Пикник for Yanks

This is a small website providing English lyric translations of the Russian band Пикник (pronounced Piknik, and translating literally as "Picnic"). I became interested in this band after reading the recently released English translation of Sergei Lukyanenko's best-selling Night Watch tetralogy -- which I picked up after being fascinated by the Russian blockbuster film of the same name.

In the novel, whenever the protagonist Anton Gorodetsky is feeling morally lost (which ethical dilemnas occupy much of the story), he has a habit of flipping his Sony Walkman on "shuffle" and taking guidance from whatever track comes to the fore. More often than not, the song in question is from the band Piknik, which made me curious enough to look them up on the web. The many videos on their official site was enough to cement my interest in the band and buy several albums (mostly through Amazon items fulfilled by RussianDVD.com).

I was not disappointed. The received albums (Dance of the Wolf, Steklo, Alien, Show and Tell, and Mrakobesie i dshzaz) were musically evocative and engaging, yet shrouded in mystery as I had absolutely no idea what anyone was saying. This started me on a quest for English translations, first of album and track-titles, then of song lyrics. Since there was little to be found on Google (though I later came across this, which has a few translations), I decided this would be a good pet project for me to work out myself.

Following are all the lyrics and translations I've come across so far, along with the beginnings of my original work. It'll take months to grow this out, but feel free to stop by periodically to see how things are going. If you have a favorite song you'd like translated, drop me a line and it'll get floated to the top. Even better, if you have translations of your own to contribute (not necessarily in English), send them on and I'll add them to the site.

Most importantly, if anyone has Russian lyrics to the first (ДЫМ / Dim / Smoke) or last (Мракобесие и джаз / Mrakobesie i dshzaz / Obscurantist and Jazz) albums, please send them my way, as neither are available on Piknik's official site.

Note that Google provides a free translation service (though only "beta" for Russian-to-English) which can provide instantaneous rough translations of each album; I've provided conversion links on each album page for those who are in a hurry. However, lyrics are a form of poetry, and I'm personally not quite ready to hand over that part of my soul to the machines just yet. YMMV :-)

Thanks for stopping by, however you found us. Music has ever been a potent path for bridging communities, and it is my hope that Western appreciation of Russian gems like Piknik can help bring our cultures into more peaceful and respectful alignment.

Sincerely,

Mark Zieg

[UPDATE] I'm afraid I haven't updated this site in quite some while, but note that good translations are available at the following links:
  • Official Пикник Site
  • Пикник Fan Site
  • Russian Dictionary
  • Cyrillic HTML
  • Google Translator


