Panning for nuggets...
Aug. 10th, 2008 09:25 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
alexpgpDuring a lull in the proceedings the other day, one of the other interpreters played a parody of the venerable Shocking Blue classic Venus. It grabbed my attention because there is mention of the Baikonur cosmodrome in the first line. So, I cadged a copy of the song, listened to it a few times and, with help, eventually arrived at the following lyrics (with my translation that simply relates what is sung):
The lyrics make little sense and tell no story (except possibly to poke fun at the space program), and I might not even have mentioned this song had it not been for the curious expression "пролетать как фанера" that occurs in the second verse. The Russian is an abbreviated version of "пролетать как фанера над Парижем," which literally translates as: "to fly by like plywood over Paris."
I can only count my blessings that I encountered this expression in this out-of-the-way nook, and not at some high level meeting, because it's one of those expressions that defies any kind of analysis and extrapolation. At first glance, it has the sound of what I have begun to call a "Texas simile" - a notable example of which is "as busy as a cat trying to bury crap on a marble floor" - except that most such similes actually make sense, in their own little twisted way. But plywood flying over Paris?
Good old Wikipedia! It turns out the origins of the expression are moot and likely explanations have been deemed to be urban legends or coincidental, but the fact of the matter is that the expression has come to mean a missed opportunity to obtain something or perform some action, to be at loose ends, or to suffer a setback.
It just goes to show that you can find new tidbits in the oddest places!
Cheers...
As you might expect, this is not (nor, would I venture to guess, was it ever) anywhere near a top-40 tune, especially not in these parts, where there appears to be a genuine air of reverence about matters space-historical. There is, I think, a realization on the part of everyone who works here, Russian and otherwise, that we here tread on hallowed ground, in the footsteps of pioneers.Покоритель космоса (Space Conqueror)
На космодроме Байконур,
Пятиминутный перекур.
И кто-то бросил свой бычок
Прямо в топливный бачок.
Гагарин! Летит Гагарин!
На ракете, к другой планете, летит Гагарин!
Планета красоты Венера
Красавица со всех сторон,
Но пролетает как фанера
Американский "Аполлон"
Гагарин! Летит Гагарин!
На ракете, к другой планете, летит Гагарин!
На орбитальном доме Мир,
В залатанном совсем додыр,
Закрыть забыли как-то дверь,
И вакуум стремится в щель
Гагарин! My baby, Гагарин!
На ракете, к другой планете, спешит Гагарин!
(I'm your Venus, I'm your fire, летит Гагарин!)At Baikonur cosmodrome,
Smoke breaks are five minutes long,
And someone threw their butt
Right into a tank of fuel.
Gagarin! Gagarin's flying!
On a rocket, to another planet, Gagarin's flying!
Venus, the planet of beauty
Is gorgeous from every side,
But the American Apollo
Came by and missed the boat.
Gagarin! Gagarin's flying!
On a rocket, to another planet, Gagarin's flying!
Aboard orbiting Mir station
Worn completely out and patched,
A door somehow was left open
And vacuum's coming in the gap
Gagarin! My baby, Gagarin!
On a rocket, to another planet, Gagarin's speeding!
(I'm your Venus, I'm your fire, Gagarin's flying!)
The lyrics make little sense and tell no story (except possibly to poke fun at the space program), and I might not even have mentioned this song had it not been for the curious expression "пролетать как фанера" that occurs in the second verse. The Russian is an abbreviated version of "пролетать как фанера над Парижем," which literally translates as: "to fly by like plywood over Paris."
I can only count my blessings that I encountered this expression in this out-of-the-way nook, and not at some high level meeting, because it's one of those expressions that defies any kind of analysis and extrapolation. At first glance, it has the sound of what I have begun to call a "Texas simile" - a notable example of which is "as busy as a cat trying to bury crap on a marble floor" - except that most such similes actually make sense, in their own little twisted way. But plywood flying over Paris?
Good old Wikipedia! It turns out the origins of the expression are moot and likely explanations have been deemed to be urban legends or coincidental, but the fact of the matter is that the expression has come to mean a missed opportunity to obtain something or perform some action, to be at loose ends, or to suffer a setback.
It just goes to show that you can find new tidbits in the oddest places!
Cheers...
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no subject
Date: 2008-08-10 05:14 pm (UTC)It opens up a world that I have not been a part of.
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Date: 2008-08-11 07:05 am (UTC)Cheers...