not an idle talk, you see?
It's my foreign policy!
Look, she's quite a big lass
But she is as thin as a lath!
So I'm thinking, if we can
Marry her to this here man.
Not even I - not for your life! -
Would really want to be his wife,
All he has in mind is try
And swallow something on the sly!
"Yes" is all he is repeating,
While he never ceases eating,
Close your eyes, and he'll devour
Half of Russia, at one sitting!
Tell me, are there any ways
of marrying of our princess?
Don't you know, there aren't many
Eligible men among her friends ?
If there were a legion around,
You could argue, there’s no doubt,
But there isn't, so we have to
Pick what there's to be found.
You're Russian Tsar, it'll be fair
If you mind your own affair,
How I live and whom I love
Are the matters of my care.
Love is blind... If that is true,
You will love the envoy, too.
And along with that you'll set
My worsened foreign trade straight!
You may frown and complain,
Yet I'll say it to you again,
As an individual I have
Rights for free marriage and free love.
Maybe, I would give consent
And get married in the end,
If it were Fedot the soldier
Who would offer me his hand.
Silly girl, you hold your tongue!
Don't you know where you belong?
Go and lock up in your room,
Learn your sol-fa, get along!
General, you're feeling blue.
Is it quinsy or the flu?
Or you've drunk too much of beer,
Or you've lost at cards, have you?
Or your army is too small,
Or you do not want to serve at all,
Or you've found some defects
In a cannon tube or cannon ball?
Tell me openly, don't lie,
What is it that makes you sigh?
I should like to know in detail
When and where and what and why!
Well, I went to see Fedot
The other day, and you know what:
When I saw his charming wife
I fell down on the spot.
It's two days, upon my word,
That I haven't touched the sword,
There's nothing left for me but sigh,
I'm afraid, I'm going to die.
Yesterday, I will confess,
I made a sin: I wrote a verse,
The doc is scared for my brains,
It's a shock of love, he claims.
The soldier must be gotten rid of.
Didn't he know that I'm a widow?
I'll remind you of your duty:
Go and bring me now that beauty!
As for this insidious man
Wipe him out, if you can,
Grind him out so that he
Mightn't hang around here!
To kidnap her I've got wits,
But think of people in the streets,
When they learn it's your idea
They will tear you to bits.
Are you such a fool all days
Or is it just on Saturdays?
Must I tell my minister
Everything in every case?
To prevent the vicious tongues
You must act on legal grounds,
Or, in other words, just try
And do it... on the sly!
You are not yourself today,
Looking pale, struck with dismay.
Are the Turks approaching Moscow,
Or the Swedes stand in your way?
Have this aspen bark, a bit,
It will do you good indeed,
After all, it isn't nitric,
It's a gift of nature, isn't it?
The aspen juice, my General,
Has got a healthy mineral,
No General has died from it,
Just have a taste, and you'll be fit.
Lay off, woman, I'm not ill,
Let us step across the hill,
Scare away those hedgehogs, squirrels,
I must talk to you, it's serious!
There's a soldier, Fedot by name,
He thinks he's got too much brain,
I was told the other day
To put him out of the way.
How? By cutting of his head?
There'll be a noise, I'm afraid.
Can you give me your advice
As to how to make him dead?
Magic, magic, you know what,
Three are here, yours are not,
Ace of diamonds, oaken coffin,
Tell me all about Fedot...
Well, if he's so prompt and smart
As to dare disregard
Our sovereign, let him get,
By tomorrow, a golden carpet.
It has got to have a grand
Map-like view of the whole land.
If he doesn't make so bold,
It will be his own fault.
What a woman! What a skill!
That's the end of my ordeal!
You could be a politician
And hold a minister's position!
I can pay you back, I think,
Marten, beaver - anything!
If you