    • Piknik Discography


    ДЫМ (Dim, "Smoke") (1982) [lyrics]
    1. Ночь (Noch', "Night")
    2. Хоровод (Khorovod, "Round Dance")
    3. Вечер (Vecher, "Evening")
    4. Очень интересно (Ochen' interesno, "Very Interesting")
    5. Золушка (Zolushka, "Cinderella")
    6. Деньги (Den'gi, "Money")
    7. Караван (Karavan, "Caravan")
    8. Опиумный дым (Opiumnyy dym, "An Opium Smoke")
    Танец волка (Tanek volka, "Dance of the Wolf") (1984) [lyrics]
    1. Много дивного на свете (Mnogo divnogo na svete, "Much in the world is marvellous")
    2. Инквизитор (Inkvizitor, "Inquisitor")
    3. Я иду по дну (Ya idu po dnu, "I'm Going to the Bottom")
    4. Великан (Velikan, "Giant")
    5. А учили меня летать (A uchili menya letat', "They Taught Me to fly")
    6. Железный орех (Zheleznyy orekh, "Iron Nut")
    7. Новозеландская песня (Novozelandskaya pesnya, "New Zealand Song")
    Иероглиф (Ieroglif, "Hieroglyph") (1986) [lyrics]
    1. Остров (Ostrov, "Island")
    2. Иероглиф (Ieroglif, "Hieroglyph")
    3. Праздник (Prazdnik, "Holiday")
    4. Ты вся из огня (Ty vsya iz ognya, "You're Made from Fire")
    5. Ночь (Noch', "Night")
    6. Телефон (Telefon, "Telephone")
    7. Пикник (Piknik, "Picnic")
    8. Великан (Velikan, "Giant")
    Родом ниоткуда (Rodom niotkuda, "Born from Nowhere") (1988) [lyrics]
    1. Я невидим (Ya nevidim, "I'm Invisible")
    2. Интересно (Interesno, "Interesting")
    3. Нет берегов (Net beregov, "There is no Coast")
    4. Романс (Romans, "Romance")
    5. Это он (Eto on, "It's Him")
    6. Стоя на этой лестнице (вспоминая Led Zeppelin) (Stoya na etoy lestnitze (vspominaya Led Zepplin), "Standing on this Ladder (remembering Led Zeppelin)
    7. Дай себя сорвать (Day sebya sorvat, "Give Yourself a Break")
    8. Все остальное - дым (Vseh ostal'noeh - dim, "Everything Else - Smoke")
    Харакири (Kharakiri, "Harakiri") (1991) [lyrics]
    1. Настоящие дни (Nastoyashchie dni, "Present Days")
    2. Мы, как трепетные птицы (My, kak trepetnye ptitsy, "We are as Quivering Birds")
    3. Я - пущенная стрела (Ya - pushchennaya strela, "I'm the Started-Up Arrow")
    4. Там, на самом краю земли (Tam, na samom krayu zemli, "There, at the Edge of the Earth")
    5. Течет большая река (Techet bol'shaya reka, "The Big River Flows")
    6. С тех пор, как сгорели дома (S tekh por, kak sgoreli doma, "Since Houses have Burned Down")
    7. Это река Ганг (Eto reka Gang, "It's the River Ganges")
    8. Новая азбука (Novaya azbuka, "New Alphabet")
    Немного огня (Nemnogo ognya, "A Little Bit of Fire") (1991) [lyrics]
    1. Немного огня (Nemnogo ognya, "A Little Bit of Fire")
    2. Твое сердце должно быть моим (Tvoe serdtse dolzhno byt' moim, "Your Heart Should Be Mine")
    3. За невинно убиенных (Za nevinno ubiennykh, "For Innocent Killed")
    4. Теряя их на ветру (Teryaya ikh na vetru, "Losing them on a Wind")
    5. И светлый ангел над ним (I svetlyy angel nad nim, "And a Light Angel Above It")
    6. Самый звонкий крик - тишина (Samyy zvonkiy krik - tishina, "The Most Sonorous Shout - Silence")
    7. Пол и потолок (Pol i potolok, "A Floor and a Ceiling")
    8. Опустевший совсем (Opustevshiy sovsem, "Absolutely Empty")
    Вампирские песни (Vampirskie pesni, "Vampire Songs") (1995) [lyrics]
    1. Лишь влюбленному вампиру (Lish' vlyublennomu vampiru, "Only for the Vampire in Love")
    2. Истерика (Isterika, "Hysteria")
    3. Жертвоприношение (Zhertvoprinoshenie, "Sacrifice")
