Yulia Lyrics
Watch them as they float along
I was up there floating with them
And you know that I am gone
The radio sings a patriot’s song, it’s the devil that you know
Yulia
The favorite sons of history
While you’re back in Prostronaya
Writing in your diary
They flip on switch at mission control and I’m never coming home
Yulia
Oh! Of floating in the salty sea
I’m stranded up here floating along
and my heart beats slow and I hope they
Bring my body back
Yulia
Baby please don’t speak of me
Point up to the dark above you
As they edit me from history
I’m 20 million miles from a comfortable home
And space is very cold
Yulia
nothing out here nothing out here there’s nothing out here
nothing nothing out here nothing out here nothing nothing out
This song is about space travel and the Russian space program. pretty touching
agreed about the topic. It is a ridiculously powerful song, and at the same time sort of a humourously random topic for them.
agreed about the topic. It is a ridiculously powerful song, and at the same time sort of a humourously random topic for them.
Interesting. I'm assuming it must have been inspired by something he read. You seem right about the topic, but any reference for that (interview, show, etc)? Just curious, and I like to read interviews.
Interesting. I'm assuming it must have been inspired by something he read. You seem right about the topic, but any reference for that (interview, show, etc)? Just curious, and I like to read interviews.
He was inspired by an old documentary titled "The Red Stuff" about the Soviet space program. A decent interview about the song with Dan Boeckner can be found here: http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/matsononmusic/2012397799_interview_wolf_parades_dan_boe.html?cmpid=2628
He was inspired by an old documentary titled "The Red Stuff" about the Soviet space program. A decent interview about the song with Dan Boeckner can be found here: http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/matsononmusic/2012397799_interview_wolf_parades_dan_boe.html?cmpid=2628
He was influenced, at least partially, by The Red Stuff, but he mixed his memory of the documentary with an urban legend of the Soviet space program.
The portion of The Red Stuff he's remembering is the deaths of the Soyuz 11, which was recounted by a family member. The men were killed by the vacuum of space when a device meant to regulate cabin pressure malfunctioned on the return. The vessel landed safely on earth but all the Cosmos inside were asphyxiated.
Dan's combining his memory of this documentary with the (proven hoax) urban legend of a doomed Soviet moonshot hastily prepared to beat the US to it. Legend has it that a miscalculation sent the team of Cosmonauts (or singular Cosmonaut, can't remember) wide of the moon and drifting aimlessly in space to await their demise.
Either way, it's an amazing story and a beautiful song, and one of the greatest things Wolf Parade has ever done.
Heres my take on this song.
He seems to be comparing his life as a musician in the big time, a "star" if you will, to being a space cadet.
My first clue was the similarity of the song's first two lines and Issaac Broc's two songs: "Diamonds on the face of evil", and "Float On". He's refering to the early days of his career when he first got signed by Sub Pop records through their A&R agent Isaac Broc. Dan was "up there floating with them" (the band Modest Mouse and friends) playing on stage and being adored by fans ("we were standing on the platform, the favorite sons of history")
But life as a musician has alienated him from his old life and "Yulia". And has made him spaced out.
Also, even though Boekner says he wasn't in the interview, I really do think he was talking about corporate control of the radio. Its about both.
He is making a parallell with the imprisoned, beautiful but somewhat corrpupt, Yulia Tymoshenko:
He is making a parallell with the imprisoned, beautiful but somewhat corrpupt, Yulia Tymoshenko:
Yulia Volodymyrivna Tymoshenko (Ukrainian: Ð®Ð»Ñ–Ñ Ð’Ð¾Ð»Ð¾Ð´Ð¸Ð¼Ð¸Ñ€Ñ–Ð²Ð½Ð° Тимошенко, pronounced [ˈjulijÉ‘ Ê‹É”lɔˈdɪmɪriÊ‹nÉ‘ tɪmɔˈʃɛnkÉ”]), née Grigyan[4][5] (Ukrainian: ÒріґÑн),[6] born 27 November 1960, is a Ukrainian politician. She was the Prime Minister of Ukraine from 24 January to 8 September 2005, and again from 18 December 2007 to 4 March 2010.[7][8] She placed third in Forbes Magazine's List of The World's 100 Most Powerful Women 2005.[9] Tymoshenko is the leader of the All-Ukrainian Union "Fatherland" party and the Yulia Tymoshenko Bloc.
Yulia Volodymyrivna Tymoshenko (Ukrainian: Ð®Ð»Ñ–Ñ Ð’Ð¾Ð»Ð¾Ð´Ð¸Ð¼Ð¸Ñ€Ñ–Ð²Ð½Ð° Тимошенко, pronounced [ˈjulijÉ‘ Ê‹É”lɔˈdɪmɪriÊ‹nÉ‘ tɪmɔˈʃɛnkÉ”]), née Grigyan[4][5] (Ukrainian: ÒріґÑн),[6] born 27 November 1960, is a Ukrainian politician. She was the Prime Minister of Ukraine from 24 January to 8 September 2005, and again from 18 December 2007 to 4 March 2010.[7][8] She placed third in Forbes Magazine's List of The World's 100 Most Powerful Women 2005.[9] Tymoshenko is the leader of the All-Ukrainian Union "Fatherland" party and the Yulia Tymoshenko Bloc.
She has been a practising economist and academic. Prior to her political career, Yulia Tymoshenko...
She has been a practising economist and academic. Prior to her political career, Yulia Tymoshenko was a successful but controversial businesswoman in the gas industry, becoming by some estimates one of the richest people in the country. Before becoming Ukraine's first female Prime Minister in 2005,[10] Tymoshenko co-led the Orange Revolution.[11]
Tymoshenko was a candidate in the Ukrainian presidential elections of 2010,[12] but lost this election to Viktor Yanukovych (Tymoshenko received 45.47% of the votes in the second and final round[13] of this election[14][15]). At first Tymoshenko challenged the election results, claiming the vote was rigged,[16][17] but withdrew her appeal on 20 February 2010, stating, "It became clear that the court is not out to establish the truth".[18]
Since May 2010 a number of criminal cases have been opened against Tymoshenko.[19] On 11 October 2011, a Ukrainian court sentenced Tymoshenko to seven years in prison after she was found guilty of abuse of office when brokering the 2009 gas deal with Russia.[20] The conviction is seen as "justice being applied selectively under political motivation" by the European Union and other international organizations.[21]
Tymoshenko is currently being held in prison in Kharkiv region and was on hunger strike from 20 April 2012 until 9 May 2012.[22][23][24]
Poshekhonye (Russian: ПошехоÌнье) is a town and the administrative center of Poshekhonsky District of Yaroslavl Oblast, Russia, located 151 kilometers (94 mi) northwest of Yaroslavl.