(no subject)

[kart.livejournal.com]

For education and entertainment, I'm trying to translate the lyrics to Ночной Дозор by the band Umaturman. The entire text is available here: http://www.alloflyrics.com/en/lyrics/Umaturman/Nochnoy-Dozor-100441.html

There are 3 places where I am having trouble:

1. "А ну-ка наколдуй мне!" = "Don't ___ me!"
Probably means stab/slaughter/etc, but I can't find it exactly. Am I right to assume наколдуй comes from наколоть?

2. Приведенья, говорят: "Не бывать преступленью!"
Bringing/adding/putting, they said: "Don't be _________!"

3. Еще бы, абы кого не берут в замминистры.
No idea. Can anyone figure out "абы"?

Many thanks in advance to anyone who can help!

Comments

[kippie.livejournal.com]

1. Let's do a conjure for me! :)

2. Преступленье = Преступление - Crime, criminal offence :)

3. Абы - кого попало :) The first comer | whoever ?

[kippie.livejournal.com]

замминистр = deputy minister

[inetman.livejournal.com]

1. Actually, it can be translated as 'Make a magic for me' or smth like that, not 'don't'

2. Ghosts, they saying: 'There won't be a crime!'

3. It's pretty hard to find the right word in English... 'абы кого' can be translated (in this context) as 'anybody'. So, the whole phrase can be roughly translated as 'Of course, they don't assigns anybody to be a vice-minister'

[http://users.livejournal.com/celsium_/]

А ну-ка = come on;
колдовать = conjure, practise witchcraft/sorcery;
приведения - misstype? correct is привиденья, or привидения = ghosts;
Не бывать преступленью! = don't let the crime be done!!!

[go-nzo.livejournal.com]

1. "наколдуй" - it's from the verb - "колдовать" (conjure, practise witchcraft / sorcery)
this verb form ( like "наколдуй") uses when you want someone to urge to do smth. like: "bring me my books!"

2. "Не бывать преступленью!" - means that crime is umpossible be carry out. or when someone tell you that he'd do his best to prevent you to do smth.

3. "абы" - its an archaic word.
"абы кого" is approximate to "not anybody"

[yms.livejournal.com]

"абы" - its an archaic word.

it's not archaic, it's rather local/dialect. In Ukrainian it's normal :)

[solito.livejournal.com]

It is archaic and colloquial in the modern Russian. The Church-Slavonic word "абы" meant "о если бы, если бы, чтобы, лишь бы, только бы" and was used mainly to introduce conditional or conjunctive mood.

[kart.livejournal.com]

Wow, thanks everyone. That answers #1 and #2.

For more context on the third one a character named "Gesser" is the deputy minister. Gesser heals the hero after he is wounded with scissors.

Но добрый Гессер его вылечил быстро,
But good Gesser cured him quickly,
Еще бы, абы кого не берут в замминистры.
???? vice-minister.

inetman said So, the whole phrase can be roughly translated as 'Of course, they don't assigns anybody to be a vice-minister'

Yes, that could work :)


Oh by the way, I've never seen the movie. Just after listening to this mp3 so many times I was curious what the song was about....

[http://users.livejournal.com/celsium_/]

The movie's good, but the book's much better))) If you want go here http://www.livejournal.com/userinfo.bml?user=doctor_livsy - it's a LJ of Sergey Lukjanenko - the author of the book.

[melkiyshaman.livejournal.com]

Еще бы, абы кого не берут в замминистры.
???? vice-minister.

maybe - 'nothing strange about it, whoever wouldn't be given the position of minister assistant'

[noser.livejournal.com]

"абы кого" I think is borrowed from Church-Slavonic. Means "лишь бы кого-нибудь", that is: there's a need for a person, but nobody cares who exactly, any person would do.

Thus, "абы кого не берут в <position>" - means, on the contrary, they _do_ care who is assigned to the position. :)

"Ещё бы" I would roughly translate as "but of course". This expression ridicules the opposite case to what is stated (before or later), hence the "бы", which usually denotes subjunctive mood.

E.g. "Ещё бы они взяли Ивана в замминистры" means "Just think how funny it would be if they did assign Ivan as a deputy minister". But it's usually shortened to just "ещё бы", if it's clear what is being ridiculed.

[yms.livejournal.com]

Еще бы, абы кого не берут в замминистры.

I'll try to translate it too...
ещё бы (sometimes followed by ведь, sometimes ведь is skipped) is roughly "of course it's so, what else can one think, you know that...". It means that the following part of the statement is a very simple and straightforward explanation of the previous statement.
(If somebody feels it another way, he/she will correct me :)

абы кого не берут в замминистры = they don't assign (hire) the first comer as a deputy minister.

[twincat.livejournal.com]

Everybody seems to forget the rap rhythm. IMHO, it dictates moving away from the exact words of the song. Maybe this will do?

...After all, he was a Stalin's minister...

...which also can be rhymed with "scissors" ;)

[vermilliah.livejournal.com]

so did anybody actually translate this song? ^^