B. Okudjava

Here birds don’t ever sing,
Here trees are scarce in spring
And we alone grow into earth,
Shoulder to shoulder linked.

The planet spins and smolders, heated,
Through smoke, we watch our country burn.
This means at last one victory is needed,
Just one for all of us. The price is no concern!

Not far away, the deadly shelling’s starting,
But it’s in vain at any rate.
Cast doubt aside,
Into the night
Departing
Is Paratrooper’s
Tenth and separate
Brigade.

Just as the fight dies down,
New orders now resound,
The postman will go mad,
As we cannot be found.

Up overhead a crimson rocket’s speeding,
Machineguns’ fire won’t adjourn.
This means at last one victory is needed,
Just one for all of us. The price is no concern!

From Kursk down to Orel
The war spins in a whirl
And right up to the gates of enemies
My brother, we are hurled…

We will look back once we’ve succeeded
With disbelief at every turn,
But here, today, one victory is needed,
Just one for all of us. The price is no concern!~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
In Russian:
http://stalingrad65.vstu.ru/songs/no-birds-singing
Visit Russian Poetry in English for more of my translations