An intimate friend of the Czar was I  A personal friend of the great Nikolai  We practically slept in the same double bed  It was I at the foot and he at the head  (chorus)  Shootin' with Rasputin  Ate farina with Czarina  Blintzes with the princes and the Czar  Shootin' with Rasputin  Ate farina with Czarina  Sharing tea and herring round the samovar  A friend of the Czar was I all his gracious life  But friendlier still was I with his young wife  We practically slept in the same double bed  Till the Czar kicked me out  And slept there instead  (chorus)  As the Red flag rose I bid Russia goodbye  It was simply a case of Lenin or I  And it all seems so distant it all seems so far  From those glorious days hanging out with the Czar.  (chorus)