HammAli opens with a run of questions that sound like a friend talking you down from a bad mood: "Зачем грустить? Если можно не грусти" (Why be sad? If you can, don't be sad), "Зачем держать, можно отпустить" (Why hold on, you can let go) and "Зачем обиды? Можно их простить" (Why the grudges? You can forgive them). Then comes the big one, repeated until it sticks: "На что мы тратим жизнь?" (What are we spending our life on?). He looks around and does not love what he sees: "Парят людей только деньги" (Only money bothers people). Here парить is slang for "to stress someone out", not its normal meaning of "to soar". He has a sharp line about it too: without love "ты как бедный, только беднее, чем бедный" (you're like a poor man, only poorer than poor).
The answer he offers is small and warm. Instead of "куча пустых разговоров" (a pile of empty talk) and fights, he lists what actually matters: "Гитара тут, братья и двор, дом, малая, любовь" (A guitar here, brothers and the yard, home, my girl, love). Малая literally means "little one" and is a casual way to say "my girlfriend", and двор is the courtyard between apartment blocks where friends hang out. He says "мне надо чуть-чуть" (I need just a little), his family is proud of him and his friends have his back. The last jab is a good one: you invented your own problems, "но ты лишь внутри обеднел" (but you only became poorer inside). It's a bit preachy, sure, but it's a very singable sermon.
Did you know?
In addition to reading lyric translations, you can now learn Russian with music and lyrics from your favorite artists.
No more boring lessons. You can now learn with engaging and culturally relevant lyrics from the best artists.