Thread: советские военные песни

Originally Posted by Throbert McGee

(2) I assumed that мотив, in this context, refers back to the rocket?

I'd translate simply:
"But the tune will get him even there
And he'll dance his way into the grave"

Here is a continuation of an allegory «"Katyusha" (launcher) firing rockets - Katyusha (girl) singing song».
Not sure if phrase "dance one's way into the grave" makes sense in english.

Originally Posted by Throbert McGee

(3) Am I right that the imperative лети is addressed to the German, and not to the "Katiusha"?

Probably you're right.

Originally Posted by Throbert McGee

(4) I'm sure that somewhere in English folklore, there's a better translation of "на кулички" than "to damnation," but I'm drawing a blank.

In old times one would say "К чёрту на кулички" if he's not willing to tell where exactly he's going and did't want any more questions about it. "Кулички" (или "кулижки") here means small pieces of dry land on a bog or meadows in a forest - some very distant and deserted places. So literal traslation would be "go to meet imp deep into the forest", but you need something from folklore, you're right.

Originally Posted by Throbert McGee

(5) I know that "дохлый" does not literally mean "rotting", but "May you rot in Hell!" is a standard curse in English.

You say "дохлый" instead of "мёртвый" when you feel disparagingly for one you are talking about.

Originally Posted by Throbert McGee

(6) I wasn't sure about "лупить", but I took a guess that here it means "сдирать с кого-н. кору заживо"?

Analog for "Лупить" would be "pommel". There's no special word for "сдирать кожу заживо" in russian, because such kind of execution was never used.