Rasputin and the D&D Jokes; Don't BLAME me! (The other thing we had to do.)

31 Then one night some men of higher standing
32 Set a trap, they're not to blame
33 "Come to visit us" they kept demanding
34 And he really came

These lines basically sum up the whole second assassination attempt on Rasputin. The first attempt being the one where he was stabbed by an old follower of his (she was a prostitute too). Now, knowing the details of the first attempt is intrigal to understanding the second attempt and why it failed.

The second attempt on Rasputin's illustrious life was by way of poison. Now, it is known that Rasputin, after being stabbed in the abdomin, developed a sort of intolerance to sugar. So, clever bastards that these nobles were, devised a plan to bake a cake (no frosting) with the poison hidden within. Of course, the cyanide dicipated after the baking process, leaving it an utterly harmless confection that Rasputin undoubtidly consumed with wild abandon.

Now that recap is over, we can get to the analysis.

The lines: thirty one and thirty two, paint a picture of duality in the most savage protester or authority figure. Let me explain. When you catch a bad guy in the movies, they're generally regarded as satanic figures comparable only to Hitler, Stalin or a Captain Planet villain. When in real life, excluding the examples I just mentioned, they are not as evil as you make them out to be. Just take John Dillinger; sure he shot a couple people up and robbed countless banks during the depression era but even his victims loved him. How could this be? Charisma, he had a charisma score of at least natural 18 and I'm not explaining that joke.

So, why aren't they, the nobles, to blame? Because as stated in line twenty nine, Rasputin has lots of hidden charms, and I'm not talking about that hammy cartoon cereal commercial. He has charisma, so obviously they, the nobles, finally met him and discovered his charming qualities. But it was too late! They already had (failed at) poisoning the sugarless cakes! Who was to blame? Anyone who hadn't met the glorious Rasputin in all of his charismatic progressive seventies glory, that's who.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Dillinger

Rasputin the Music Video (Context Post)

Rasputin the music video was generally just a few photographs peppered into a montage of performance scenes. However, that doesn't mean there is nothing to talk about.

The most defining characteristic if the video is They are overlayed upon stills of the Moscow Kremlin, trying to establish that they are indeed in Moscow. What with the Iron Curtain and such, I don't buy it.Bobby Farrell's performance as Rasputin. The costume consisted of a shiny disco shirt, short black pants and an enormous fake beard. He pranced around in a kind of mock Russian classical dance. He pulled this shtick the whole video except for certain parts where his voice was required. The fake beard, only worn for what seems like half the video, is kind of offensive to the general Russian population (they like their beards like that). The women in Boney M wear more traditional Russian garb, but they still kind of look like shiny versions of Jacqueline Kennedy on the day of the president's assassination.

Of course this all fits in correctly with the song's style: a mock of classical Russian music.

Rasputin and the Glorious Overview

The song Rasputin written by Frank Farian and performed by Boney M is a piece of the times. Those times were the 1970s, a time of sin and no punishment, a philosophy the original Rasputin lived and died by. Even though most of the claims in the song are factually inaccurate, like how he was poisoned, they still paint the picture of his life in an effective way.

You can draw interesting parallels between Rasputin, as depicted in the song, and the normal American in the seventies. They both hated war, had sexual liberation and committed sin yet still went to church regularly. The song continuously chants his name in a mantra type form, as if he was to be worshiped.

The times represented are not those of a czar ruled Russia, but a war torn United States. The Cold War was at its peak in the seventies, an espionage war with the nation that was home to the infamous Rasputin. A lot of interest was poured into Russia in this song, it was as if they were trying to discover why Russia was the way it was at the time. Why was it Communist? Symbolically Rasputin was Russia's greatest love machine, meaning none that were as great came after him, resulting in loveless Communism.

The song Rasputin was a teaching tool, a look back, an appreciation, a parallel. It encapsulated two different times, one where Rasputin was almost king, and one where Rasputin was god.

Rasputin and the Wars of the World

The seventies were not only a time of sexual liberation, but also one of protest and change. One of the major things that was protested at this time was the Vietnam War. The war protests are still heralded as some of the biggest displays of public action in history. The Vietnam War marked the peak of the Cold War and what better way to wrap up my analysis blog than to correlate Rasputin to Vietnam.