    4. Искры около рта (Iskry okolo rta, "Sparks about a Mouth")
    5. Раз, два... (Raz, dva..., "One, two...")
    6. Кровь, остынь (Фараон) (Krov', ostyn' (Faraon), "Blood, Cool Down (Pharaon)")
    7. Сон тревог (Son trevog, "Dream of Alarms")
    8. Вертолет (I и II ч.) (Vertolet (I i II ch.), "The Helicopter (chapters I and II)")
    9. Белый хаос (Belyy khaos, "White Chaos")
    Жень-шень (Zhen'-shen', "Gen-Seng") (1996) [lyrics]
    1. Немое кино (Nemoe kino, "Soundless Cinema")
    2. Скользить по земле (Skol'zit' po zemle, "To Slide by the Ground")
    3. Под звездою под одной (Pod zvezdoyu pod odnoy, "Under Some Star")
    4. Упругие их имена (Uprugie ikh imena, "Their Elastic Names")
    5. Танцующие на свечах (Tantsuyushchie na svechakh, "Dancing on Candles")
    6. Шаги короля (Shagi korolya, "Steps of a King")
    7. Смутные дни (Smutnye dni, "Vague Days")
    8. Песня без слов (Pesnya bez slov, "Song Without Words")
    Стекло (Steklo, "Glass") (1997) [lyrics]
    1. Лицо (Litso, "Face")
    2. Еще один дождь (Eshche odin dozhd', "One More Rain")
    3. Глаза очерчены углем (Glaza ochercheny uglem, "Eyes Outlined by Coal")
    4. Шарманка (Sharmanka, "A Street Organ")
    5. Два великана (Dva velikana, "Two Giants")
    6. Навуходоносор (Navukhodonosor, <proper name?>)
    7. Отучи же меня говорить (Otuchi zhe menya govorit', "Disaccustom me to Speaking")
    8. Адреналиновые песни (Adrenalinovye pesni, "Adrenalinic Songs")
    9. Предчувствие (Predchuvstvie, "Pre-sentiment")
    10. Диск-жокей (ремикс песни 1982) (Disk-zhokey (remiks pesni 1982), "DJ (remix of songs from 1982)")
    11. С высоты некуда упасть (S vysoty nekuda upast', "From Height there is no Place to Fall")
    Пить Электричество (Pit Elektrichestva, "A Sip of Electrofunk") (1998) [lyrics]
    1. Venenum rerum omnium ("Potion of Omnipotence(?)")
    2. Пить электричество (Pit' elektrichestvo, "To Drink Electricity")
    3. U (напряжение не кончается) (U (napryazhenie ne konchaetsya), "U (The Pressure does not Come to an End)")
    4. Афродита из пены и щелочи (Afrodita iz peny i shchelochi, "Aphrodite from Foam and Alkalis")
    5. Купорос-E (Kuporos-E, "Cuporos-E")
    6. Будь навсегда (Bud' navsegda, "Be Forever")
    7. ТРИ ИСТОРИИ: (Tri Istorii:, "Three Histories")
      1. Разговор глухих (I. Razgovor glukhikh, "I. Conversation of the Deaf")
      2. Uroboros ("II. The World-Serpent")
      3. Чужие племена (III. Chuzhie plemena, "III. Alien Tribes")
    Египтянин (Egiptyanin, "The Egyptian") (2001) [lyrics]
    1. Миллион в мешке (Million v meshke, "One Million in a Bag")
    2. Ни твое ни мое (Ni tvoe ni moe, "Neither Yours nor Mine")
    3. Фиолетово-черный (Fioletovo-chernyy, "Violet-Black")
    4. Египтянин (Egiptyanin, "The Egyptian")
    5. Лакомо и ломко (Lakomo i lomko, "Delicious and Fragile")
    6. Бал (Bal, "Ball")
    7. Через 10000 лет (Cherez 10000 let, "10,000 Years After")
    8. Перламутр и пырей (Perlamutr i pyrey, "Nacre and a Wheat Grass")
    9. Взгляд туманный пьет нирвану (Vzglyad tumannyy p'et nirvanu, "Drinking the Foggy Sights of Nirvana")
    10. Вдалеке от городов (Vdaleke ot gorodov, "Far from the cities")
    Чужой (Chuzhoy, "Alien") (2002) [lyrics]
    1. Лихорадка (Likhoradka, "Fever")
    2. Дикие Игры (Dikie Igry, "Wild Games")
    3. Герой (Geroy, "Hero")
    4. Нигредо (Nigredo, "Nigredo")
    5. А может быть и не было меня (A mozhet byt' i ne bylo menya, "Maybe there Wasn't Me")
