Lyapis Trubetskoy, formed in Belarus in 1990, is one of the strangest bands… Read Full Bio ↴Lyapis Trubetskoy, formed in Belarus in 1990, is one of the strangest bands of the post-soviet show business. In 1998-1999 their songs could be heard on any major radio station, their videos were shown on every top TV channel both in Russia and CIS countries. Until now their legendary hits like “Au”, “Ti kinula” (“You Gave Me Up”), “Zelenolazoye taksi” (“Green-eyed Taxi”), “V plat’ye belom” (“In A White Dress”) and “Yabloni” (“Apple-trees”) are still popular among all Russian karaoke singers. Isn’t it the obvious sign of public acknowledgement? So, for “Lyapis Trubetskoy” the way towards stadium concerts seemed to be open, but…

“We came from the underground and became popular with our pop-culture parodies. One day to my horror I realized that our group has become similar to the objects of our parodies and mockery. We were starting to merge with all those pop-star crowd, but I’m not one of them and never wanted to be,” - Sergey Mikhalok, the band’s leader says. He admits that it wasn’t so easy to give up the show business game and become independent once again.

According to him, “it was very difficult to get our true essence back on top. And the thing wasn’t about any contracts. We had to overcome public opinion and, most importantly, set our own minds free. At first, my internal discomfort from the gap between the authentic “Lyapis Trubetskoy” and its public image was relieved by hard drinking and other stuff, but when my weight peaked at 110 kilograms and my mind was about to collapse, I gave up everything, lost 25 kilograms and started to play the music I like.”

“Capital” is the second independent album by “Lyapis Trubetskoy” after the “Zoloty’ye yaytsy” (“Golden Balls”) created in 2004 under heavy reggae and ska influence. “While working on “Zoloty’ye yaytsy” we didn’t understand what to do with our independence. As a result there were some reflex attempts to score a radio hit with “Rain’ka” or “Pochtal’iony” (“Postmen”), - Sergey Mikhalok says. – But this wasn’t the biggest problem. The whole album was overproduced, we tried to mix too many styles, musical instruments and sounds in it. So, we paid too much attention to the form instead of the essence. We were in need of a real professional who could tell us what was good and what was too much.”

That is why searching for a sound producer was one of the main tasks while working on “Capital”. At some point the band wanted to record their album in London, in the hometown the legendary British ska-band “Madness” (one of Mihalok’s favourites). When almost everything was ready for that, a chance interfered. At a concert in Kiev “Lyapis Trubetskoy” met a famous Ukrainian sound producer Vitaliy Telezin. He worked with “Okean El’zi”, “Brat’ia Grim” and other top Ukrainian/Russian artists. But it wasn’t the thing that attracted Mikhalok and his friends.

“We are from the same generation with him, we had common world outlook, we liked the same music. And it was the music we wanted to record on our new album. I don’t want to offend anyone, but, roughly speaking, for our band he is the first studio guy who didn’t need explanations about what is California wave or how “Green Day” and “Offspring” make their sound,” - Mikhalok says.

And this combination has worked perfectly well. Now it’s already clear that the new album will mean to the band and its fans no less than the legendary “Ty kinula” (“You Gave Me Up”) in 1998 and will give a rise to the new popularity wave for “Lyapis Trubetskoy”. Still, according to Sergey Mikhalok, the ideology of both the new album and the present group is different from what used to be in the years between these two landmarks. He says: “When I started my career I used to write songs that changed me and the world around me, but later I began to create stuff, that didn’t have influence either on me or the world around. At best those songs could be a soundtrack for some wedding or birthday. And what is horrible at some point I even used to be proud of that. But now I have come back to what everything started from – to a mix of biting satire and powerful chords.”

Video clips have played an important role in the album presentation. The first clip for the song “Hare” (“Enough”), a cheerful wedding trash-video, was filmed by a famous actor and new wave director Vladimir Epifantsev. The second clip, animation video “Capital”, which has become a real Internet sensation, was made by Aleksey Terekhov, co-author of the legendary “Au” (1998) and “Rozochka” (1999) videos. "Capital" has hardly appeared on TV, but has already won several prizes and got a lot of nominations on the different video & music festivals in Russia, Belarus, Portugal and so on.

Frontman Siarhei Mikhalok anounced mid-March 2014 that the group would ceased to exist the next 1 September.

offical website
www.lyapis.com
myspace page
www.myspace.com/lyapis

Клоуна нет
Ляпис Трубецкой Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Солнце, застывшее в январе —
Бутафорское золото блестит, но не греет.
Паук, застрявший в янтаре —
Вечная жизнь у красотки на шее.

Сны прекрасней, чем реальная жизнь —
Проклятое утро для больных оптимизмом.
Маленький кролик, чуть-чуть покажись!

Чёрный цилиндр полон цинизма.

