“And Luck Is a Reward for Courage”

I saw this on a list of anti-war songs compiled by Russian journalist Mikhail Kozyrev. It’s not obviously antiwar to me, but I’ll take his word for it. It’s also

It’s also a highly un-Russian song, because (at least on the surface) it seems optimistic, and indeed the song is called “Hope.” (Compare the Russianest Russian Song Lines I Know, “Who of death will tell us a couple honest words?” / … / “About the things that happened, there’ll be many lies.” / “Will the inquest tell us how hard it is to die?”) The singer is Manizha, who is Tajik, but the lyrics are by Anna German, who was an Uzbekistan-born Pole. Here’s an excerpt:

Believe, that here, from afar

Much can no longer be made out

The thunderclouds melt

Our resentments seem ridiculous

We just need to learn to wait

We just need to be calm and stubborn

So that we sometimes get from life

Miserly telegrams of joy

Hope is my compass to the world

And luck is a reward for courage

And all I need is one song

So long as it sings about home