Eurovision 2023, what Croatia’s Let 3 song means

After 36 years of career, Let 3 arrive at the Eurovision Song Contest and are preparing to cause discussion

The first semifinal ofEurovision Song Contest 2023 officially kicks off the European song contest with the performance of the first 15 artists ready to compete for the 10 places available for Saturday’s final. Among these, destined to be discussed, are the representatives of Croatia, i Let 3.

Who are Let 3

THE Let 3 are one of the most famous and long-lived alternative rock bands in Croatia, active since 1987 and always known for over the top performances and lyrics full of social protest. Over the years, Let 3 have stood up for the rights of women and LGBTQI+ people, against the conservative policies of the Catholic Church and against the war. And the song they brought to Eurovision 2023, Mama SH!is no exception.

Mama SH! arrives at Eurovision Song Contest 2023 having topped Croatia’s rankings in early 2023 following group victory at the singing event Dora 2023 from which Croatia selects that year’s candidate for Eurovision. But what is the song about and why is it already being talked about so much?

Mama SH. What is Croatia’s Eurovision song about?

Let 3 have explained in multiple interviews that it is a song against war and in favor of peaceemphasizing how Mama SH it’s not a song with a strong political connotation, even if looking at the text, the references against Vladimir Putin’s Russia, excluded from the European singing event since last year after the invasion of Ukraine, are really many, starting with the title.

The many references of MAMA ŠČ

The “Mama” of the title can be seen as a reference to “Mother Russia”, even more evident given the use in the title of the letter Щ of the Russian alphabet.

The first part of the text repeats the phrase “Mama kupila traktora”, which we can translate as “Mom bought a tractor”, where the tractor, according to some users on Reddit could be refer to Belarus and the important funding to the country from Russia.

The psychopathic crocodile

Another phrase that is repeated in the following verses, before the chorus, is “Mama ljubila morona”, which we can translate as “Mom kissed a moron”, followed by a series of phrases full of veiled but not too much references to war in Ukraine and to the figure of Vladimir Putin: “Mom I’m going to war”, “That little psychopath” and “Psychopathic crocodile”, a possible reference to when the British premier Boris Johnson he said negotiating with Putin was like dealing with a crocodile.



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