    6. Здесь под желтым солнцем ламп (Zdes' pod zheltym solntsem lamp, "Here Under the Yellow Sun of Lamps")
    7. Осень (Osen', "Autumn")
    8. Бум (обретение смысла) (Bum (obretenie smysla), "Boom (Coming to our Senses)")
    9. Великий Бог - Рубль (Velikiy Bog - Rubl', "The Great God - Rouble")
    10. Apokalips ("Apocalypse")
    Говорит и показывает (Govorit i pokazyvaet, "Show and Tell") (2003) [lyrics]
    1. Серебра! (Serebra!, "Made of Silver!")
    2. Говорит и показывает (Govorit i pokazyvaet, "Show and Tell")
    3. Побежать бы за леса-горы (Pobezhat' by za lesa-gory, "To Run behind Woods and Mountains")
    4. Клянись же, ешь землю (Klyanis' zhe, esh' zemlyu, "Swear, you eat the Ground!")
    5. До Содома далеко (Do Sodoma daleko, "Far away from Soddom")
    6. Пентакль (Pentakl', "Pentacle")
    7. Я почти итальянец (Ya pochti ital'yanets, "I'm Almost Italian")
    8. Знаки в окне (Znaki v okne, "Signs in a Window")
    9. Иероним (Ieronim, "Hieronimus")
    10. Настрадался Нострадамус от людей (Nastradalsya Nostradamus ot lyudey, "Nostradamus has Suffered much from People")
    Тень вампира (Ten' vampira, "Shadow of the Vampire") (2004) [lyrics]
    1. Не кончается пытка (Ne konchaetsya pytka, "Torture Doesn't Come to an End")
    2. Сердце бъется на три четверти (Serdtse b"etsya na tri chetverti, "Heart's Beating Three Quarters")
    3. Теперь Ты (Teper' Ty, "Now Doing You")
    4. Оборотень (Oboroten', "The Werewolf")
    5. Этот мир не ждет гостей (Etot mir ne zhdet gostey, "This World Doesn't Wait for Visitors")
    6. Граф "Д" (Graf "D", "Lord 'D'")
    7. Вот и тень моя... (Vot i ten' moya..., "Here's my Shadow...")
    8. Упыри и вурдалаки сотоварищи его (Upyri i vurdalaki sotovarishchi ego, "Upyri and his Vampire Friends")
    9. Искушение (Iskushenie, "Temptation")
    10. Две судьбы (Dve sud'by, "Two Destinies")
    11. Бисер у ног (Biser u nog, "Beaded Feet")
    Королевство Кривых (Korolevstvo Krivykh, "Kingdom of the Crooked") (2005) [lyrics]
    1. У шамана три руки (U shamana tri ruki, "Shaman's Got Three Hands")
    2. И летает голова то вверх, то вниз (I letaet golova to vverkh, to vniz, "And the head is flying up and down")
    3. Королевство Кривых (Korolevstvo Krivykh, "Kingdom of Curves")
    4. Себе не найдя двойников... (Sebe ne naydya dvoynikov..., "It's Not Possible to Find Someone Like You...")
    5. Ветер лилипутов (Veter liliputov, "Wind of the Liliputs")
    6. Бедный Робинзон Крузо (Bednyy Robinzon Kruzo, "Poor Robinson Crusoe")
    7. Из коры себе подругу выстругал... (Iz kory sebe podrugu vystrugal..., "I Made Myself a Girlfriend out of Tree Bark")
    8. Когда призрачный свет... (Kogda prizrachnyy svet..., "Light From Dusk")
    9. Все вокруг боятся радости паяца... (Vse vokrug boyatsya radosti payatsa..., "Everyone is Afraid to Drink Happiness")
    10. И все... (I vse..., "And All...")
    11. Aianostre
    Мракобесие и джаз (Mrakobesie i dshzaz, "The Illusionist and Jazz") (2007) [lyrics]
    1. Из мышеловки ("Out of the Mousetrap", or "Of Mice")
    2. От Кореи до Карелии ("From Korea to Karelia")
    3. Падший ангел - сын греха ("Fallen Angel, Son of Sin")
    4. Мракобесие и джаз ("Twilight Be-Bop")
    5. На луче… ("For the Light...")
    6. Разбойники ("Thieves")
    7. Заратустра
    8. Герр Захер Мозох
    9. В развороченном раю
    10. Эхо (от луча) ("Echo (of Light)")
    11. Ихтиандр
    12. Coda