The meaning of the lyrics of the song "Fred" the performer of the song "The King and the Jester"

Fred was cleaning his well,

And under the murky water's swell,

A skeleton in a maiden's gown,

Fred did unearth and drag it down.

For reasons unknown, a puzzling quest,

He took it home to be his guest.

Come morning, troubles did arise –

His legs refused to move, paralyzed.

Poor Fred, consumed by grief and dread,

Soon lost his mind, it's sadly said.

His skeletal find, his obsession's hold,

He called his fate, a story to be told.

"With you forever, I long to be!

To see you living, eternally,

Unearthly beauty, a vision so bright,

Before my eyes, like a fevered light."

Fred would have starved, his fate forlorn,

If not for his neighbor, each and every morn,

He sent his wife with food to share,

To ease poor Freddie's plight and care.

The neighbor's wife, she did impart,

"Before a skeleton, Fred sits, heart to heart,

He speaks to it, the poor, crazed soul,

As if it were alive and whole."

"And then, he hid the bones from view,

So I wouldn't see, it's true,

That's how it is, a sorry plight,"

She said, recounting the eerie sight.

"Alive we'll be, death we'll defy,

Together we'll gaze, you and I,

At beauty unearthly, a sight so grand,

Before my eyes, like visions of fairyland."

With love insane, each moonlit night,

The dead arose, bathed in pale light,

Flesh growing back, taking its hold,

A tale of horror, yet to be told.

"With you forever, I yearn to be,

To see you living, eternally,

Believe me, believe me, believe me, I pray,

Your life is worth all the losses I pay!"

Чистил Фред колодец свой,

И под мутною водой

В платье девичьем скелет

Обнаружил Фред.

И зачем-то, вот вопрос,

В дом к себе его отнёс.

Утром беды начались -

Ноги отнялись.

Бедный Фред от горя

Помешался вскоре,

Стал свою находку

Называть судьбою.

- Быть хочу всегда с тобой!

Представлять тебя живой,

Неземную красоту

Вижу пред собой я, как в бреду.

Помер с голоду бы Фред,

Если б не его сосед,

Приносить ему еду

Посылал жену.

А жена и говорит;

- «Пред скелетом Фред сидит,

С ним общается, дурной,

Будто он живой.

А потом и вовсе

Спрятал эти кости,

Чтоб я не глядела,

Вот такое дело!»

- Живы будем, не помрём,

Славно смотримся вдвоём

Неземную красоту

Вижу пред собой я, как в бреду.

От любви безумной,

Каждой ночью лунной

Мёртвая вставала,

Плотью обрастала.

- Быть хочу всегда с тобой!

Представлять тебя живой,

Верь мне, верь мне, верь мне, верь!

Стоит твоя жизнь моих потерь!

The song "Fred" by the band "Korol i Shut" tells the story of a man obsessed with an unhealthy passion for a skeleton he found. Fred, discovering a skeleton in a woman's dress in a well, brings it home, which becomes the beginning of his madness. He starts talking to the bones, considering them his beloved and the ideal of beauty. Fred gradually loses touch with reality, refusing food and seeing a living girl in the skeleton.

Fred's neighbor, worried about his condition, sends his wife to him with food. The wife, witnessing Fred's madness, tells her husband about his strange behavior and that he is hiding the skeleton so that she will not see his "beloved."

Despite the strangeness of the situation, the song does not focus on horror or disgust. Rather, it shows the tragedy of Fred's madness, who, in his imagination, creates the illusion of love and happiness, clinging to the image of a dead "lover." The culmination is the moment when the skeleton comes to life, fueled by Fred's insane love. The song does not answer whether this is a good miracle or an ominous curse, leaving the ending open to interpretation.

The image of a skeleton in a woman's dress, the murky water of the well, the motif of madness and the revival of the dead are all elements of the Gothic aesthetic characteristic of the work of "Korol i Shut." The song "Fred", despite its brevity, creates a vivid and memorable picture of obsession, illusion and the fragile line between life and death.