Ne Ver', Ne Boysia

"Ne ver, ne boysya" () also known as "Ne ver, ne boysya, ne prosi" (, "Don't believe, don't fear, don't ask") is a song by t.A.T.u., which they performed at Eurovision Song Contest 2003 representing .

Production

The title of the song is based on a Russian prison saying, which entered Russian mainstream culture due to Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn's book ''The Gulag Archipelago''. The term has also been interpreted as a reference to the repression faced by the LGBTQ community.

According to Australian-born Mars Lasar, the song was produced by him and Ivan Shapovalov by sending MP3s over the internet to each other, with Lasar in the U.S. and Shapovalov in Russia. There are several versions of the song, including the promotional version that was used for Eurovision promotions.

Release

"Ne ver, ne boysya" was a promo-only release distributed for Eurovision. The song was first included on the UK maxi-CD single for "Not Gonna Get Us" on 19 May 2003. It was also released on the single for "How Soon Is Now?", and on the UK Deluxe Edition of ''200 km/h in the Wrong Lane'' on 26 May 2003. It was then released on 25 November 2003 in '' t.A.T.u. Remixes''. The song reappeared in 2006 on '' The Best''.

Music video

The song has a music video, directed by Alexei Akellov, that contains videos of wars, accidents, and other pictures of the real world, as well as videos of Lena Katina and Julia Volkova. The video is on both t.A.T.u.'s official MySpace and YouTube pages.

Eurovision Song Contest 2003

t.A.T.u represented Russia at the Eurovision Song Contest 2003 with this song. In his 2017 book ''Eurovision! A History of Modern Europe Through the World’s Greatest Song Contest'', author Chris West suggested that the group's selection to represent Russia in the contest was partly intended to counter accusations of Russian cultural conservatism. Australian professor Bronwyn Winter suggested that the entry could be interpreted as "a mild protest song", in that the artists' lesbian image contrasted with Russia's gender norms. The song was initially considered a favorite to win the contest.

It was the eleventh song performed on the night, following 's Lou with " Let's Get Happy" and preceding 's Beth with " Dime". The group reportedly arrived late to rehearsals in the lead-up to the show, and threatened to deliver their performance naked; they ultimately opted to perform in T-shirts with the number one on them and old jeans, while holding hands. Their live performance was booed by some audience members, while their outfit later earned them the annual Barbara Dex Award for worst-dressed Eurovision contestants.

At the close of the voting, the song had received 164 points, placing it 3rd in a field of 26. Five countries awarded Russia with the maximum 12 points: , , , and . The UK and Ireland were the only countries in the contest not to vote for the song. This led to complaints from the Russian officials which then led to the BBC and RTÉ revealing the full order of how the countries had voted (something which they had never done before or since). The Russian entry was in neither of their top ten lists. If this had not been the case, there would have been a good chance that the song could have won. The song was only one point behind the second-placed song from and three points behind the winning song from . West posited that the group's third-place finish "was a reward for pre-existing notoriety rather than for anything they brought to Latvia."

References

External links

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Official lyrics
(in Cyrillic)

Studio version lyrics with English translation

Lyrics as sung at the Eurovision Song Contest 2003 with English translation

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T.A.T.u. songs
2003 singles
2003 songs
Eurovision songs of 2003
Eurovision songs of Russia
Songs in Russian
Songs written by Ivan Shapovalov
Songs written by Valery Polienko
Universal Music Group singles