Quote Originally Posted by Alex80 View Post
Let's try to parse:
где=where
бы=probability/subjunctive, so "где бы" becomes "wherever"
то=that/it
ни было="was not" with subjunctive means "is".
So it is something like "wherever it is" meaning "no matter where it is".
More generally, you can use other "question words" like кто, что, как, когда, какой, (от)куда, and so forth, in combination with бы and ни, to express the idea of "whenever" or "no matter what" or "whatever kind of person someone is," etc.

A very useful construction to know, in other words.

ЗЫ: The second verse of the famous pop-song Разговор со счастьем has the following lines:

Тот, кто ждёт, всё снесёт,
Как бы жизнь ни била
Лишь бы всё, это всё
Не напрасно было.

"He who waits can endure/withstand everything,
No matter how life beats him up,
As long as all of this
Was not [all] pointless / in vain."




Incidentally, I've checked on YouTube and it always surprises me that -- as far as I can tell -- this song has never been performed in a "tango version"! It would make a rather sexy and romantic duet if set to a tango rhythm.