Ленинград is a fourteen-piece ska band from Saint Petersburg, Russia formed… Read Full Bio ↴Ленинград is a fourteen-piece ska band from Saint Petersburg, Russia formed in 1997. The band's frontman is Сергей Шнуров (Sergey Shnurov). In 2005, its music was featured in the film Everything Is Illuminated, starring Elijah Wood.

The band, and especially its leader, Shnurov, has long been famous for its catchy beats and irrepressibly bad language, somehow managing to be one of the top bands in Russia despite almost never being clean enough to earn radio play and despite its live concerts being banned in Moscow.

In 2008 Leningrad disbanded. Its former members run Рубль and Spitfire. The band reunited in 2010.

Матросы
Ленинград Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Сидели два матроса курили папиросу,
А что за папиросу осталось под вопросом,
А что за папиросу осталось под вопросом.

"Герцеговина Флора" была тогда не в моде,
Курила вместе с ними труба на пароходе,
Курила вместе с ними труба на пароходе.

Стоял тогда над морем абсолютный штиль,

А мир висел на волоске, горел уже фитиль,
А мир висел на волоске, горел уже фитиль.

Overall Meaning

The song "Матросы" by Ленинград tells a story of two sailors who are smoking cigarettes and discussing the brand they are smoking. While they smoke, they comment that they are unsure of the brand they are smoking, questioning "what kind of cigarette is this?" The sailors are on a steamboat and a person named "Герцеговина Флора" is smoking with them.

The lyrics depict an atmosphere of calmness as the sea is described as being completely still. However, there is also a sense of tension and worry as the world is portrayed as being on the brink of chaos and destruction, with the fuse already lit. The heavy use of repetition in the song emphasizes the significance of the questions being asked by the sailors and the sense of unease that they feel.

Overall, the lyrics of "Матросы" create a vivid image of a quiet moment on a steamboat, while also suggesting that the world is not as peaceful as it seems.

Line by Line Meaning

Сидели два матроса курили папиросу,
Two sailors were sitting smoking a cigarette,

А что за папиросу осталось под вопросом,
But what kind of cigarette it was remained unclear,

А что за папиросу осталось под вопросом.
But what kind of cigarette it was remained unclear.

Герцеговина Флора была тогда не в моде,
Herzegovina Flora cigarette was not in fashion at the time,

Курила вместе с ними труба на пароходе,
A pipe was being smoked together with them on the steamship,

Курила вместе с ними труба на пароходе.
A pipe was being smoked together with them on the steamship.

Стоял тогда над морем абсолютный штиль,
At that time, there was an absolute calm over the sea,

А мир висел на волоске, горел уже фитиль,
And the world hung by a thread, the fuse was already burning,

А мир висел на волоске, горел уже фитиль.
And the world hung by a thread, the fuse was already burning.

Contributed by Landon M. Suggest a correction in the comments below.

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