30 Минут (30 Minut / 30 Minutes)
Зареветь убежать / To cry, to run away
Или дверь на замок / Or lock the door
И молчать и лежать / And to be quiet and to lay
Изучать потолок / Studying the ceiling
И мечтать не как все / And to dream not like everyone else
Целовать небеса / To kiss the skies
Потолок карусель / The ceiling is a carousel
Полчаса, полчаса / Half an hour, half an hour
Полчаса поезда под откос / Half an hour trains derail
Полчаса не твоя полоса / Half an hour not your line
Полчаса, полчаса – не вопрос / Half an hour, half an hour, not a question
Не ответ полчаса, полчаса / Not an answer, half and hour, half an hour
Полчаса без тебя, полчаса / Half an hour without you, half an hour
Полчаса он и я, полчаса / Half an hour, him and I, half an hour
Каждый сам, каждый сам, / Everyone by themselves, everyone by themselves
Полчаса по своим адресам / Half an hour, at their own addresses
Полчаса / Half an hour
Сорвалась и как все / Broke down like everyone
Как во сне / Like in a dream
Я ни я / I’m not me
Не моя карусель, / Not my carousel
И мечта не моя. / And the dream is not mine
Или дым, или грусть / Either smoke or sadness
Или дождь по глазам / Or rain upon your eyes
Я вернусь, я вернусь / I’ll be back, I’ll be back
Полчаса, полчаса / Half an hour, half an hour
Although the song is titled “30 Минут” (30 Minutes), that phrase is never actually sung. Instead, the phrase “полчаса” (half an hour) is used in the lyrics.
“Polchasa” contains background speaking parts between Julia and Lena in the beginning in the middle of the song. During their 2013 concert in Kieve, in the middle of the “Polchasa” performance Julia and Lena reminisced about the recording session of the song:
-Julia: “Remember how we were chatting, telling each other stories from our childhood and anecdotes?”
-Lena: “Yes, Ivan told us, ‘Why don’t you try laughing’ during the recording…so we told each other anecdotes…actually we talked like this in real life. So it all went into the song, something about perfume…”
-Julia: “About billiard and bowling…about some champion.”
Source: t.A.T.u.’s Performance In Ukraine (2013)
Here is the translation of the full background conversation from “Polcahsa”:
-Julia, “We met up with the guys. Even with [your friend] Valera, with the champion, with the guys.”
-Lena, “…Valera is…”*
-Julia, “Is your relationship fine with him now?”
-Lena, “He’s jealous of you, of the studio. He’s jealous of everyone.”
-Julia, “Why me? Why towards me? Does he know that…”
-Lena, “…because, yes. Because he knows I spend more time with you.”
-Outside voice**, “And what about Julia being with…”
-Julia, “Does he know?”
-Lena, “…with a bisexual? Yes, of course. I told him”.
-Julia, “And what did he say.”
-Lena, “Well, nothing….I don’t know.”
-Julia, “Valera, Nastya, all of them.”
-Lena, “Valera? She’s named Julia!”
-Julia, “Julia, Irina!…† Yesterday Nastya was behind a guy, the one who came out of the apartment building with Nastya.”
-Lena, “That’s Rus’ka, he gave the perfume to me as a gift.”
-Julia, “He’s so good looking.”
-Lena, “He’s cool.”
-Julia, “Does he have a girlfriend?”
-Lena, “No.”
-Julia, “Well, that’s it…”‡
-Lena, “He doesn’t make me jealous..I mean you don’t make me jealous.”
-Julia, “Did you date him?”
-Lena, “He loves me.”
-Julia, “Oh, he can go fuck himself.”
*Lena’s voice gets significantly quieter so it is hard to make out what she says about the person named Valera.
**The volume of the voice is low. It seems to be someone sitting with Julia and Lena while they are speaking. The voice is of a female.
†The sentence cuts out and immediately goes into Julia talking about the person named Nastya.
‡Julia says something else here, but Lena speaks over her so it is hard to make out the rest of Julia’s sentence.
PRO-News report about t.A.T.u.’s Polchasa video clip being forbidden to be put into rotation on television due to the acts of terrorism featured in the video.
“…sold out venue until the year 2002, when terrorist would take over the building. t.A.T.u. touch upon the theme of terrorism in their video. In the plot, Julia Volkova is preparing a homemade bomb in a school bathroom with a timer mechanism. At the end – an explosion. The scandalous video does not receive airtime on television due its banning by the ministry of culture. At that time, in America after the September 11th terrorist attacks, scenes featuring the World Trade Center are cut out of Hollywood films that are getting ready to be released so as to not traumatize the audience. Practically the only movie where skyscrapers are shown being blown up ends up being Fight Club.”