A Rumor in St. Petersburg

The Neva flows A new wind blows And soon it will be spring I hear you comrades, The revolution hears you Together we will forge a new Russia And we'll be the envy of all the World The Czars St. Petersburg Is now the people's Leningrad They can call it Leningrad But it will always be Petersburg New name, same empty stomachs! They tell us times are better Well, I say they're not Can't cook an empty promise In an empty pot "A brighter day is dawning It's almost at hand!" The skies are gray, the walls have ears And he who argues disappears Hail our brave new land St. Petersburg is booming A city on the rise It's really very friendly If you don't mind spies Sshh We stand behind our leaders And stand in line for bread We're good and loyal comrades And our fav'rite color's red Now everyone is equal Professors push the brooms Two dozen total strangers Live in two small rooms You hold a revolution And here's the price you pay Thank goodness for the gossip Spazibo za slukhi! Thank goodness for the gossip That gets us through the day Hey Have you heard There's a rumor in St. Petersburg Have you heard What they're saying on the street Although the Tsar did not survive One daughter may be still alive The Princess Anastasia But please do not repeat It's a rumor A legend A mystery Something whispered in an alleyway Or through a crack It's a rumor That's part of our history They say her royal grandmama Will pay a royal sum To someone who can bring the princess back ("Dimitry, they've closed another border, We should've gotten out of Russia while we still could!") St. Petersburg was lovely When royalty was in I called myself a count As though I'd always been I hobnobbed with the royals But then a change of luck- The Tsar was dead The royals fled And comrade, now we're stuck ("Vlad, I've been thinking about the Princess Anastasia...) (Oh not you too Dimitry!") It's the rumor The legend The mystery It's the Princess Anastasia Who will help us fly You and I, friend Will go down in history We'll find a girl to play the part And teach her what to say Dress her up and take her to Paree Imagine the reward Her dear old grandmama would pay Who else could pull it off but you and me ("No!") ("It was a truck backfiring, comrade, that's all it was Those days are over, neighbor against neighbor There's nothing to be afraid of anymore... You're shaking... There's a tea shop just steps from here") ("Thank you") ("What's your hurry?) ("I can't lose this job, They're not easy to come by... But thank you") ("I'm here everyday!") A ruble for this painting It's a Romanov, I swear! Count Yusupov's pajamas, comrade Buy the pair! I found this in a palace Initialed with an "A" It could be Anastasia's Now what would someone pay? ("We need something of hers to show the old lady! How much is that music box?") ("Ah... the music box, it's genuine Romanov I could never part with it!") ("Two cans of beans, comrade") ("Done!") ("Do you believe in fairytales, Vlad?") ("Once upon a time I did") ("We're going to create a fairytale the whole world will believe") Now it's risky But not more than usual We'll need papers We'll need tickets We'll need nerves of steel Yes it's risky A lot more than usual We'll try to cross the border With our princess and our plot Hopefully disaster won't ensue With luck it all goes smoothly And with luck we won't be shot Who else could pull it off But me and you We'll be rich (We'll be rich) We'll be out (We'll be out) And St. Petersburg will have some more to talk about I heard it from a person I heard it from A person who Assured me it was absolutely true Sshh Have you heard There's a rumor in St. Petersburg Have you heard Comrade, what do you suppose? A fascinating mystery The biggest con in history The Princess Anastasia Alive or dead Who knows? Sshh