"Leningrad" is a 1989 song written and performed by American singer and songwriter Billy Joel. The song was originally released on his album '' Storm Front'' on the Columbia Records label, and went on to be released as a single in Europe only. It was also released on his '' Greatest Hits, Vol. 3'' compilation. The song title is derived from the contemporary name of

St. Petersburg Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...

, Russia.

Synopsis

The song was written by Joel about a Russian clown named Viktor Razinov, whom he met while touring the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

in 1987. Throughout the song, major items of Viktor's and Billy's lives are compared to show the cultural differences and similarities of the United States and the Soviet Union. In the song, Billy describes Viktor's life as one of many Soviet children who lost fathers during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

, specifically during the siege of Leningrad. He enlisted in the

Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army ( Russian: Рабо́че-крестья́нская Кра́сная армия),) often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic and, afte ...

, drank

vodka Vodka ( pl, wódka , russian: водка , sv, vodka ) is a clear distilled alcoholic beverage. Different varieties originated in Poland, Russia, and Sweden. Vodka is composed mainly of water and ethanol but sometimes with traces of impuriti ...

to fight the pain, and then became a circus clown, bringing joy to Russian children. Billy described his childhood life as being "born in '49, a Cold War kid in McCarthy time". He briefly describes his life living in

Levittown Levittown is the name of several large suburban housing developments created in the United States (including one in Puerto Rico) by William J. Levitt and his company Levitt & Sons. Built after World War II for returning white veterans and their ...

, and the fear of the Cuban Missile Crisis. Billy also makes a reference to the

Korean War , date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...

, a

proxy war A proxy war is an armed conflict between two states or non-state actors, one or both of which act at the instigation or on behalf of other parties that are not directly involved in the hostilities. In order for a conflict to be considered a pr ...

to the Cold War, as well as the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vietnam a ...

. In the end, the two meet after Billy's Leningrad concert (Viktor had journeyed across

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...

to see all six of the Russian concerts), where Viktor draws a laugh from Billy's daughter

Alexa Alexa may refer to: Technology *Amazon Alexa, a virtual assistant developed by Amazon * Alexa Internet, a defunct website ranking and traffic analysis service * Arri Alexa, a digital motion picture camera People * Alexa (name), a given name a ...

. Billy and Viktor embrace afterwards. In the song's last line, Billy sings: ''"We never knew what friends we had, until we came to Leningrad."'' The quote is printed on the single cover, but not on the cover of the 4-track CD, which instead features the titles of the extra songs: "

Goodnight Saigon "Goodnight Saigon" is a song written by Billy Joel, originally appearing on his 1982 album ''The Nylon Curtain'', about the Vietnam War. It depicts the situation and attitude of United States Marines beginning with their military training on Parr ...

", "

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

", and " Scandinavian Skies". In 2015, Razinov traveled to New York to see Billy Joel's concert in Madison Square Garden. For this reunion, Joel played "Leningrad", which he rarely plays live.

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

References

External links