Play It Again: A Short Guide To Russian Contemporary Music

It can be an agreeable sentiment to say that music can help with language learning, but if I told you to ask native Russians what music they listen to, you’d probably find them having a hard time answering your question.

Indeed, most native Russians, especially the younger ones, actually prefer foreign music -- American in particular. In case you were wondering about what songs you should listen to in order to improve your Russian, here's my short subjective guide to three of the best contemporary Russian music that will help you to learn Russian.

Learn Personal & Possessive Pronouns with Spleen

I will start with probably the most famous Russian song of the last two decades. You might’ve even heard it already. If you turn this track on, no Russian would be able to resist to singing along! I first heard of this song being sung by 12-year-old kids, conservatoire students, and then subsequently at almost every house party.

So taking this song as our first example: let’s find all the personal and possessive pronouns in this song! Below are both the native and translated versions of the lyrics to this song.

Моё Сердце

Мы не знали друг друга до этого лета,

Мы болтались по свету, земле и воде

И совершенно случайно мы взяли билеты

На соседние кресла на большой высоте.

И моё сердце остановилось, моё сердце замерло,

Моё сердце остановилось, моё сердце замерло.

И ровно тысячу лет мы просыпаемся вместе,

Даже если уснули в разных местах,

Мы идём ставить кофе под Элвиса Пресли,

Кофе сбежал под "Propellerheads", ах.

И моё сердце остановилось, моё сердце замерло,

Моё сердце остановилось, моё сердце замерло.

И может быть, ты не стала звездой в Голливуде,

Не выходишь на подиум в нижнем белье,

У тебя не берут автографы люди,

И поёшь ты чуть тише, чем Монсеррат Кабалье.

Ну так и я, слава Богу, ни Рикки, ни Мартин,

Не выдвигался на Оскар, французам не забивал,

Моим именем не назван город на карте,

Но задёрнуты шторы и разложен диван.

И моё сердце остановилось, моё сердце замерло,

Моё сердце остановилось, моё сердце замерло.

Я наяву вижу то, что многим даже не снилось,

Не являлось под кайфом, не стучалось в стекло,

Моё сердце остановилось, отдышалось немного...

И снова пошло.

Моё сердце остановилось, моё сердце замерло.

И моё сердце hasta la vista, моё сердце замерло,

Моё сердце остановилось, моё сердце замерло.

My Heart

We didn’t know each other before this summer,

We were hanging around the world, lands, and seas,

And by pure chance we once got tickets

For side by side seats, high in the air.

And my heart stopped, my heart stood still.

My heart stopped, my heart stood still.

For a thousand years now, we wake up together,

Even if we fell asleep in different places.

We make our coffee listening to Elvis Presley,

Coffee boiled over with “Propellerheads”, oh...

And my heart stopped, my heart stood still.

My heart stopped, my heart stood still.

And maybe you didn’t become a Hollywood star,

You are not in underwear on a catwalk,

People don't ask for your autographs,

And you sing a bit quieter than Montserrat Caballe.

But, thank God, I am neither Ricky nor Martin,

Was never nominated for Oscars, never scored to France,

No town is named after me,

But the curtains are drawn and the sofa is folded out.

And my heart stopped, my heart stood still.

My heart stopped, my heart stood still.

In real life, I see what many have never dreamt of,

That wasn’t imagined on drugs and didn’t knock on a window,

My heart stopped, caught its breath...

And went on again.

My heart stopped, my heart stood still.

And my heart hasta la vista, my heart stood still.

My heart stopped, my heart stood still.

So, let’s break this song down:

We first have “мы” // “we”: Personal pronoun, plural, 1st person, nominative case. Then in the title and the refrain, there is the possessive pronoun “моё” – singular, 1st person, nominative case, neutral (conjugated with “сердце” – “heart”).

In the second verse. In the phrase “we fell asleep”, “we” – “мы” is omitted. You don’t have to use personal pronouns all the time since the verb can already indicate the subject. This is an advantage of the Russian language!

