“Rakamakafo”
Bomfunk MCs – “Freestyler”
In the early 2000s, young people became fans of the English single “Freestyler” by Finnish group Bomfunk MC’s. It sings about a rapper who lives and performs in the “freestyle”. For Russian-speaking audiences, the phrase “freestyler, shake the microphone” (“freestyler, shake the microphone”) sounded like “freestyle numeral akafo”. The rest of the recitative seemed to many to be a series of inconsistent sounds. And the word “rakamakafo” began to be perceived as a rapper’s “yo”.
“Squid”
Shocking Blue – “Venus” (“She Got It”)
Another legendary word derived by the Russians from a line from a song. “She Got It!” His expression is literally “He got it!” translated as The real name of the piece is “Venus”, but many people know it as “Shizgaru”. The composition sings about a beautiful and confident girl who looks like Venus, the goddess of beauty.
“Vladislav”
Haddaway – “What is Love?”
In the ’90s, the hit of the Haddaway band sounded from all irons, and the Russians were singing in unison: “Vladislav, baby, don’t be mad at me, noumo.” Of course, “What is Love?” Not about any Vladislav in its composition. (“What is love?”) is not said. And “baby don’t hurt me, don’t hurt me anymore” means “baby, don’t hurt me, don’t hurt me anymore”.
“Yomaha, yomaso”
Modern Conversation – “You Are My Heart, You Are My Soul”
In the mid-80s, the German duet Modern Talking won the hearts of the inhabitants of the USSR – most of them did not know the language, but felt it in the song “You Are My Heart, You Are My Soul” (“You are my heart, you are my soul”) is sung about love. Under the gentle “yomaha, yomaso” people fell in love, had unrequited love and danced in discos.
“Vegetable Carrier”
Ace of Base – “All She Wants”
In this case, the Russian-speaking audience did not need to invent new words – in the chorus of the song “Everything He Wants” (“Everything He Wants”), the “vegetable bearer” is clearly heard. According to the plot of the composition, a girl goes hunting for another man and leaves him at dawn.
“One Hundred Ballerinas”
Chris Norman and Suzi Quatro – “Stumblin’ In”
In the choir of one of the main hits of 1978, “Stumblin’ In” (“We stumble”), many residents of the USSR heard about the “hundred ballerinas”. The song is actually about the struggles of a romantic relationship: “Our love lives and we begin, // We stumble upon our hearts foolishly on the table.” We stumble upon listening to our hearts). But the “hundred ballerina” took such a deep root in the Soviet Union that the group “Gone with the Wind” released a Russian version of the composition with the words: “Come on, pour, let’s talk. The next day, the face will look bright like a ballerina.
“Eat the soup, Marin?”
The Beatles – “Yellow Submarine”
According to Russian music lovers, in the hit “Yellow Submarine” (“Yellow Submarine”), the soloists of The Beatles are interested in a certain Marina, if they eat soup. In fact, the meaning of the songs of Paul McCartney and John Lennon is interpreted in different ways. Some believe that the “yellow submarine” symbolizes rectangular yellow psychotropic pills. Others believe that the Beatles complained of crazy fans hiding from them in hotels as if they were on a submarine. And someone does not listen to the meaning at all and just enjoys the sound.
“I will find vodka”
Smokie – “What Can I Do?”
Some Russian-speaking listeners thought that in the chorus of 1976’s song “What can I do” (“What can I do?”) Chris Norman said “I’ll find vodka”. In reality, she sings about big changes in life and does not know what to do. History is silent about whether the lyrical hero was non-alcoholic.
“The Violin Fox”
Igor Sarukhanov – “The creak of the wheel”
In the song of Igor Sarukhanov, both the “creak of the wheel” and the “violin-fox” are clearly heard. But then it is said about the “puddles and dirt roads” where the “squeak of the wheel” converges and everything falls into place. The singer was asked so often that he defiantly named his collection “Violin-Fox” and recorded both options.
“Beauty Ikuku” and “Half Bug”
Mikhail Boyarsky – “Musketeers’ Song” and “Purkua Pa”
In childhood, many did not understand who the beautiful Ikuku was in the song Three Musketeers – they thought that the girl had an unusual name. In fact, it turned out that Boyarsky offered to rejoice with “beauty and trophy, lucky knife.” The musician also embarrassed his compatriots by adding the French phrase “Pourquoi Pas” (“Why not”) to another song. It was sung as “half-bug” and “baby” – according to these words, the song can be found in search engines.