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