Letovs
Lyrics for Overabundance of Wit (1989)
For an overabundance of wit, there’s only beggars’ bowls and prison For a boistrous brain, there are only ditches and dikes For a beautiful brain, there are only scabs and lice For universal love there are only bloodied faces A bedsheet blows in the wind, walking through morning dew From fruitless ideas to ethereal guests From closed doors to buried animals From covered tables to heads busted open A black satellite flies parallel to the road He will console and save, he will deliver peace Under a coarse wing, night around a round table A red-white poster, start up the scooter
Lyrics for My Defense (1989)
The plastic world has won The model turned out to be stronger The last ship has gone cold The last flashlight is tired And clumps of memory are stuck in my throat Oh - my defense A glimmer of light in an unseeing world Oh - my defense A mournful little ball of an absurd world A mournful little ball of a cheap world The plastic world has won The cardboard alarm rejoices Who needs a slice of the July sky?
Lyrics for Motherland (1993)
I see my motherland rising up from its knees I see my motherland rising from the ashes I hear my great motherland singing My motherland is once more rising up from its knees My epic nation is unbending its back Our wrathful power is moving apart the walls The sun calls us to follow it on campaign Against deadly cold, against pitch-black night I see my motherland rising up from its knees I see my motherland rising up with fury and pride I hear my great motherland singing My motherland is once more rising up from its knees
Lyrics for Mein Kampf (1986)
Corporal Schiklgruber1 wasn’t in prison for naught Corporal Schiklgruber wasn’t in prison for naught That’s where he wrote Mein Kampf That’s where he wrote Mein Kampf A textbook for sadists and exceptional bastards A textbook for the strong, a textbook for Achilles That’s where he wrote Mein Kampf Mein Kampf, Mein Kampf Read Mein Kampf Read Mein Kampf Mein Kampf, Mein Kampf Read Mein Kampf Corporal Schiklgruber was a maniac and masochist Corporal Schiklgruber was a maniac and masochist How do you transform a person into a fascist?
Lyrics for I Will Always Be Against (1988)
Falling into ditches, smelling the stench of corpses Solving the problems of global communism In circle after circle of darkness, communists march forward! The source of objections packaged by the Sovdep1! I will always be against this! He who has not yet broken down, his time will come Fill the rebel’s chest with bullets Exhaustively delving into pro-Soviet bullshit In a healthy state there shall be a healthy peace
Lyrics for Harakiri (1988)
Sid Vicious died before your eyes John Lennon died before your eyes Jim Morrison died before your eyes But you’ve stayed as you were… There are only two paths for honest fellows Grab an automatic and kill everyone Or kill yourself, yourself, yourself, yourself If you earnestly perceive this world… The ends justify the means, let’s go Kill, rape, slander, betray For the sake of the light, light, light, light The bright building of the Juche idea
Lyrics for Government (1988)
A rusty bunker - that’s my freedom The sweet pastry has long ago dried up With the boots of my people The foremen hamper the shit Hidden around the corner Someone killed with a garbage can The one who willingly descended into the basement Doomed to failure from the start I killed the government within me Mute in a world of invective Able to see in a world of empty eye sockets Balancing on the edge Between rows of thick eyebrows1
Lyrics for Everything's Going According to Plan (1988)
The key to our borders has been broken in two And Our Father1 Lenin has withered away He’s decomposed into mold and linden honey. And the Perestroika is still going according to plan. And the mud has turned into black ice, and everything is going according to plan. And my destiny wants some rest. I promised it not to join the game of war But on my army cap, there is a hammer and a sickle and a star How touching – a hammer, a sickle and a star The dashing lantern of anticipation is dangling back and forth And everything is going according to plan
Lyrics for Everything's As It Should Be (1989)
Here’s everything that has been It didn’t exist nor does it now All of the layers are soaked All of the words have burned Everything’s as it should be1 In worn out boots Years and cigarette buds In worn out pockets Passports and fingers Everything’s as it should be Sprightly wheels Durable buildings New decrees Brotherly graves Everything’s as it should be Here’s everything that has been It didn’t exist nor does it now Correct and clear Awesome and forever
Lyrics for About A Fool (1990)
A fool wanders through the forest Looking for a fool even greater than him Death walks down the street, carrying blini1 on a plate Whoever takes one will have his fate She’ll touch him on the shoulder and kiss him passionately And pennies will fly out of his ass A fool wanders through the forest Looking for a fool even greater than him The gears are turning in my head My head is drenched in an armor-piercing rain The mercury boiled and my fist went for a blow But if you put a cross on your chest, you must Put coins on the eyes2
Lyrics for A Song About Lenin (1988)
Lenin is Hitler, Lenin is Stalin Lenin is Kim Il Sung, Lenin is Mao Lenin is Buddha, Christ, and Cain and Abel Lenin is the Yin and the Yang, Lenin is the Dao Lenin lived, Lenin lives, Lenin will live Lenin will, will, will Lenin, Lenin he will live! Lenin is the jokes with which they hound us Lenin is the pastries with which they entice us Lenin is the hands with which they pound us
Letov Interview 2
Letov: It’s punk rock, Russian punk rock. I wouldn’t even focus on the style, there are many different styles. We have a few projects, Kommunizm, Grazhdanskaya Oborona, and my own personal project. On the whole, it’s garage rock, garage punk. Interviewer: Punk rock means you’re against something, right? That’s how it was in the West 10 years ago. Can you compare Western music to your own? L: I think that Russian rock has always differed from your rock.
Letov Interview 1
Interviewer: Are you often interviewed? Letov: Yes, often. I: By whom? L: Everyone. I: Everyone who isn’t too lazy? L: Yes, everyone who isn’t too lazy. Mostly political newspapers. I: Why? L: Because I’m in politics now. I: Your band is involved in politics? L: Not the band, me personally. I: What kind? L: What? I: Well, right now politics consists mostly of intrigues and whatnot. L: Politics of the most direct kind.