Balāde par gulbi ''()'' is a song by Latvian Rock band Pērkons, written by Māris Melgalvis (lyrics) and Juris Kulakovs (music) in 1979 and recorded in 1983.Pērkons, Dziesmu izlase #1 1981–1982 (CD booklet) Written while

Latvia Latvia, officially the Republic of Latvia, is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is one of the three Baltic states, along with Estonia to the north and Lithuania to the south. It borders Russia to the east and Belarus to t ...

was still part of

USSR The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

, it is noted for its anti-soviet

subtext In any communication, in any medium or format, "subtext" is the underlying or implicit meaning that, while not explicitly stated, is understood by an audience. The Oxford English Dictionary defines it as "an underlying and often distinct theme ...

. The opening part of the song deals with a crow with no sense of humor sitting on a fresh grave and forcing her opinion on everyone. However, after some time, the crow begins to sense something odd about the grave and relives her own tragedy. It is not until the end, when the crow has had enough of the bitter silence, that she realizes what has happened to her and that the crow is "the woman she loves". Most of the song dwells on the stupidity of killing a

swan Swans are birds of the genus ''Cygnus'' within the family Anatidae. The swans' closest relatives include the goose, geese and ducks. Swans are grouped with the closely related geese in the subfamily Anserinae where they form the tribe (biology) ...

, but in the end resolves that the swan is so red that one cannot help killing it (consider that in the early 1980s

soviet leaders During its 69-year history, the Soviet Union usually had a '' de facto'' leader who would not always necessarily be head of state or even head of government but would lead while holding an office such as Communist Party General Secretary. Th ...

were dying one after another and were usually mourned by broadcasting Tchaikovsky's

Swan Lake ''Swan Lake'' ( rus, Лебеди́ное о́зеро, r=Lebedínoje ózero, p=lʲɪbʲɪˈdʲinəjə ˈozʲɪrə, links=no ), Op. 20, is a ballet composed by Russian composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky in 1875–76. Despite its initial failu ...

Lyrics

:Kārna vārna :Uz slapa kapa :Man savu patiesību ķērc :Vai tiešām viņa neattapa ka viss tas - tikai joka pēc :Ak vai cik stulbi :Ir nosist gulbi :Bet stulbāk vēl ja vēlāk žēl :Tad ir tik velnišķīgi stulbi—ik rietā sarkans gulbis kvēl :Tik stulbi kvēl :Ka jāsit vēl Translation: :A skinny crow :On a wet grave :Croaking her truth to me :Didn't she really realize that it all is just for fun? :Oh, how stupid :It is to beat a swan to death :But even more stupid if you regret it later :It is so devilishly stupid—in each sunset a red swan glows :Glows so stupidly :That one has to beat it again

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Balade par gulbi Pērkons (band) songs 1979 songs