There is also the personal pronoun “ты” – “you”. Informal singular, 1st person, nominative case. Again, omitted in the second line.

The next form is a difficult one, but widely used in everyday life. It is “У тебя” – singular, 1st person, genitive case with a preposition “у”. The first meaning is “related to the subject”. The most common example is:

“Как у тебя дела?”
“How are you doing?”

But in this song, it is used with another meaning: to take, remove from somebody or something. Literally, we’d translate this phrase like this:

“People don’t take autographs from you”.

There is the personal pronoun “я” – “I”. Singular, 1st person, nominative case. As well as the possessive pronoun “моим” - “with my”, “by use of my” – singular, 1st person, instrumental case, masculin. Subsequently, the literal translation is:

“No town is called with my name”

The band Spleen is mostly appreciated for their sensitive, poetic lyrics that’s inspired by «alternative» Russian poets such as Vladimir Mayakovsky and Joseph Brodsky. Some of Brodsky’s poetry has since been transformed into beautiful songs as well.

What else to listen to:

*Recommended for advanced learners*

«Новые люди» (New people)
«Маяк» (Mayak), based on a poem of Vladimir Mayakovsky mentioned above
«Двое не спят» (The two are not sleeping)

Learn Future Tense With Petr Nalitch

This musician, as a well-known young Canadian pop singer, became popular after a music video posted on YouTube. However, the fame haven’t seem to have gone to his head: Petr still maintains control of his own music, often being inspired by slavic and balkan folk music.

His music has witty and somewhat weird lyrics in combination with almost opera vocals that makes him an outstanding artist. I opted to choose this romantic song of his, which will help you with learning Russian future tense.

Море

На бескрайнем морском просторе

Светят звездами маяки.

С тихой песней мы уходим в море -

Подпевай друзья-моряки!

Теплый ветер качает лодку,

Над водою стоит туман.

Не забуду я твою походку,

Как не забуду я твой обман.

Ты сегодня всю ночь гадала,

Милая, с кем же будешь ты?

Карты по полу раскидала,

Ты в щепки разбила мои мечты.

Волны бьются все выше, выше -

Мне теперь все равно.

Больше меня никто не услышит,

С тихой песней мы уходим на дно...

Буду лежать я на дне океана

В мире беззвучной красоты.

Будут надо мною проплывать капитаны,

С которыми, быть может, гуляешь ты.

Ты сегодня всю ночь глядела

На волны, бегущие за кормой.

Там, в глубине, ты увидела тело –

Да, это я! Я всегда с тобой...

Sea

On the endless sea horizons

Beacons shine like stars,

With a quiet song we are leaving for the sea,

Sing along with me, my fellow sailors!

A warm breeze heels the boat,

Fog rises above the water,

I will not forget your gait,

As I will not forget your dishonesty.

This whole night you’ve been guessing,

Darling, with whom will you be?

You scattered the cards on the floor,

You crashed my dreams into the woodchips.

The waves are breaking higher and higher -

I don’t care anymore.

Nobody will hear me again,

With a quiet song we are sinking to the bottom…

I will be lying at the bottom of the ocean,

In the world of the silent beauty.

Captains will be sailing above me,

With whom you may go out.

This whole night you’ve been looking

On the waves running over the stern.

There, on the seabed, you saw a body –

Yes, it’s me! I’m always with you...

So, let’s break this song down:

“Не забуду я” or “Я не забуду” without inversion – “I will not forget”.
“Будешь ты” (“Ты будешь”) – “You will”, or more precisely in this example, “You will be”.
“Больше ... никто не услышит” – “Nobody will hear again”. There is a double negative here, which is very common in Russian. A negative “больше не” – “no more” or “not again”. As well, “Никто” – “nobody” requires a singular verb, just as in English.
“Буду лежать я” (“Я буду лежать”) – “I will be lying”. The compound form of the future tense is an equivalent of the future continuous in English.
“Будут … проплывать капитаны” (“Капитаны будут проплывать”) – “Captains will be sailing”. The same thing.

