Alisa (Алиса, Russian for Alice) is a Russian and Soviet hard rock band, on… Read Full Bio ↴Alisa (Алиса, Russian for Alice) is a Russian and Soviet hard rock band, one of the most influential in the Russian rock movement. Their lyrics, written by vocalist Konstantin Kinchev, are about social problems, rock lifestyle, Slavic culture and, recently, Christian faith. Alisa's music evolved from post punk in the 1980s to heavier metal sound of recent albums.

Alisa was founded in November 1983 by bassist Svetoslav Zadery. The name of the band is borrowed from Lewis Carroll's book "Alice in Wonderland". The band's lineup was finally completed in 1984, when new vocalist Kostya Kinchev (born Konstantin Panfilov) and guitarist Pyotr Samoylov joined Alisa. Their debut album "Energia" (Energy) was released by Melodia, the state publishing monopoly, and was sold in numbers of more than one million.

But the relations between the two leaders, Konstantin and Zadery, were poor, and finally Svetoslav left the band. This occurred just one hour before Alisa was to perform at a concert. Alisa had to ask Кино bassist Igor Tihomirov to replace him for one concert. Later Zadery created his own band 'Nate!' ('Take it!').

The growing popularity of the band created a fan community called the 'Army of Alisa', known for their rough behaviour at concerts. It led to animosity between the band and Soviet officials. In 1987 the newspaper Smena accused Kinchev of Nazi propaganda and worshipping Hitler. Alisa's leader Kinchev filed a suit for calumny and moral loss compensation. After the year-long court process the magazine published the refutation. Alisa's next album was titled Article 206 part 2, a chapter ('Hooliganism') of the USSR Procedural Code, alluding to this process.

There were new lineup changes in 1988, when guitarist Igor 'Chuma' Chumykin joined Alisa. This change was followed by the heavier sound of next albums Shabash and For those Who Fell From the Moon. Alisa toured through Europe and Israel together with Aria. The album Black Mark, 1994, was dedicated to the memory of Chuma, who committed suicide by jumping from the window.

In the new millennium, with albums such as Seychas Pozdnee Chem Ty Dumaesh (It is Later Than You Think, 2003) and Izgoy (Exile, 2005), the sound of Alisa was changed to a heavier one, including elements of nu-metal, industrial and heavy metal. Music critics credited Clawfinger as Kinchev's greatest new music influence. This gave Alisa a new fan base among Russian hard rock fans, and three songs from Izgoy continually reached the top of the NASHE radio chart.

Kinchev was baptised in 1990, and since then Christianity has been the main influence on his alignment and his lyrics. Although early Alisa lyrics were typical for Russian rock - the social protest and rock 'n' roll hype - since the late 1990's their main theme has been ideas of Christianity, Russian patriotism, and Slavic unity.

Konstantin is in good relations with the priests of the Russian Orthodox Church, especially Andrey Kuraev. Alisa has participated in many religion-supporting festivals, such as 'Musicians for the Christ Savior Cathedral'.

Плач
АлисА Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Печальна ночь,
Капризен день,
И прячет дождь
Рассвета тень.
Туда, где ждут
Снять урожай,
Я ухожу,
Не провожай.

Перекати-поле
С Дона до Ангары
Где точит камень-шаман
Летописец Байкал.
Перекати-поле
С Лены и до Невы,
Где на рассвете звездой
Я встал!
Плач, плач,
Да наливай скорей,
Плач, плач,
Я пропился в дым,
Плач, плач,
Да ещё налей,
Плач, плач,
Хорошо сидим.
Плач, плач,
Да по всей Руси,
Плач, плач,
Ох, до песен ли,
Плач, плач,
Где ни колеси,
Плач, плач,
Как ни весели.
Куда ни глянь -
Гроза в глаза,
Как с нищих дань
Под образа.
Да с пьяных глаз
Всё хорошо.
Горим на раз,
Лишь только дождь прошёл.
Перекати-поле
С Ладоги на Онон,
Где заклинатель степей
С колыбели плел Мост.
Перекати-поле
С Шаморы на Москву,

Где чёрным маком в огне
Я рос!

Overall Meaning

The Russian song "Плач" by Алиса tells the story of a person who is experiencing a sense of loneliness and despair on a melancholic night which is followed by a fickle day. The rain hides the shadow of the sunrise and the person decides to leave without any goodbyes to go where they can harvest crops. The song then talks about how one can go anywhere in Russia and always feel the gloom of a storm, a reminder of the charity that comes even from the destitute.

The song has a deep sense of nostalgia, and the lyrics speak about the vastness of Russia, where one can travel from Don to Angara, Lena to Neva, Ladoga to Onon, and Shamora to Moscow just to experience the songs of its people. This freedom of travel is portrayed as a journey to one's internal self by interacting with the diverse people across Russia. The chorus of the song repeats "Плач" (crying) with the idea that nothing can change the reality of life's hardships.

Line by Line Meaning

Печальна ночь,
The night is sad,

Капризен день,
The day is capricious,

И прячет дождь Рассвета тень.
And the rain hides the dawn's shadow.

Туда, где ждут Снять урожай, Я ухожу, Не провожай.
There, where they wait to harvest, I go, don't see me off.

Перекати-поле С Дона до Ангары Где точит камень-шаман Летописец Байкал.
Rolling fields from the Don to the Angara where the shaman sharpens the stone, the Baikal chronicler.

Перекати-поле С Лены и до Невы, Где на рассвете звездой Я встал!
Rolling fields from Lena to Neva where I rose like a star at dawn!

Плач, плач, Да наливай скорей, Плач, плач, Я пропился в дым, Плач, плач, Да ещё налей, Плач, плач, Хорошо сидим.
Cry, cry, pour quickly, cry, cry, I'm soaked with smoke, cry, cry, but pour some more, cry, cry, it's good to sit and cry.

Плач, плач, Да по всей Руси, Плач, плач, Ох, до песен ли, Плач, плач, Где ни колеси, Плач, плач, Как ни весели.
Cry, cry, all over Russia, cry, cry, until the songs, cry, cry, wherever the wheels, cry, cry, no matter how festive.

Куда ни глянь - Гроза в глаза, Как с нищих дань Под образа.
Wherever you look - a storm in the face, as if tribute from the poor under the image.

Да с пьяных глаз Всё хорошо. Горим на раз, Лишь только дождь прошёл.
But everything's fine through drunken eyes. We burn bright, but only after the rain has passed.

Перекати-поле С Ладоги на Онон, Где заклинатель степей С колыбели плел Мост.
Rolling fields from Ladoga to Onon where the steppe charmer weaved the bridge from the cradle.

Перекати-поле С Шаморы на Москву, Где чёрным маком в огне Я рос!
Rolling fields from Shamora to Moscow where I grew up in the fire of black poppies!

Contributed by Eli V. Suggest a correction in the comments below.

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