Farewell, Rocky Mountains - Soviet Navy song (1942)

In Spring of 1940 Nikolai Bukin, author of the ‘Farewell, Rocky Mountains’ song, was drafted for military service and assigned to serve in the Navy. He was sent to Musta-Tunturi mountains on Rybachy or Fisher Peninsula, the northernmost part of continental European Russia. It was there Bukin met the beginning of the War.
Almost fully surrounded by water, that tiny piece of land was bravely defended by the Red Army soldiers and sailors. Rybachy Peninsula was the only border post that wasn’t captured along the 4500 kilometres western border of the Soviet Union. Four years in a row the Germans tried to reach the city of Murmansk, but failed as they couldn’t take the peninsula over. Hence, sailors labelled it the granite battleship.
In 1942 Bukin came up with the following lines
I know, I won’t survive without the sea,
As the sea will be dead without me.
Kochetov composed the music, thus the poem became a song. The Politburo of the Navy recommended the All-Union Radio Committee to air the piece at the Red Navy rádio hour as it would have contributed to the song’s popularity. And the bureau proved itself right.
Later Evgeniy Zharkovskiy, prominent Soviet composer, wrote another version of music to turn Bukin’s lyrics into a song.

Lyrics in English:

Farewell, rocky mountains,
The Fatherland is calling for a feat.
We have came into open sea
For a harsh and long-distance campaign.
The waves are moaning and weeping
And splashing onto the ship board.
Rybachij [peninsula], our native land,
Has dissolved in distant fog.

A severe sea wave
Is toughly rocking our ship,
Lifting up and throwing again
Into the boiling chasm.
I won't be back soon,
But we have enough fire for the battle.
I know, my friends, that I can't live without sea
And the sea is lifeless without me.

By a ponderous sailor's step
I go toward the enemies
And later with heroic victory
I will return to the rocky shore.
Though the waves are moaning and weeping
And splashing onto the ship board,
Rybachij, our native land,
Will gladly greet the heroes.