by Tanin Jazz
“Virtual Love” is a song by Tanin Jazz, a Belarusian band founded in 2007 around singer, composer and arranger Tania Haroshka. It appeared on the band's debut album, Feel This Time, released in 2008, and has since come out in several remixed versions. In our translation the singer knows the other person's phone number but says she will never call. Instead the two of them breathe in unison and type out “I love you”. The other person is far, far away, yet she feels light and keeps saying that she believes in miracles. A late-night message asks whether the other one is still awake, sitting up again, and why they so boldly believe in little things. The other person writes Russian in Latin letters, forgives her for the poems and teases her by calling her a blonde, all for what the song calls virtual sins.
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.
La-la-la
I know your phone number
But I'll never call
And we breathe in unison
And we type out "I love you"
You're far, far away
Even the heavens laugh
But I feel so light, so light
And I believe in miracles
I believe in miracles
(last 2 lines x2)
Hey, hey, you're not asleep?
Sitting here again all night
Well, Baby, why do you
So boldly believe in little things?
I know your phone number
But I'll never call
While we’re still in sync
And we type out "I love you"
You write Russian in Latin letters
Forgiving me for the poems
And you tease me, just calling me a blonde
For virtual sins
(repeat the 8 lines from “Hey, hey, you're not asleep?”)
La-la-la
| Word | Say it | Meaning | Type | In the song |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| телефон | telefon | phone | noun | телефон: accusative, singular, masculine |
| никогда | nikogda | never | adverb | никогда |
| позвонить | pozvonit | to call | verb | позвоню: future, 1st person, singular, perfective; here “will call” |
| унисон | unison | unison | noun | унисон: accusative, singular, masculine |
| набирать | nabirat | to type | verb | набираем: present, 1st person, plural, imperfective; here “type” |
| любить | lyubit | to love | verb | люблю: present, 1st person, imperfective; here “love” |
| далеко | daleko | far | adverb | далёко |
| верить | verit | to believe | verb | верю: present, 1st person, imperfective; here “believe” |
| чудо | chudo | miracle | noun | чудеса: accusative, plural; here “miracles” |
| мелочь | meloch | trifle | noun | мелочам: dative, plural, feminine; here “trifles” |
| латинка | latinka | Latin | noun | латинкой: instrumental, singular, feminine |
| грех | grekh | sin | noun | грехи: accusative, plural, masculine; here “sins” |
«верю в чудеса» (veryu v chudesa) “believe in miracles”
Верить в means “to believe in” and takes the accusative. Чудеса is the plural of чудо (miracle), an irregular plural like небеса (heavens) from небо, which also appears in the song. Without в, верить takes the dative and means to trust or believe someone or something: the question about little things uses мелочам, the dative plural of мелочь (a trifle).
«никогда не позвоню» (nikogda ne pozvonyu) “will never call”
Позвоню looks like a present-tense form, but позвонить is perfective, and the present forms of perfective verbs refer to the future: “I will call”. Its imperfective partner звонить gives звоню, “I call” or “I am calling”. Russian also doubles the negative: никогда (never) needs не in front of the verb, so the phrase is literally “never not I will call”.
«по ночам» (po nocham) “at night, night after night”
По with the dative plural describes something that happens again and again: по ночам means “at night, night after night”, from ночь (night). The same pattern gives по утрам (in the mornings) and по выходным (at weekends). In the song it comes with опять (again) and the imperfective сидишь (you sit), which together describe a habit rather than one evening.
«русскою латинкой» (russkoyu latinkoy) “in Russian Latin script”
Латинкой is the instrumental of латинка (Latin script), used for the tool or means, like писать ручкой (to write with a pen). The adjective agrees with it: русскою is an older, poetic ending of русской, just as тобою is a longer form of тобой. A few lines later the instrumental follows дразнить (to tease): блондинкой, teasing someone by calling them a blonde.
Translation, word notes and commentary by Koinei. Rights holders: see Copyright and takedown requests.