The meaning of the lyrics of the song "Honest thief" (Chestnyiy vor) the performer of the song "Mikhail Krug"

Spread the bed softer for me, Baba Manya, I'm very tired,

And bolt the door, sleep is calling, I haven't slept like this in a long time.

Life's full of worries, Lyubka Murikha got together with Kinch,

Fluff my pillow, Baba Manya, I'll show those bastards soon enough...

Your mors is strong, like you're drunk, the glass is sweating from the first sip.

You were young once, Baba Manya, waiting for your husband from the war.

Few came back from the penal battalion, his sentence cut short, fell to a stray bullet,

Remember how father cracked safes, and got a big score before the very war?

Maybe it's better this way, facing the wall, than rotting in a cabbage patch?

When the drunken convoy was taking him away, I ran after them shouting: "Father, Father!"

To hell with it, I shot at the convoy point-blank,

And they laughed, those wolves, at my volley.

Turn off the light, we'll talk about women later, you'll just keep me awake.

Lyubka the bitch and Kichman the tomcat, I'll crush them like lice.

Find the guys in Slobodka, give them a message from me...

Well, good night, Baba Manya. I'll serve my time at your place and then I'm gone!

Расстели мне помягче постель, баба Маня, я очень устал,

И закрой на щеколдочку дверь, клонит в сон, я давно так не спал.

Мало ль в жизни бывает забот, Любка Муриха с Кинчем сошлась,

Взбей подушку, баб Мань, да вот-вот уж я им, падлам, сделаю всласть...

Ну и морс у тебя, как хмельной, с погребка, аж потеет стакан.

Ты ж была, баба Мань, молодой, да с войны всё ждала мужика.

Да со штрафбата кто мало пришёл, срок скосил, пал от пули шальной,

А помнишь, батьку, как кассы колол, да взял вышак перед самой войной.

А может, лучше так, к стенке спиной чем в капустном яру загнивать?

Когда вёл его пьяный конвой, я ж кричал ему вслед: "Батя, бать!"

Да что та, чёртова, под молотки, я ж в упор по конвою стрелял,

А они хохотали, волки на губами мой сделанный залп.

Свет гаси, а о бабах потом: разбередишь и сон отобьёшь.

Любку-стерву с Кичманом-котом раздавлю, как поганую вошь.

На Слободке найдёшь корешей, передашь им маляву одну...

Ну, спокойных, баб Мань, нам ночей. Отсижусь у тебя и рвану!

In Mikhail Krug's song "Honest Thief" we see the story of a man living a double life. On the one hand, he is a criminal, a robber, planning revenge on his enemies. This is evidenced by his words about "Lyubka Muriha" and "Kinch," about how he will "deal with them," how he will "crush" them like "a lousy louse." He is hiding from justice, planning to "run" after he lays low at Baba Manya's.

On the other hand, the hero of the song is deeply traumatized by the loss of his father, whom he remembers with warmth and love. He remembers how his "father cracked safes," how he "shouted after him" during the escort. The tragedy of his father, who died in the war after escaping from a penal battalion, left an indelible mark on his life, perhaps pushing him onto a criminal path. He cannot come to terms with the injustice that happened to his father and fights it by any means available to him.

The image of the "honest thief" is full of contradictions. The hero of the song does not idealize himself; he is aware of his sinfulness, but at the same time, he sees no other way. He lives by his own code of honor, where loyalty to his father's memory and revenge for him come first. The song leaves a bitter aftertaste, making one think about how life circumstances can lead a person to a tragic choice.