The image of the group is mostly formed by Vyacheslav Butusov, its invariable frontman, lead guitar and composer. The lyrics were written mostly by Ilya Kormiltsev, who also wrote lyrics for several other notable "Ural rock" bands of the period.
The band's official site is www.nautilus.ru.
Their history starts in 1978, when three students of Sverdlovsk Institute of Architecture, Vyacheslav Butusov (vocals, guitar), Dmitry Umetsky (bass, backing vocals), and Igor Goncharov (drums) started playing rock-n-roll together for fun. Their first more or less complete, though amateur, recording was made in 1982.
This debut album, entitled "Переезд" (pronounced "pereyezd"; Russian for "crossing" or "moving on") was inclined heavily towards rock-n-roll or even hard rock in the vein of Led Zeppelin, which was completely abandoned by the time of recording the next album. The breakthrough came in 1986 with their third LP called "Разлука" ("razluka"; Apartness). Nautilus Pompilius became true nationwide stars, their brand of keyboard-driven post-punk with new wave elements and catchy melodies bringing them huge success. As ninety-nine per cent of Russian rock were politically engaged, the lyrical image of the band was also important. Nautilus created both pamphlets criticizing the Communist regime, such as "Скованные одной цепью" (Chained Together) or "Шар цвета хаки" (Khaki-Colored Globe), and emotional ballads, the most popular among them "Я хочу быть с тобой" (I Want To Be With You). The biggest hits of this period are still well-known in Russia. Butusov and Umetsky led the band to a cult status, but then Dmitry suddenly quit Nautilus in 1988.
In 1989, after a year and a half of almost uninterrupted touring, many line-up changes and a couple of live recordings, the band broke up while still enjoying enormous popularity and even some official recognition. This decision was unwelcome among fans, but it brought Butusov and Umetsky together once more. They started the band from scratch, but this attempt was unsuccessful and they parted ways soon having made only demos for what was later released as "Человек без имени" ("chelovek bez imeni"; Man Without A Name). But then Ilya Kormiltsev, the man behind the lyrics, decided to join Butusov again. The band had a composer and a lyricist, so the writing and recording began with help of a completely new line-up including Igor Djavad-zade, a Tajikistan-born drummer of some renown due to his involvement in successful jazz projects, and Oleg Sakmarov, the flutist of perhaps the most popular Russian band of the time, Аквариум.
The following three years saw the band change its style to guitar-driven rock and making two further albums. The biggest hit of that period was 1991's medieval-styled ballad "Прогулки по воде" ("progulki po vode" - Walking Upon Water) with lyrics about Jesus walking upon water and preaching to his disciple St. Andrew.
In 1994 Nautilus returned to the mainstream scene with the album "Титаник" (Titanic). The line-up was revised once more, with members of 1988 superstar line-up Albert Potapkin (drums) and Alexei Mogilevsky (keyboards, saxophone) returning to the band, the former since 1992 and the latter since 1994. The next effort was their perhaps most succesful CD entitled "Крылья" ("krylia" - Wings), the sombre title track becoming an instant hit. The band toured Russia and abroad, reaching ever larger audiences, but then finally broke up after one more album "Яблокитай" ("yablokitay" - Apple-China, a pun on the Russian word for "orange" - апельсин, which is borrowed from Dutch where it means literally "Сhina-apple") which didn't appeal to fans as much as the previous two.
Vyacheslav Butusov himself is still fairly popular in Russia and performs with a new band called Ю-Питер.
Шар цвета хаки
Nautilus Pompilius Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
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Был бесцветным,
Был безупречно чистым.
Был прозрачным,
Стал абсолютно белым.
И покрыл меня мелом.
Был бы белым,
Но все же был бы чистым.
Пусть холодным,
Но все же с ясным взором.
Но кто-то решил, что война,
И покрыл меня черным.
Я вижу цвет,
Но я здесь не был.
Я слышу цвет, я чувствую цвет,
Я знать не хочу всех тех,
Кто уже красит небо.
Я вижу песню вдали,
Но я слышу лишь:
"Марш, марш левой,
"Марш, марш правой."
