B.G. Lilith

“When the student is ready, the teacher will appear.”

 

A picture from the cover of Boris Grebenshchikov’s album “Lilith” is really fitting to the October atmosphere - a man with a guitar standing in a colourful autumn forest. This image threw us back many years ago, when the “American” album by B.G. came out. 

An album that changed the sound of B.G. and Aquarium for the coming 20 years. 

The history:

In the summer of 1997 after he was temporarily done with Aquarium, Boris Grebenshchikov found himself in New York with newly written songs. A close friend of his liked the new material so much that he suggested recoding it in the States. So the wheel spun and B.G. finds himself on his way to Woodstock, where in the period of August - October 1997 he recorded the album together with the legendary The Band, that played together with Bob Dylan. 

At the end of the year, Lilith came out - in both Russia and America. 

Here is the place to say that as the name of the album suggests, it is dedicated to the female beginning. Lilith is the name of Adam’s first partner in the Jewish mythology, but also the name of a mystical, non-existent satellite to Earth. Lilith symbolizes the female beginning and that can very clearly be felt in every song of the album. 

Boris Grebenshchikov’s texts have always been full of metaphors and require special attention, in order to dive into it properly. The old meanings, religions, the classic and contemporary authors are tangled up together. Each dismantling combines the understanding of the slang and all other symbols, it brings joy and new knowledge. 

Especially the depth and the layers in the art of B.G. are some of the reasons that make us think of his as a teacher - you always have more to learn from this endless source of knowledge and inspiration. 

Today we listen to ‘Lilith’ by B.G. with pleasure via the official profile of Boris Grebenshchikov.

 

P.S. Here we allow ourselves a specific translation of part of the opening song of the anthem of the female beginning ‘If it was not you!’

‘Nowadays, when wings are a sign of falling,
In this city full of nervous hearts and locked eyes,
Only you know that there is no money in the divine,
Only you remember that there is no Tomorrow -
There is only Now…’’

 

P.S.S. And if you are wondering what to do during the upcoming long autumn and winter evening, the texts by Boris Grebenshchikov, together with translations in known languages are available on the web. And we hope that one day this poetry will be translated to Bulgarian. 

October 2020
Image MA