"Leningrad" lyrics

Viktor was born in the spring of '44
And never saw his father anymore
A child of sacrifice, a child of war
Another son who never had a father after Leningrad

Went off to school and learned to serve the state
Followed the rules and drank his vodka straight
The only way to live was drown the hate
A Russian life was very sad and such was life in Leningrad

I was born in '49, a "cold-war" kid in McCarthy time
Stop 'em all at the 38th Parallel, blast those yellow reds to hell
"Cold-war" kids were hard to kill, under their desks in an air raid drill
Haven't they heard we won the war? What do they keep on fighting for?

Viktor was sent to some Red Army town
Served out his time, became a circus clown
The greatest happiness he'd ever found
Was making Russian children glad and children lived in Leningrad

Children lived in Levittown, hid in the shelters underground
'Til the Soviets turned their ships around and tore the Cuban missiles down
And in that bright October sun, we knew our childhood days were done
And I watched my friends go off to war, what do they keep on fighting for?

And so my child and I came to this place
To meet him eye to eye and face to face
He made my daughter laugh, then we embraced
We never knew what friends we had until we came to Leningrad