Most of Petr Nalitch’s lyrics are better suited for intermediate Russian learners, but don’t be surprised: sometimes Nalitch starts scatting à la Nina Simone or Ella Fitzgerald - and it has nothing to do with Russian.

What else to listen to:

«Я твой сахарный пакет» (I’m your sugar packet)
«Йети» (Yeti)
«В лунном сиянье» (In the moonlight) – the cover of an old Russian song.

Useful Basic Russian Vocabulary With Mumiy Troll

This band is still popular among younger Russians, which is impressive considering that the band was formed in 1983! They constantly try new sounds and styles, and are never afraid of seeming weird or absurd. No more grammar! Let’s listen to the following song and just recognize as many words as we can!

Бермуды

Всем телепрограммам приходит однажды конец,

Ведь спутникам и их антеннам не всё держать связь.

Они могли бы тоже хотеть и любить отдохнуть,

Такое желание ещё не подкралось ко мне.

Давно прозвенел последний трамвай,

Но всё не летит первый звездолёт.

Осталось мне что – посидеть у окна

И, видно, ещё подождать.

Скрестив ноги, в позе йоги на подоконнике.

Какие Бермуды! Какие треугольники!

Такие Бермуды! Какие треугольники!

Какие Бермуды! Такие треугольники!

Последний и предпоследний герой

Утонут в свою предпоследнюю-последнюю осень.

Давай будем мерить все наши новые джинсы,

На ужин в лучший китайский в стране ресторан.

Зажегся давно этот красный фонарь,

Но как сесть на хвост тебе, дракон?

Осталось мне что – посидеть у окна

И, видно, ещё подождать.

Скрестив ноги, в позе йоги на подоконнике.

Какие Бермуды! Какие треугольники!

Такие Бермуды! Какие треугольники!

Какие Бермуды! Такие треугольники!

Bermuda

All the TV shows reach once their end,

As satellites and their antennas cannot be on all the time.

Maybe, they want and love to have a rest,

Such a desire hasn’t come to me yet.

The last tramway horned a lot time ago,

But the first starship is still not launched.

All that I can do – is to sit at the window

And, probably, to wait a little bit more.

Crossing the legs for a yoga pose on a window sill.

Such Bermuda! Such triangles!

The last and the second to last heros,

Will drown in their second-to-last and last autumn.

Let’s try on all our new jeans,

And diner in the best chinese restaurant in the country.

This red lamp is alight for a long time,

But how to sit on your tail, dragon?

All that I can do – is to sit at the window

And, probably, to wait a little bit more.

Crossing the legs for a yoga pose on a window sill.

Such Bermuda! Such triangles!

Here is some basic useful words:

Russian	English	Russian	English
конец	an end	последний	last
хотеть	to want	первый	first
любить	to love	окно	a window
отдохнуть	to have a rest	ноги	legs, feet
осень	autumn	давай	let’s
новые	new (plural)	ужин	a dinner
лучший	the best	страна	a country
ресторан	a restaurant	красный	red

Yes, the irony of learning Russian is the fact that you will probably understand many words, but hardly any sentences, and moreover not the meaning of a song.

What else to listen to:

«Невеста» (The fiancée)
«Утекай» (Flow away)
«Такие девчонки» (Such Girls)

Note: Mumiy Troll gets extra points from the language learning community for their plurilingualism – they also sing in English and Chinese!

Music is a great way to learn languages. I hope that you’ve enjoyed the songs that I’ve chosen, and found it useful for you. Which band do you prefer? Which lyrics are the simplest to understand for you? Let me know in the comments section! Also, if you have questions, don’t hesitate to ask me.

Enjoy your listening! Приятного прослушивания!

Hero image by Clem Onojeghuo (CC0 1.0)