I’ve never been a fan of the band Dai Darogu!, but when they released the music video for The Extremist, it was so good that I immediately added the song to my playlist. On the one hand, the lyrics seem like “this is absurd, it can’t possibly be true.” But on the other hand, unfortunately, it’s pure truth. All these supposedly “absurd” topics in reality cost the lives of political prisoners in Belarus, whose fate we sometimes don’t know for not just months, but even years. Recently, they finally showed Maria Kalesnikava alive, while people had already stopped believing she was still alive.
By the way, to take the absurdity to an even higher level, in February 2023, a court in Belarus officially declared both the music video and the song The Extremist as “extremist.”
Since the song is in Russian, below is its literal translation.
If you haven’t seen or heard The Extremist, I highly recommend it:
[Verse]:
It was August, the year was 2020, scorching hot.
Everyone was shouting Tsoi’s “Change.”
Even my mom could never imagine
Such lawlessness could ever take place.
Just like everyone at our office, I didn’t understand
Who even voted for this guy here.
And in the land of Belarusian brainwashing,
I wrote down exactly what I thought.[Chorus]:
And now I’m a mommy’s extremist,
A white-red-white terrorist,
A drug addict, a prostitute—
People, this is no joke.[Verse]:
White-red-white, I bought tulips,
And went for a walk around the city.
Just like my mom, I couldn’t imagine
That they’d kill people for this.
Beaten and bruised, I was hauled into a police van,
Forced to sign some crazy nonsense.
And in the end, the prosecutors demanded
Ten years in prison—for tulips.[Chorus]:
And now I’m a mommy’s extremist,
A white-red-white terrorist,
A drug addict, a prostitute—
People, this is no joke.[Verse]:
At the first rays of sunlight, I’d open Telegram,
Reading the news every single day.
“Change, change, cha-anges!”
I believed, I hoped, I waited.
As usual, I liked a post on Tut.by—
Not liking it wasn’t an option.
And within a minute, half-naked,
I was dragged away by the KGB’s special unit.[Chorus]:
And now I’m a mommy’s extremist,
A white-red-white terrorist,
A drug addict, a prostitute—
People, this is no joke.[Verse]:
All my life, I worked like a mule, building a house,
Even stocked my pond with fish.
What’s a PESEL or permanent residency?
I honestly couldn’t care less.
But I stuck an A4 on the fence,
And glimpsed a protest on the way.
“And yes, thank you, dear neighbors,”
Before you is your Polish puppet master.[Chorus]:
And now I’m a mommy’s extremist,
A white-red-white terrorist,
A drug addict, a prostitute—
People, this is no joke.
Not long ago, the band released another music video titled Coffin on Wheels. In Soviet children’s folklore, the “coffin on wheels” was a scary tale shared before bedtime in pioneer camps, and here the band played with that concept.
Yes, it’s very hard to be far from your homeland, away from your relatives and parents, without the ability to return. But we still believe that one day all Belarusians will be able to return to their homeland. God willing, may that day come soon.
Dreams have come true, been fulfilled
Just as we all had hoped.
Wherever he tried to hide,
Now there is no place left
For him on this mighty Earth.The coffin on wheels is already rolling,
Past the “Kristall” factory.
People push it along with excitement,
Making sure it doesn’t lag behind.Lenin Street, children are running,
Fireworks thunder in the sky.
There’s not even beer left in the shops around,
Champagne is passed from hand to hand.“Grodno Azot,” “Naftan,” MZKT,
“Belaruskali” and MAZ,
You won’t believe it, but here it is—
A white-red-white BelAZ.[Chorus]
When it’s possible to live truly,
In love and without war,
To build and dream together,
Like storks under the sun,
To see a future,
For beloved Belarus.[TV Announcement]
Attention, breaking news!
The entire global community
Is following the events in Belarus.
The world’s leading media outlets
Are broadcasting live from the streets of the capital.
Satellites transmit the exact coordinates
Of the coffin on wheels.
At the borders of the country, there are massive queues—
Belarusian citizens are returning en masse from emigration.
This is incredible!
The streets are filled with a euphoric atmosphere of celebration
And universal happiness.The coffin on wheels is already rolling
Onto Winners Avenue.
Crowds of workers from “Atlant” are running
To pay their respects to the coffin.
Security services bow so low
Their heads nearly touch the ground.
Even the cops—yes, even the cops!
Everyone is taking selfies with the coffin.[Chorus]
When it’s possible to live truly,
In love and without war,
To build and dream together,
Like storks under the sun,
To see a future,
For beloved Belarus.He rewrote the Constitution,
Why did he?
How many lives did he destroy?
(??? Answer us…)
He seized power,
Why do the cops torture people?
Why do laws mean nothing?
What comes next?
Five hundred, five hundred—
Soon it’ll be six hundred!
He promised, he promised,
But hid his blue fingers.
Come on, answer—answer us!
Go ahead, tell us—tell us!
