Compared to other cities, the St. Petersburgers emphasized complaints about deep, basic human issues. Unfulfilled romantic love was another main concern. As reported by The St. Petersburg Times, which covered the project, 'Perhaps this is not surprising: in Russian, the words “to complain” (zhalovatsya) and “to feel compassion” (zhalet) come from the same root, with the latter meaning “to love” (lyubit) in Old Church Slavonic.' While the complaints did not directly express political issues, the daily reality of many St. Petersburgers in this time of dramatic change is also well reflected in the song.
Lyrics
Intro:
We, citizens of the city of Peter
are assembled here before you.
We are ready to file our complaints to you,
respected audience.
Thank you for your attention.
We hope you understand.
Verse 1: Petersburg - I'm not ready to die yet,
to drown in the waves of your river Neva.
Advertisement is filling all the streets,
but there is no space for me.
Yesterday the waitress was so rude to me.
When will I get enough sleep?
Who invented deadlines?
And the nightmare of the C++ language?
Verse 2: I’ve got no time to plan my life.
No more money for acne cream.
Bus No.9 goes every 5 minutes to Vasilievsky,
but it never comes back.
There are traffic jams all over.
When my cat eats “Whiskas” it withers away.
Men are always vague and hesistant
and never make the first step.
Bridge 1: There are only two loos for the whole institute.
I can't travel without a visa!
The white nights don’t let you see fireworks.
And life is a permanent artistic crisis.
Chorus:
Why did you, Peter, miraculous builder
build our city in such a pestilent climate amidst mosquitoes?
Why do we keep on loving when love is so painful?
Why are we always dissatisfied with something?
Verse 3:
My heart is so full but my wallet is empty,
and she wouldn't love a poet like me anyway.
I'd send her a rose in a wine glass like Blok,
but you don’t get cheap wine anymore.
LenEnergo is raising the electricity bills again.
T-shirts always shrink after the first wash.
Only jerks propose marriage to me,
but they are never the men I would marry.
Bridge 2: Shoe shops never sell size 35.
Plumbers drink all the time.
There's a letter 'R' in the name of this city -
a letter that I cannot pronounce!
[Chorus]
Verse 4:
Your salary won’t buy you beer nor cheese.
The opera is so expensive - can't go there!
Why doesn't my darling come home at night?
Because they open the bridges of Neva every night.
Verse 5: From Neva to Moika the architecture is fine,
At times I gain weight and my skirts won’t fit,
or I lose weight and become so light.
The elevator doesn’t move when I am alone inside.
Rap: Oh, I do love singing!
But I have no ear for it!
Why am I music-blind?!
A bear stepped on my ear!
Verse 6: The quiet city centre gets more and more noisy.
Everybody cuts the traffic jams short through my backyard!
Female programmers are not taken seriously!
They lie when they say there are no jobs for them.
[Rap]
Verse 7: Every day I lose my lighter
and you can’t light your cigarette from the Eternal Flame!
Men are gigolos these days
and we have to pay for all the needs of those bastards!
[Rap x2]
Verse 8: Modern art needs no education,
I can paint the square of Malevich even when I'm drunk!
There is no use of my three degrees.
Bridge 3: I hate getting up early half my life
and messing around with my car when it’s still dark.
Instead of sharing your tears in public or in private,
let us sing all together:
[Chorus]
Verse 9:
Why is this painfully familiar city
causing only migraine and boredom?
The escalator broke my high heels again.
And on the TV they play sh*t ... like you know.
The custom officers on the Finnish border are so impolite.
My ceiling is always leaking!
The Russian language is getting spoiled.
Bridge 4: So what shall we do, and who is to blame?
Why I am losing my hair at 25?
Why don’t the Rollings Stones come to play here?
[Chorus]
Why do we keep on loving when love is so painful.
Why are we always dissatisfied with something?
Why, why, why, why?
Chart of complaints:
