VAL were due to represent Belarus at Eurovision 2020 with “Da vidna”. The duo earned the honour after winning Natsionalniy Otbor 2020.
Scroll down for the “Da vidna” lyrics
Belarus in Eurovision 2020: VAL “Da vidna”
VAL is a music project consisting of vocalist Valeria Gribusova and multi-instrumentalist and singer Vladislav Pashkevich. Originally started as a solo project of Valeria’s, VAL eventually became a duo, combining indie pop music with dance. According to them, they like to be the odd ones out.
The pair would have been only the second Belarusian act to sing in one of the country’s official languages at the contest.
Listed as an endangered language, Belarusian is not a tongue we hear often at Eurovision or in music in general.
However, recently, young Belarusian artists are choosing to sing in their native language more often. The country’s broadcaster also took measures to promote the language at Eurovision several years ago, giving privilege to entries in Belarusian in their national selection show.
“Da vidna”, literally meaning “Until dawn”, is nothing like Belarus’ last entry in the language, the folksy “Story of My Life” from 2017. It’s poppy with a dance chorus.
What do the “Da vidna” lyrics mean?
“Da vidna” carries a strong feminist message. Over its three-minute duration, the life of a woman in an unhappy forced marriage unfolds. In the first verse, the woman is heard questioning her life, asking why she ended up with her current husband, whom she didn’t choose herself.
In the second verse, she looks back in time and talks to her younger self.
The refrain offers a note of empowerment, as the woman realises that she is not alone with her problems. While the day time reminds her of the sorrow in her life, the night understands the real her. The contrast between light and dark and the symbolism which comes with it is open to interpretation.
VAL said the following about the song:
“And the song also contains the idea of feminism. The woman herself chooses with whom to be happy. There are such lines, and I really want to convey them to the audience.”
VAL “Da vidna” lyrics and translation
Written and composed by: Valeria Gribusova (music), Vladislav Pashkevich (music) and Mikita Naydzyonaw (lyrics)
Belarusian textЗаплятала восень ясну косамі ды распляла Запытала, ой нашто мне той, каго не выбірала Да відна, да відна засталася не адна Не мая віна, засталася не адна Ой, як мала маладзенькая ў дзеўках ды пабыла Да відна, да відна засталася не адна Не мая віна, засталася не адна |
English translationI was braiding Autumn with clear braids and then unbraided them Until dawn, until dawn I am not alone Not my fault, I am not alone Oh, how small, small of a girl you were Until dawn, until dawn I am not alone Not my fault, I am not alone |
What do you think of Belarus’ entry? Let us know in the comments below.
I really like this entry! Quite catchy and fun. It’s one of the songs I will keep listening. Well done Belarus.
Love it, so underrated
Love it so much, so underrated
Well done Belarus. I am sure it would have made the final. Ofc underrated by fandom
I really like this song. It’s one of only nine ESC2020 entries that I am still listening too (the others being from Azerbaijan, Croatia, France, Latvia, Lithuania, Russia, Sweden, and Switzerland). It’s super catchy, and kinda reminds me of Paula’s ‘Let u go’, from Lithuania’s national selection in 2017. The dance moves are fantastic. It’s as if Kelly Osborne, Charlie Puth, and Jack Vidgen formed a trio. If we look at were Zena’s ‘Like it’ started at the national final, and how well it looked, sounded, and placed at Eurovision, I think ‘Da vidna’ could have done equally well, or… Read more »
But remember in this Semi countries like Russia, Lithuania, Azerbaijan and Russia would have voted. I think Belarus would have placed around place 8, 9 both with juries and Televoting.
I am not so sure about Australia and Romania qualifying.
Those are one of my favourite lyrics of this season. I love the nature theme and the mysterious tone, they almost give the song a fairy-tale quality. Their mood reminds me very much of “Mamo”‘s lyrics (which I absolutely adore). Together with the energetic and joyful performance they make a bizarre, yet fascinating whole.
Nice to finally know what the song is about. Sort of, anyway. I really liked Belarus 2017 and this one is okay, too. It suits Belarus to sing in Belarusian much more than to send cheap pop songs with bad English, in my opinion.
Brilliant overtones of Major Lazer. Very underarted
To me the sound is more like M83 ‘Midnight City’. Im so sad we wont see VAL this year on the Eurovision stage. One of my faves this year.
I find this entry really strange. If I look at the NF performance, they are smiley, doing artsy movements and generally look like they are having a good time.
Yet they are signing about enforced marriage?
They aren’t singing only about the marriage but also about how she finds happiness outside of said marriage that’s why they’re relatively upbeat.