I'm once again going to refer to the lines in the chorus: "Ra Ra Rasputin." These lines in my other analysis emphasized how the people of the seventies hold Rasputin in high esteem. The general populace never really liked the Vietnam War and it generally spawned the anti-war movement as we know it today.

Rasputin was venomously opposed to war. Not only was he morally opposed, but he preached that it would lead to political catastrophe. During the years of the Great War (World War I) Rasputin was said to have become more of an alcoholic, sexually active, and more permissible to bribes. Leading people to believe he became more cynical in those years of his life.

This behavior was not unlike the men of the Vietnam War who were not yet conscripted. They seemed to consume more "sinful" things, and would subscribe to more "sinful" behavior.

Rasputin and Why Frank Farian Chose Wine

If it is written that he was poisoned by the cakes, why would the song write change the lyrics to wine? Is there any imagery or meaning in wine that would make the lyrics give off a certain message?

As I stated in my last post, Rasputin was allegedly poisoned by cyanide via a cake, however in the song it was portrayed as wine. Either way, the poison didn't work because Rasputin didn't eat sugar, or the cyanide was cooked off during the baking of the cake.

Its a common misconception that it was the wine was poisoned, it makes sense considering that it was such a dumb idea to put it in the cake. Its also a cultural misconception, we have wine tasters today because in antiquity the wine was generally what was poisoned.

35 RA RA RASPUTIN
36 Lover of the Russian queen
37 They put some poison into his wine
38 RA RA RASPUTIN
39 Russia's greatest love machine
40 He drank it all and he said "I feel fine"

Another reason they chose wine as the poison medium was that wine rhymes with fine. Frank Farian needed this to be wine because in the chorus they had an ABCABC rhyming scheme.

Rasputin and the Poisons of the World

37 They put some poison into his wine
...
40 He drank it all and he said "I feel fine"

Morality is a flexible subject. However, you can see patterns of morality throughout history; like how murder and alcohol are always bad. Sometimes sex is even demonized and turned into something to be ashamed of, like in the monotheistic religions. These actions are often referred to as corrosive, or poisonious.

Rasputin was famously assassinated by the proletariat, or at least the oppressed. The first attempt on his life was by a former prostitute who, upon Rasputin's exit of a church, stabbed him in the abdomen revealing his entrails. She then screamed claiming that she, "Killed the antichrist." Due to intensive surgery, he recovered.

This is where history and the song depart. Rasputin was allegedly poisoned by cakes that the nobles had baked for a feast. However, in the song it is stated that he drank wine that had poison in it. Either way, after Rasputin was stabbed by the prostitute he had hyperacidity, which prevented him from consuming any sugar. He probably had neither but for the purpose of this article we'll assume he drank cyanide-wine. A couple more assassination attempts and they just shot him and threw him into an icy river.

If we are going by the logic that amoral behavior is poison, Rasputin has consumed all amoral behavior. This would naturally not affect him because he is all of these amoral things already.

Rasputin and the Strange Future Known as the Seventies

So in those lines (13,39 and 45) are you saying it foreshadows what's to come because Russia is great no more? Or because the proletariat rose up to kill Rasputin and then would rise up to build a communist state? (in theory it was the proletariat, at least) Or because "love is dead" in Russia?


I'm sorry I didn't come off as clear as I could have. What I meant was that the proletariat rose up and destroyed love -- figuratively -- and replaced it with communism. Russia became great after the first and second world war, long after Rasputin's death. What was lost however was Russia's greatest love machine, did they sacrifice something so fundamental to humanity to gain unity and power?

Lets discuss the seventies shall we? It was a time of sexual freedom, drugs, and just general living in the moment. Much like Rasputin.

The mantra of the song is: Ra Ra Rasputin, which I decipher as a call to arms, a cheering of sorts. It states that these people of the seventies can now level with this Rasputin fellow on multiple levels now, when before they could not. Now, in modern times, you could live like a king would have in the 1800s.

