Representatives of the current young generation, having heard the word “shizgara”, are likely to shrug their shoulders in bewilderment. But for older music lovers, it is a symbol of an entire era. In their youth, it could be heard in every doorway, where homegrown guitarists tormented badly tuned instruments.
If you haven’t figured it out yet, this is a phrase from the legendary composition Venus by the Dutch band Shocking Blue. English was difficult in Soviet times, Western recordings often came in poor quality, and Mariska Veresh sang Venus for the first time without knowing the language. Is it any wonder that the simplest phrase “she’s got it” has turned into a mysterious “shizgara” for domestic music lovers.
The history of creation and the meaning of the song Venus
Venus was written and composed by Robbie van Leeuwen, guitarist and leader of Shocking Blue. Actually, he borrowed the melody from the song The Banjo Song of The Big 3 (where Cass Elliot sang “Mama” before she moved to The Mamas & the Papas).
In turn, The Big 3 took the song Oh! as the basis for The Banjo Song. Susanna by Stephen Foster, also known as Banjo on My Knee.
The famous guitar riff that starts Venus is plucked by Robbie van Leeuwen from the song Pinball Wizard, which is featured on The Who’s rock opera “Tommy”. However, neither The Big 3 nor The Who made any accusations of plagiarism.
Recording and release
The single was recorded at the end of 1969 and already in February 1970 rose to the top of the Billboard Hot 100 chart. In total, almost eight million copies were sold worldwide.
The song Venus became the most famous composition of Shocking Blue, although it cannot be said that the group entered the history of modern music only with this composition. She has a lot of worthy songs, which we will definitely talk about later.
Clip Venus – Shocking Blue
Let’s watch the online video for the song Venus by Shocking Blue.
Interesting Facts
- In Holland, the homeland of Shocking Blue, the song was not so popular and climbed to third place in the charts only after resounding success in other countries and a re-release.
- In 1986, members of the British girl trio Bananarama recorded a cover version of the song, and their “Venus” also rose to number one in the US chart.
- Mariska Veres made a mistake already in the first line of the song, replacing the word “goddess” (“goddess”) with a non-existent “godness”.
- Before Shocking Blue, no Dutch band had managed to top the chart in the US.
- The Venus song has been featured in Gillette’s commercial for the Venus women’s leg razors for many years.
- Writer Sergei Soloukh gave the name “Shizgara” to his novel about the life of Soviet hippies.
- For a long time, the program “Shizgar” was on the radio station “Our Radio”.
Venus Lyrics
A goddess on the mountain top
Was burning like a silver flame
The summit of beauty and love
And Venus was her name
chorus:
She’s got it
Yeah, baby, she’s got it
Well, I’m your Venus
I’m your fire, at your desire
Well, I’m your Venus
I’m your fire, at your desire
Her weapons were
Her crystal eyes
Making every man mad
Black as the dark night she was
Got what no-one else had
Venus Lyrics
Goddess on the mountain
Shined like a silver fire
The pinnacle of love and beauty
And they called her Venus
Chorus:
It’s all in her
Yes, baby, it’s all in her
Well I’m your Venus
I am your fire – just wish
Well I’m your Venus
I am your fire – just wish
Her weapons were
transparent eyes,
that drove men crazy
She was dark as night
And had what no one had
