Vladimir and the Beast Songtext

von The Stranglers

Thank you, my fatherland
For helping me to be totally reintegrated and normalized
Only in the world's greatest socialist democracy
Could one hope to be forgiven for losing temporary sight
Of the aims and goals of the of the Marxist, Leninist revolution?
Two years it took me to be cured of my illness
Being still a relatively young and fit man
I was still in search of fulfillment
The memory of Olger, Sergey and my two children
Motivated me to seek an occupation
That would both repay my debt to my great party
And obviously help the way to international socialism
I was still unable to resume my lectureship
At the sub-nucleonic particle physics
And therefore volunteered to help our Afghan comrades
In their great struggle for liberation, I was readily accepted
Into a motorized maintenance unit
It was not long before I realized that our support
For the liberation struggle of our comrades in Afghanistan
Was not viewed at all together unanimously
By the local population, in fact, we were not allowed outside
Of the barracks unless we were in large armored groups
During our brief stay in Afghanistan, we had discovered
Some of the very few pleasures open to visitors
To this desolate place, a local concoction called Hashish
Was being increasingly used by our troops
And many of the helicopter gunship and tank crews
Moreover would smoke large chillums and joints
Before embarking on missions around the mountains
Surrounding Kabul
Every week comrades who had fallen
Into the hands of the rebels would be found in various states
Of dismemberment around the camp
Those unlucky enough to be still alive were sent from rehabilitation
To the German democratic republics
Since this would prevent any undue
Alarm by our loved ones back home
The wisdom of this policy is evidence
Of our leaders' great care for their people
Apart from hashish there was not much to divert
Or endure the cold mountain nights
And increasingly there were signs of the troops
Acquiring the illness of which I had previously been cured
And therefore, my attention was focused more on
Looking at the few animals that were kept
Within the military compound
As is often the case between human beings and animals
A close bond of affection can develop
And I became increasingly close to a camel I named Dimitri
Ah, dear Dimitri
No one can really understand the relationship
Between a man and his camel
As was the case with the army doctors and my superiors
Who sent me to convalesce in the German democratic republic