I believe the song was being generally favorable to Rasputin in that the people singing it had the same lifestyle as him.

Rasputin and Educational Videos

"Duck and Cover!" - Civil Defense Bureau

During the forties and fifties recording technology was still in its infancy. In order to record a voice during those times, certain voices were preferred over others according to recording capability and quality. A perfect example of this would be the government film: Duck and Cover. Duck and Cover was a film that championed the act of Ducking and Covering for protection during a projected nuclear exchange between the former Soviet Union and the United States. This kind of antiquated narration was also in educational videos of the time.

The video is available here:

The song Rasputin has its roots in education, yet is not at the same time. One huge indicator of its educational video roots are the spoken lines: Lines 23-26. They discuss how Rasputin became more and more notable as his exploits went on. The voice is very similar to the Duck and Cover narrator, and is just as informative.

Analysis of Rasputin as the last and greatest "Love Machine"

"After the end of World War II, the world was split into two -- East and West. This marked the beginning of the era called the Cold War." - Big Boss, Metal Gear Solid 3 Snake Eater


The Cold War and the thought of nuclear devastation instilled fear within all. It is only natural for the culture to reflect this, and what better measure of culture than its music? Disco was born in the United States and it died only decades after its adoption whereas other music forms have lived on. It slowly lost popularity, changing styles throughout the 1980s. Disco gave rise to funk and from funk pop music was born as we know it today, but in Disco's original form -- we see it no longer. Therefore, I think it is only fitting for the Cold War to be discussed when talking about Disco, it was born in that era and it died in that era.

The song Rasputin by Boney M reflects a lot of interest in the affairs of Russian history. Perhaps it seeks to explain the origins of Lenin's Russia. During the red scare, many in the United States believed whole heartily that Communists didn't have the capability of humor, romance, or even compassion. Lines 13, 39, and 45 all refer to Rasputin as "Russia's greatest love machine" and as we all know, Rasputin was brutally murdered by the proletariat of Russia. Could this be a symbolic preface to what was to come in the years after with Communism? I think so.

Purpose

This blog is a student run project to delve into Rasputin written by Frank Farian and sung by Boney M. The posts that follow will contain a textual and contextual analysis of the lyrics, the writer’s word choice, how the music emphasizes certain lyrics, and how those lyrics function in the world.

Lyrics

1 There lived a certain man in Russia long ago
2 He was big and strong, in his eyes a flaming glow
3 Most people looked at him with terror and with fear
4 But to Moscow chicks he was such a lovely dear
5 He could preach the bible like a preacher
6 Full of ecstacy and fire
7 But he also was the kind of teacher
8 Women would desire

9 RA RA RASPUTIN
10 Lover of the Russian queen
11 There was a cat that really was gone
12 RA RA RASPUTIN
13 Russia's greatest love machine
14 It was a shame how he carried on

15 He ruled the Russian land and never mind the czar
16 But the kasachok he danced really wunderbar
17 In all affairs of state he was the man to please
18 But he was real great when he had a girl to squeeze
19 For the queen he was no wheeler dealer
20 Though she'd heard the things he'd done
21 She believed he was a holy healer
22 Who would heal her son

(Spoken:)
23 But when his drinking and lusting and his hunger
24 for power became known to more and more people,
25 the demands to do something about this outrageous
26 man became louder and louder.

27 "This man's just got to go!" declared his enemies
28 But the ladies begged "Don't you try to do it, please"
29 No doubt this Rasputin had lots of hidden charms
30 Though he was a brute they just fell into his arms
31 Then one night some men of higher standing
32 Set a trap, they're not to blame
33 "Come to visit us" they kept demanding
34 And he really came

35 RA RA RASPUTIN
36 Lover of the Russian queen
37 They put some poison into his wine
38 RA RA RASPUTIN
39 Russia's greatest love machine
40 He drank it all and he said "I feel fine"

41 RA RA RASPUTIN
42 Lover of the Russian queen
43 They didn't quit, they wanted his head
44 RA RA RASPUTIN
45 Russia's greatest love machine
46 And so they shot him till he was dead

47 (Spoken:) Oh, those Russians...