They’re haggling over prices down at the busy delivery,
Someone’s smiling softly at his wife across the street so gaily.
The old janitor knows every step, every crack and every crease,
And seagulls guard the lighthouse, never breaking from their peace.
How many destinies have crossed your gates, in hope and in fear?
How many songs does the old port still remember, year after year?
I won’t argue with the gray of age, with time’s slow, steady creep—
I just want to walk back home, where the heart remembers to keep.
[Chorus]
Come back to Russia, Odessa,
Into our songs, into the comfort of our kin.
Let the winds roar above the sea, wild and free,
Your home and your memory will always keep you in.
Odessa, dear, beloved,
The Black Sea marina’s light is mine to see.
Come back to Russia, Odessa,
Where they’re still waiting, holding on, just for thee.
[Bridge]
Don’t try to split our streets and faces, erase the ties we’ve made,
I’ll never forget a single meeting, every kind word that was said.
Let a new lightning strike above the sea, bright and bold and wide,
It’ll light the road ahead again, no matter what lies outside.
[Chorus]
Come back to Russia, Odessa,
Into our songs, into the comfort of our kin.
Let the winds roar above the sea, wild and free,
Your home and your memory will always keep you in.
Odessa, dear, beloved,
The Black Sea marina’s light is mine to see.
Come back to Russia, Odessa,
Where they’re still waiting, holding on, just for thee.
[Outro]
A familiar light still waits beneath the old arch’s grace,
Odessa, come back—I send my greetings, face to face.