Я не видел толпы страшней,
Чем толпа цвета хаки.
.
Был бы черным,
Да буть хоть самым чертом.
Но кто-то главный,
Кто вечно рвет в атаку,
Приказал наступать на лето
И втоптал меня в хаки.
Я вижу дым,
Но я здесь не был.
Я слышу гарь,
Я чувствую гарь
Я знать не хочу ту тварь,
Кто спалит это небо.
Я вижу песню вдали,
Но я слышу лишь:
"Марш, марш левой,
"Марш, марш правой."
Я не видел картины дурней,
Чем шар цвета хаки.
.
Марш, марш левой,
Марш, марш правой.
Марш, марш левой,
Марш, марш правой.
The song "Шар цвета хаки" by Nautilus Pompilius begins with the singer describing their past self as colorless, pure, and transparent. However, someone decided that it was winter and covered them in white chalk. They were still pure, though, despite the coldness. Suddenly, someone decided that it was war and covered them in black paint. The singer sees color, but they were not present at these changes. They hear the color and feel it, but they do not want to know about those who paint the sky.
Later in the song, the singer says that they would have been black if it weren't for the chief who always charges ahead, attacking. They were ordered to advance into summer and were pushed into the color khaki. They now see smoke, but they were not there. They feel the ash and do not want to know what creature will burn this sky. The chorus repeats the marching, both left and right, and the spherical shape of khaki color is said to be the most foolish picture they could have imagined.
The lyrics of the song describe the changes in the singer's life, in which an external force always decides how they will appear or feel. The use of color is a metaphor for power and manipulation, with white being the initial state of purity, black being the color of war and chaos, and khaki being what the chief orders. The marching reinforces the theme of control, as the singer hears it in their mind but does not see anyone there. It is a haunting depiction of being helpless in the face of authoritarianism and conformity.
Line by Line Meaning
Был бесцветным,
I used to be colorless
Был безупречно чистым.
I used to be immaculately clean.
Был прозрачным,
I used to be transparent
Стал абсолютно белым.
I became completely white.
Видно кто-то решил, что зима,
Apparently, someone decided it was winter
И покрыл меня мелом.
And covered me with chalk.
Был бы белым,
I could've been white
Но все же был бы чистым.
But nevertheless, I would've been pure.
Пусть холодным,
Though I may be cold
Но все же с ясным взором.
I still have a clear gaze.
Но кто-то решил, что война,
But someone decided it was war
И покрыл меня черным.
And covered me with black.
Я вижу цвет,
I see the color
Но я здесь не был.
But I was not here.
Я слышу цвет, я чувствую цвет,
I hear the color, I feel the color
Я знать не хочу всех тех,
But I don't want to know all those
Кто уже красит небо.
Who already paint the sky.
Я вижу песню вдали,
I see a song in the distance,
Но я слышу лишь:
But I only hear:
"Марш, марш левой,
"March, march left,
Марш, марш правой."
March, march right."
Я не видел толпы страшней,
I've never seen a more frightening crowd
Чем толпа цвета хаки.
Than a crowd the color of khaki.
Был бы черным,
I could've been black,
Да буть хоть самым чертом.
Even the darkest demon.
Но кто-то главный,
But someone important,
Кто вечно рвет в атаку,
Who's always leading the charge,
Приказал наступать на лето
Ordered to attack in the summer
И втоптал меня в хаки.
And trampled me into khaki.
Я вижу дым,
I see smoke,
Но я здесь не был.
But I was not here.
Я слышу гарь,
I hear ashes,
Я чувствую гарь
I feel the ashes
Я знать не хочу ту тварь,
I don't want to know that monster
Кто спалит это небо.
Who'll burn down this sky.
Я вижу песню вдали,
I see a song in the distance,
Но я слышу лишь:
But I only hear:
"Марш, марш левой,
"March, march left,
Марш, марш правой."
March, march right."
Я не видел картины дурней,
I haven't seen a more foolish picture
Чем шар цвета хаки.
Than a ball of khaki color.
Марш, марш левой,
March, march left,
Марш, марш правой.
March, march right.
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
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