Russian Roulette Lyrics

[Verse 1]
Take a breath, take it deep
"Calm yourself", he says to me
If you play, you play for keeps
Take the gun and count to three
I'm sweating now, moving slow
No time to think, my turn to go

[Chorus]
And you can see my heart beating
You can see it through my chest
Said I'm terrified, but I'm not leaving
I know that I must pass this test
So just pull the trigger (Trigger, trigger, trigger)

[Verse 2]
Say a prayer to yourself
He says, "Close your eyes
Sometimes it helps"
And then I get a scary thought
That he's here, means he's never lost


[Chorus]
And you can see my heart beating
Oh, you can see it through my chest
Said I'm terrified, but I'm not leaving
Know that I must pass this test
So just pull the trigger
[Bridge]
As my life flashes before my eyes
I'm wondering, will I ever see another sunrise?
So many won't get the chance to say goodbye
But it's too late to think of the value of my life

[Chorus]
And you can see my heart beating
No, woah, you can see it through my chest
Said I'm terrified but I'm not leaving, no
Know that I must pass this test
And you can see my heart beating
Oh, you can see it through my chest
Now I'm terrified, but I'm not leaving, no, no
Know that I must pass this test
So just pull the trigger (Trigger, trigger, trigger)

How to Format Lyrics:

  • Type out all lyrics, even repeating song parts like the chorus
  • Lyrics should be broken down into individual lines
  • Use section headers above different song parts like [Verse], [Chorus], etc.
  • Use italics (<i>lyric</i>) and bold (<b>lyric</b>) to distinguish between different vocalists in the same song part
  • If you don’t understand a lyric, use [?]

To learn more, check out our transcription guide or visit our transcribers forum

About

Genius Annotation

This song compares a relationship with someone to playing Russian Roulette. In the end, as can be seen in the video, she wins the battle at the expense of the other. This song may mask her abusive relationship with Chris Brown.

Q&A

Find answers to frequently asked questions about the song and explore its deeper meaning

Translations
Genius Answer
What did Rihanna say about "Russian Roulette"?
Genius Answer

Chuck Harmony:

We wanted to give her a movie. We didn’t want to just give her a three-minute song,“ Harmony told MTV News. "I felt musically like everybody was gonna give like that ‘Disturbia,’ ‘SOS,’ kind of pop, uptempo stuff, and I really wanted the song that me and Ne-Yo did to stand out. Rihanna phoned in to Ne-Yo to tell him that it was one of her favorites. I think overall she was comfortable with the vibe of the song and comfortable with the lyrical content of the song. She loves the song.”

Via MTV

According to Songfacts, Ne-Yo told MTV News how the song originated:

I’m listening to the track, and all I can see is Rihanna and some random person sitting across from each other at the table with a gun sitting in the middle of the table and playing Russian roulette. And I just started thinking, ‘What would go through your mind if you was in that situation?’ It just all started coming together, and Rihanna has never been one to be afraid to take a chance, especially with me. She’s always game to do something a little different. I played it for her, and she loved it – went in and knocked it out. The rest is history.

Why does producer Chuck Harmony think people feel the song is about Chris Brown?
Genius Answer

Because that’s the newest situation. Whatever she came with, if she came out with ‘I still love you’ that would have been about Chris Brown. If she came out with ‘I hate your dog’ that would have been about Chris Brown, too. It’s just a natural reaction for people to associate ‘cause she’s been so tight-lipped.

Via MTV

How did Chuck Harmony feel about the mixed reaction to the song?
Is there a behind-the-scenes look at the making of the music video?
Credits
Producers
Mastering Engineer
Assistant Recording Engineer
Vocal Producer
Assistant Mixing Engineer
Mixing Engineer
Recorded At
Roc the Mic Studios, New York City
Released on
October 27, 2009
Russian Roulette Interpolations
View Russian Roulette samples
Tags
Comments
Sign Up And Drop Knowledge 🤓
Genius is the ultimate source of music knowledge, created by scholars like you who share facts and insight about the songs and artists they love.
  翻译: