Ветер (Veter) Lyrics in English Jony
Души не чаял (dushi ne chayal) is a beautiful Russian idiom that literally translates to something like "to not expect a soul in someone". It is a poetic phrase that doesn't make much sense when translated word-for-word, making it a fascinating expression to learn.
Its actual meaning is to dote on someone, to be completely infatuated, or to love someone to distraction. In the song, Jony sings "В тебе души не чаял" (I doted on you) to express the sheer depth of his past feelings, which makes his current heartbreak feel even more profound.
Three words open the song, one per line: evening, Peter (the nickname for Saint Petersburg), wind. That's the whole setting. Then comes the line the song is built on: the wind blows the sadness away. Jony can't live without her, the sun is no substitute for the moon, and he wonders how he's supposed to fall asleep without her lips.
The middle is quieter and more cutting. They stay silent, but silence hides nothing, and he admits her tears seemed sincere, though not all of them, because he was looking into her eyes and not seeing what he wanted to. So he leaves the house. The sky grieves along with him, he's not afraid to forgive, and what's left is a lump in his chest where she planted a фантом, a phantom of herself. The wind won't tell anyone about his sorrow. It just keeps blowing it around.
