by Katya Lel
“My Marmalade” (in Russian, “Moy marmeladny”) is a pop song by Katya Lel, written and produced by Maxim Fadeev. It came out in 2003 and appeared on her 2004 album Dzhaga-Dzhaga. Twenty years later, in 2023, a sped-up version went viral on TikTok far beyond Russia, with people dancing in fur hats and lip-syncing the chorus, and it climbed to third place on Spotify's global viral chart. Marmeladny comes from marmelad, which in Russian usually means soft fruit jelly candy, so it works as a pet name like “my sweet”. In our translation the singer admits that she treated him badly: she did not call, open the door or invite him, ignored his words, and kissed and hugged him, then fooled him. Her head keeps spinning, and she tells her sweetheart that she is wrong. The chorus invites him to try a kiss and a dance.
Koinei's own English translation. The original Russian lyrics are not shown on this page: open the reader to follow them word by word with the audio.
I didn't call, didn't open the door and didn't invite you
I almost suffocated you, but ignored your words
Again, I feel like my head is spinning
My sweet, I'm wrong
I kissed and hugged you, then fooled you
I almost loved you, but forgot your words
Again, I feel like my head is spinning
My sweet, I'm wrong
Try a kiss, try a dance.
Try it, I need it
Again, I feel like my head is spinning.
(last 4 lines x2)
My sweet, I'm wrong
I grew completely cold, didn't forgive, and didn't take care of you.
Then I decided and ignored your words.
Again, I feel like my head is spinning
My sweet, I'm wrong
I whispered to him, and hissed, and called him again
And I kissed him, but forgot your words
Again, I feel like my head is spinning
My sweet, I'm wrong
Try a kiss, try a dance
Try it, I need it
(repeat the 5 lines from “Again, I feel like my head is spinning”)
My sweet, I'm wrong
Try it, my sweet,
I'm wrong.
My sweet,
I'm wrong.
(repeat the 3 lines from “Try a kiss, try a dance.”)
(repeat the 3 lines from “My sweet, I'm wrong”)
Again, I feel like my head is spinning
My sweet, I'm wrong
| Word | Say it | Meaning | Type | In the song |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| почти | pochti | almost | adverb | почти |
| забить | zabit | to score | verb | забила: past, feminine, perfective; here “ignored” |
| слово | slovo | word | noun | слова: accusative, plural, neuter; here “words” |
| казаться | kazatsya | to seem | verb | кажется: present, 3rd person, singular, reflexive; here “seems” |
| кружиться | kruzhitsya | to spin | verb | кружится: present, 3rd person, singular, reflexive; here “spinning” |
| голова | golova | head | noun | голова: nominative, singular, feminine |
| мармеладный | marmeladny | marmalade | adjective | мармеладный: nominative, singular, masculine |
| поцеловать | potselovat | to kiss | verb | поцеловала: past, feminine, perfective; here “kissed” |
| обнимать | obnimat | to hug | verb | обнимала: past, feminine, imperfective; here “hugged” |
| совсем | sovsem | completely | adverb | совсем |
«не права» (ne prava) “am wrong”
Права is the feminine short form of правый (right, correct): a woman says я права, “I am right”, a man я прав, and a group мы правы. With не it means “wrong”. Short adjectives work as the predicate, with no verb “to be” in the present tense. Stress matters here: права stressed on the last syllable is this adjective; stressed on the first, it is the plural of право (a right).
«поцеловала, обнимала» (potselovala, obnimala) “kissed, hugged”
One line holds both aspects. Поцеловала is perfective: a single kiss, done and complete. Обнимала is imperfective: hugging as an ongoing or repeated action, the background to the story. Later the song uses the imperfective partner of the first verb, целовала, for kissing in general. Russian verbs come in such pairs, and the choice shows whether you mean one finished event or a process.
«мне кажется» (mne kazhetsya) “it seems to me”
Russian often puts the person who feels or needs something in the dative and leaves the verb impersonal. Мне кажется is “it seems to me”, with мне the dative of я. Need works the same way: мне нужно, “I need to”, literally “to me it is necessary”. Other common examples: мне холодно (I am cold) and мне нравится (I like it).
«попробуй» (poprobuy) “try”
Попробуй is the imperative of попробовать (to try). Verbs in -овать swap that part for -уй: попробовать gives попробуй and рисовать (to draw) gives рисуй; танцевать (to dance) works the same way and gives танцуй. Add -те when you speak to several people or politely: попробуйте. The chorus uses it again and again, offering a kiss and a dance.
Translation, word notes and commentary by Koinei. Rights holders: see Copyright and takedown requests.