for one with as many twists and bad deals for the main characters as this one.

As those of you who have been reading this blog for a while may know, I like this movie and book quite a lot. I like the soundtrack, too, especially in its extended "unofficial version", which you can buy in mp3 form at mp3search.ru. It's a unique mix: Russian classic rock with tubas cheek by jowl with balalaika hip hop, techno, R&B, singer-songwriter angst, a Queen remix, a filksong performed by a fantasy writer friend of Lukyanenko's, and Arab/Celtic Renfair music from Richie Blackmore! It's fun and musically inventive, with something for everyone. Even my dad didn't find it too hateful, and he's the king of turning off tunes.

But Russians love poetry, and thus really appreciate music with strong lyrics. Notice how the vocals aren't generally mixed down as far as in American music, and how clearly singers tend to enunciate. Lukyanenko really believed in that, too; the lyrics of the songs that came up on Anton's player were important elements of the story he was telling. So the album's even more enjoyable and topical to the movie and book if you know what's being sung.

So I've translated a few of the songs so that they can be sung, but I tried not to sacrifice meaning to rhyme and rhythm. The others are as literal of translations as I thought I could get away with. I hope you find them helpful and interesting. Enjoy.