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From a song by "Один в каное":

Справа в тому
Що в мене немає дому
І за правилом доброго тону
Як за правилом доброго ременя
Згадаю з якого я племені
Пригадаю з якого міста
Я чекаю на своє Греммі
В мене просто нема де сісти
Написати свою промову

What is the meaning of "за правилом доброго ременя"? If there is no explainable meaning, and it's just a piece of lyrics intended to create some vague associations in the mind, I'm okay with that, but I wondered that maybe there is some specific meaning in this phrase.

4 Answers 4

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I don't know any specific idioms related to "правило доброго ременя".

I suppose it's really a piece of lyrics intended to create some vague associations in the mind.

Ремінь (belt) was formerly used as a tool for corporal (physical) punishment or, at least, as a method of intimidation of children. Although (I hope) it's no more used for physical punishment in reality (I suppose, even families practicing physical punishment nowadays use lighter tools), it's still perceived as an allegory of punishment and kept in phrases like "дати ремня".

So, I suppose, author here is creating some contrast to "правило доброго тону" (maybe something similar to the carrot-and-stick method or something related to "you can get much further with a kind word and a gun than you can with a kind word alone", or maybe they had some other thoughts).

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    I'd like to share my thoughts here, as it is not another answer, just an addition to what is already written in the post. This song is a part of the album, and it was released next after "Ikony" song. "U mene nemaje domu" can be read as a song about internally displaced persons as well as about all the people that had to leave their homes throughout history. "The rule of the good belt" is connected to our past and our psychopatology and linkage to violence that lives in us cause of the postcolonial postviolence postgenocide society. The link to "pravylo dobroho tonu" is obvious as well.
    – P. Vowk
    Dec 18, 2019 at 12:38
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I disagree with Sasha on this part: "So, I suppose, author here is creating some contrast to "правило доброго тону" (maybe something similar to the carrot-and-stick method or something related to "you can get much further with a kind word and a gun than you can with a kind word alone", or maybe they had some other thoughts)."

There is indeed a wordplay here. "Pravylo dobroho tonu" is a "good manners rule." That is a phrase we use a lot in everyday speech. "Pravylo dobroho remenia" is a "good belt rule." This we don't use a lot or even at all.

Let's take a look at the words of this song:

Справа в тому, // Що в мене немає дому // І за правилом доброго тону, // Як за правилом доброго ременя, // Я згадаю з якого я племені, // Пригадаю з якого міста, // Я чекаю на своє Греммі, // В мене просто нема де сісти // Написати свою промову: // У мене немає дому...

As a lot of songs of Odyn v kanoe are about violent things happening to Ukraine in the past, this "good belt rule" may be a bitter irony about the "good belt rule" ruling Ukraine instead of the "good manners rule."

Another proof of this is that this song is partly about Internally Displaced Persons, one can try reading comments under the video on youtube, one will see that there are hundreds of IDPs claiming that they felt connected / were crying / can't forget their homes.

Now look at these rows again: "Пригадаю з якого міста, // ... // В мене просто нема де сісти // ... // У мене немає дому..." Let's translate it: "I'll remind myself of my hometown // I have nowhere to sit // I have no home."

Now let's think about it, is it good manners rule or good belt rule, when someone is forcing you out of your hometown? Was there a choice? That's my argument against Sasha: I think, it's not a connection between those two rules of manners and belt, it's about the juxtaposition of those two rules, of bitter awareness that our habit to live by the rule of good manners is often interrupted by the guys trying to imply the rule of good belt on us.

As for me, the allusion is not vage, it's bright, strong, and bitter. "The rule of the good belt" is connected to our past and our psychopatology and linkage to violence that lives in us cause of the postcolonial, postgenocide state of our society that we are trying to overcome.

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Giving a belt - is a punishment for certain actions, beating with a belt.

To give a good belt - is to punish so that it will be remembered for a long time.

The rule of a good belt - is a consequence of the above. Because emotional events are remembered for a long time, the reason for which he was punished will be remembered for a long time.

"And by the rule of good manners" - a comparison to "As by the rule of good manners." It is so good to know the rules of good manners, as when to remember it by a good belt.

“And as a rule of good manners As a rule of good belt” - is a description of the reason how next sentence was did - ”I remember what tribe I am from I remember from which city”

And only then on this logic impose comparisons to the events that took place. Or vice versa, using this logic to describe the events that took place to write this song.


I am adding the original in case the wrong English words are used.


Дати ременя — це покарання за певні дії, биття ременем.

Дати доброго ременя — це покарати так, щоб запам’ятав надовго.

Правило доброго ременя — це наслідок з вище сказаного. Так як емоційні події запам’ятовуються надовго, то причина, за що був покараний, запам’ятається надовго.

“І за правилом доброго тону” — порівняння до “Як за правилом доброго ременя”. Тобто на стільки добре знати правила доброго тону, ніби для того, щоб запам’ятати дали доброго ременя.

“І за правилом доброго тону Як за правилом доброго ременя” — це опис про причину, яким чином було виконане це “Згадаю з якого я племені Пригадаю з якого міста”

А вже потім на цю логіку накладають порівняння до подій, що відбулися. Або навпаки за допомогою цієї логіки описують події, що відбулися для написання цієї пісні.

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it has very clear meaning. First of all you need to understand that in Ukrainian "добрий ремінь" translates not as "good belt" but "belt that can hit strongly". "Отримати доброго ременя" - it means not "to receive good belt" (btw it`s funny) but "To be beaten with belt a lot". According to that author sings that today she can realize which tribe/city she belongs "Згадаю з якого я племені/міста" with free will "за правилом доброго тону", same as it was in the past but not with free will but being beaten with belt a lot by parents to make her realize what family(analogy with tribe) and city(analogy with family rules) she do belong.

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  • -1: this post does not seem to add anything that haven't been mentioned in existing answers. Jun 4, 2022 at 14:38

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