Archipelago

Our ship rolls in to Nagaev Bay
Where we'll toil from the dawn to the last light of the day
Yeah the life of a Zek is one of decaying
Slowly as the form falls from your frame
Kulaks roll in on the endless trains
Torn from the land that they dared to claim
Tyres lashed to their feet where their boots gave way
Their back and barrow doomed to the same fate

2000 miles of dirt beget the Road of Bones
Carved in the snow beneath our hacks and hoes
Checkas and thieves will rob you blind
So carry only that which fills your mind

Darkness forms part of every heart
It's been within us from the start
Hold memories close for all else goes
Fall to the snow on your knees in the wastes of the Archipelago

All you may own you must carry with you
To mourn for the things that you've lost will destroy you
Let your soul be enriched by the friends that surround you
Pray the strength and the will of the good men still holds true
It alone is the seed that must grow to save us
In this ravaged land that the stool pigeon gave us
Father, Father, Heaven save us
Chatter here and there
Careless talk is overheard
And the Black Mariah rolls off like a hearse
Spies are everywhere in this land
Where a question brings a curse
Calls for clemency
Pleading only makes it worse
And the charge is none of your concern
Fall to the snow
On your knees in the wastes of the archipelago.
Sharashka spare me from Kolyma
from the black of the mines and the bite of the taiga
from the lice and the stick and the heel of the Checka
Three months or more mark a true survivor