AN ITTY BITTY DITTY ‘BOUT MR. BAZIO

(sung by Viktor Morozov [1])

he’s the holy spirit of philistine walls

he’s the eternal wandering jew eternal decay

he’s the dust of starry lands

he’s the bastard son of a king—mr. bazio

in london there’s a queen

in paris gray chansonniers

in lviv bazio drinks beer

for our happiness and his—hey bazio!

he’s an astrologer and culinarian

an alchemist of lovemaking and fights

with icarus on his shoulder

he mocks the guests—caw-w-w—herr bazio

princes and commoners come

saints and sluts too

who’ve lost their paths in life

they put their gold coins on the collection plate—devil bazio

he’s paladin and mujahadeen

he’s a medium number one

he’s the midnight creak of ladders

he’s an eternal mushroom he’s the god of creatures

mr. bazio! hey bazio! herr bzaio! devil bazio!

a dream carries young girls in embraces

kings lead them to a throne

cutthroats drag them to underground hideaways

witches drive ravens for them to dream

and lads go to bazio

and sell their souls to him

they’re drinking liquor and breaking dishes

and rush into the heavenly melee

all souls into the black folio

a millionaire a grad student

a terrorist dragged himself from the andes

plus a dentist and a grand-giant

come closer golden maidens

come closer sluts and saints

mr. bazio will show you the way

pour your gold coins onto the collection plate! . .

orchestra play a march now

because the millionaire got married

because the grad student is in the lips of venuses

because the grand-giant died from love

mr. bazio . . . hey bazio . . . herr bazio . . . demon bazio . . .

Notes

[1] Viktor (Victor) Morozov (b. 1950) is a well-known Ukrainian singer and translator. He was a major figure (together with Hryts′ko Chubai, Oleh Lysheha, Mykola Riabchuk, and Yuri Vynnychuk, among others) of Ukrainian underground, unofficial culture of the Soviet Union. He is a key contributor to Ukrainian culture in post-Soviet Ukraine.

Translated by Michael M. Naydan