Цирк уехал, клоун остался.
Пьяный проснулся — дрожит, испугался.
Дьявольский фокус, вечный антракт,
Румпельштильцхен подсунул контракт.

Цирк уехал, клоун остался.
Пьяный проснулся — дрожит, испугался.
Ветер уносит обрывки газет,
Дети придут, а клоуна нет!

Купол лиловый, звёзды в дыре,
Девочка крутит сальто на шаре.
Куклы и маски — на пыльном дворе,
Карлик в сомбреро бренчит на гитаре.

Обрывки событий, что были вчера:
Мартышка смеялась, гремели фанфары,
Цирк улетел, не дождавшись утра
Под грома раскаты и молний удары.

Цирк уехал, клоун остался.
Пьяный проснулся — дрожит, испугался.
Дьявольский фокус, вечный антракт,
Румпельштильцхен подсунул контракт.

Цирк уехал, клоун остался.
Пьяный проснулся — дрожит, испугался.
Ветер уносит обрывки газет,
Дети придут, а клоуна нет!

Цирк уехал, клоун остался.
Пьяный проснулся — дрожит, испугался.
Дьявольский фокус, вечный антракт,
Румпельштильцхен подсунул контракт.

Цирк уехал, клоун остался.
Пьяный проснулся — дрожит, испугался.
Ветер уносит обрывки газет,
Дети придут, а клоуна нет! Клоуна нет!
Клоуна нет!
Клоуна нет!
Клоуна нет! Клоуна нет!
Клоуна нет!

Клоуна нет!
Клоуна нет!

Overall Meaning

The lyrics of "Клоуна нет" by Ляпис Трубецкой depict a sense of loss and emptiness following the departure of the circus. The song opens with the image of a frozen sun in January, representing something that may glimmer but lacks warmth. Similarly, a spider trapped in amber symbolizes the eternal life granted to a beauty. These metaphors highlight the transient nature of happiness and joy.

The lyrics also touch upon the contrast between dreams and reality, suggesting that dreams are often more beautiful than the harshness of real life. The line about a small rabbit barely appearing and a black top hat filled with cynicism further emphasizes the illusion and deception that can accompany optimism.

The chorus repeats the line "Цирк уехал, клоун остался" (The circus left, the clown stayed), painting a picture of a drunken clown who wakes up trembling and afraid. This could represent a person left behind and feeling lost without the excitement and joy that the circus brought. The mention of a devilish trick and an eternal intermission, as well as the reference to an absent contract, suggests a deeper sense of manipulation and deception.

The last verse introduces a purple dome with stars in it, a girl performing acrobatics on a ball, dolls and masks on a dusty courtyard, and a dwarf strumming a guitar in a sombrero. These images evoke a sense of nostalgia and longing for a bygone era when the circus was still present.

Overall, "Клоуна нет" expresses a feeling of longing for the circus and the loss of happiness and innocence that it represents. The clown, symbolizing joy and laughter, is left behind in a world that feels empty and void.

Line by Line Meaning

Солнце, застывшее в январе —
The sun, frozen in January —

Бутафорское золото блестит, но не греет.
Mock gold shines, but does not warm.

Паук, застрявший в янтаре —
A spider stuck in amber —

Вечная жизнь у красотки на шее.
Eternal life on the beauty's neck.

Сны прекрасней, чем реальная жизнь —
Dreams are more beautiful than real life —

Проклятое утро для больных оптимизмом.
A cursed morning for the sick with optimism.

Маленький кролик, чуть-чуть покажись!
Little rabbit, just a little show yourself!

Чёрный цилиндр полон цинизма.
The black top hat is full of cynicism.

Цирк уехал, клоун остался.
The circus left, the clown stayed.

Пьяный проснулся — дрожит, испугался.
The drunkard woke up — trembling, frightened.

Дьявольский фокус, вечный антракт,
Devilish trick, eternal intermission,

Румпельштильцхен подсунул контракт.
Rumpelstiltskin slipped a contract.

Ветер уносит обрывки газет,
The wind carries shreds of newspapers,

Дети придут, а клоуна нет!
Children will come, but there is no clown!

Купол лиловый, звёзды в дыре,
A purple dome, stars in the hole,

Девочка крутит сальто на шаре.
A girl spins a somersault on a ball.

Куклы и маски — на пыльном дворе,
Dolls and masks — in the dusty yard,

Карлик в сомбреро бренчит на гитаре.
A dwarf in a sombrero strums a guitar.

Обрывки событий, что были вчера:
Fragments of events that were yesterday:

Мартышка смеялась, гремели фанфары,
The monkey laughed, the fanfares resounded,

Цирк улетел, не дождавшись утра
The circus flew away, without waiting for morning.

Под грома раскаты и молний удары.
Under the thunder's rumble and lightning strikes.