In the late 70s, the American band Boney M released the album Nightflight to Venus. After some time, the composition becomes popular and becomes popular in many countries. Thus, she took first place in the charts in Austria, Australia and Germany and second place in the British and Swiss theaters.
The melody became memorable and gained its popularity in the territory of the post-Soviet space. The peak of popularity came in the 90s of the twentieth century and the 00s of the twenty-first century.
History of creation
Despite the specifics of the distribution of music from the capitalist countries in the Soviet Union, the Boney M team gained some popularity. Contributed to the genre in which the team performed their songs – disco, with which the CPSU was not going to zealously fight.
The creator of the group, Frank Farian, gravitated toward the exotic, which is on the verge of kitsch. In search of inspiration, the producer drew attention to Russian culture. And in particular, Grigory Rasputin, whose personality during his lifetime was shrouded in a heap of secrets and hoaxes.
And so the idea was born to write a song related to Grigory Rasputin. But at the same time, in part in their sound, the group borrowed certain moments from Turkish folk songs.
The meaning of the song «Rasputin» by Boney M.
The song in an artistic vein tells about Grigory Rasputin, while recalling many well-known facts of varying degrees of truthfulness that went around the personality of the priest.
In the song, the group sought to demonstrate the life path of Rasputin and how he was remembered by the whole world. They did not hesitate to use metaphors in the text that emphasize the importance of the clergyman in Russian history.
The lyrics of the song focused on the fact that Gregory attracted wide attention from the female gender.
Interpretation of the lyrics
The first line brings the listener up to date, using a turn characteristic of many fictional stories:
The following is a description of the character. In the text, the description comes with reverence towards the person:
So the man is described as strong and with a blazing fire in his eyes. The latter speaks of the man’s huge ambitions and his interest in future plans. Moreover, this is said with appropriate aspiration, hinting at the presence of the character’s great determination in realizing his own ambitions.
The next line already focuses on the attitude of people towards him. They looked at him with fear and tried once again to avoid the company of such a person.
However, the girls had a different opinion about the stranger who appeared in the city, as the following line demonstrates:
The following lines describe his manner of reading the Bible with passion:
I also remember the teaching activity, to which the person also devoted a considerable part of his activity. He continued to engage in it even after becoming close to Nicholas II. In particular, he trained Tsarevich Alexei:
A man’s skills can impress any girl who would like to see him as a teacher:
Next comes the chorus. And in the refrain, it is revealed to the listener that the man described in the first verse is Grigory Rasputin, who, despite his level of literacy, became one of the close associates of the royal family:
The nature of his connection with the family of the Russian emperor and his male attractiveness are also mentioned:
After repeating the name of the hero of the song, his ability to love is mentioned:
At the end of the chorus, a shameful demeanor is noted, which is expressed in many aspects, which are revealed further in the text:
The second verse already describes the life of Gregory as close to the Romanovs. The theory is mentioned that it was Rasputin who ruled Russia, pushing Nicholas II into the background. According to the theory, Nicholas II consulted with Rasputin on many state issues:
The ability to dance a Cossack is noted:
When Rasputin took part in state affairs, Rasputin liked to flatter everyone:
However, during lovemaking, he showed himself to the fullest:
The following lines demonstrate the attitude of the queen towards George. Despite all the dark deeds of Rasputin, the wife of Nicholas II was loyal to him. For the empress, dark deeds and other opinions about Grigory Rasputin did not have the proper weight:
The reason for this attitude on the part of the queen is faith in the healing abilities of the priest. Thanks to the ability to stabilize the state of Tsarevich Alexei, Grigory Rasputin still remained at the court of Nicholas II:
However, when the people began to learn about all the vices of Rasputin, they demanded his departure more and more loudly. In particular, the people focused on his drunkenness and lust. Someone did not forget to notice that Rasputin is greedy for power. With every moment, the demands to get rid of Rasputin only intensified:
Despite the demands of leaving, the girls were extremely opposed to Rasputin leaving. The following lines conclude about his charm and influence on women, despite his rudeness. As a result, the text notes the charisma of Grigory Rasputin, which, despite all his negative qualities, bribed many. This was especially true for women:
An incident is also mentioned when a group of noblemen led by Felix Yusupov made an attempt to kill Rasputin. Even realizing what awaits him from Yusupov and his comrades, he still decided to come to visit them:
Next comes the chorus, which mentions an attempted poisoning through wine. The poisoning attempt failed. Moreover, Grigory Rasputin even praised the dinner, despite the poisoning attempt. At the same time, the priest did not even feel the poison:
Further, the refrain is once again remade, but with an episode when the aristocrats decided to shoot Rasputin. Before he died, George withstood a huge number of shots:
At the end, the soloist is surprised at everything that happens, summing up with Russian surprise. Namely, salt is surprised at all that kitsch, which had a place in Russian history and Russian culture.
