The meaning of the lyrics of the song "Ballad of Hatred" (Ballada o nenavisti) the performer of the song "Vladimir Vysotsky"

Hurry - a skinny vulture is circling above the country!

Visit your home - the forest - in the spring!

Do you hear - the earth is trembling heavily underfoot?

Do you see - a thick fog lying over the fields? -

This is the dew boiling with hatred!

Hatred - languishes in swollen buds,

Hatred - boils inside us secretly,

Hatred - then oozes through the skin,

Scorches our heads!

Look - what are those red spots in the river, -

Evil has decided to restore order in the country.

Sword hilts grow cold in the hand,

And despair beats, like a bird, in the temple,

And the heart sinks with hatred!

Hatred - disfigures young faces,

Hatred - begs to be released,

Hatred - craves and wants to drink

The black blood of enemies!

Yes, hatred has captured us now,

But it is not malice that will lead us out of captivity.

It is not blind, not black hatred in us, -

A fresh wind will dry the tears from our eyes

With just and true hatred!

Hatred - drink, the cup is overflowing!

Hatred - demands a way out, it waits.

But our noble hatred

Lives side by side with love!

Торопись - тощий гриф над страною кружит!

Лес - обитель твою - по весне навести!

Слышишь - гулко земля под ногами дрожит?

Видишь - плотный туман над полями лежит? -

Это росы вскипают от ненависти!

Ненависть - в почках набухших томится,

Ненависть - в нас затаенно бурлит,

Ненависть - потом сквозь кожу сочится,

Головы наши палит!

Погляди - что за рыжие пятна в реке, -

Зло решило порядок в стране навести.

Рукоятки мечей холодеют в руке,

И отчаянье бьется, как птица, в виске,

И заходится сердце от ненависти!

Ненависть - юным уродует лица,

Ненависть - просится из берегов,

Ненависть - жаждет и хочет напиться

Черною кровью врагов!

Да, нас ненависть в плен захватила сейчас,

Но не злоба нас будет из плена вести.

Не слепая, не черная ненависть в нас, -

Свежий ветер нам высушит слезы у глаз

Справедливой и подлинной ненависти!

Ненависть - пей, переполнена чаша!

Ненависть - требует выхода, ждет.

Но благородная ненависть наша

Рядом с любовью живет!

In his "Ballad of Hate", Vladimir Vysotsky tackles the complex and controversial theme of hatred, highlighting its destructive power while simultaneously attempting to find justification for it in the context of the struggle for justice.

Vysotsky paints a picture of a world engulfed in darkness and horror. Images of a "thin vulture", "dense fog", "red spots in the river" (a symbol of blood) create an oppressive atmosphere of hopelessness and impending disaster. Hate permeates everything, becoming an all-encompassing and uncontrollable element: "dews boil with hatred," "hatred simmers secretly within us," "it scorches our heads."

The author doesn't deny that hatred can possess a person, distort his soul ("disfigures the faces of the young"), and deprive him of reason ("despair beats like a bird in the temple"). He acknowledges that "hatred has captured us now," and this state is dangerous and destructive.

However, Vysotsky draws a clear line between blind, destructive hatred and "righteous and true hatred," which he considers justified. This hatred is not an animal instinct, but a conscious feeling born of pain, despair, and a thirst for justice. It is directed against evil, violence, and injustice, against those who "decided to establish order in the country" at the cost of other people's lives.

It is important that Vysotsky's "noble hatred" is inextricably linked with love. Love here is not a sentimental feeling, but an active force that opposes evil. The "fresh wind" that "will dry the tears from our eyes" symbolizes hope for liberation, for the triumph of justice.

Thus, the "Ballad of Hate" is not a call to violence and revenge. It is a reflection on the nature of complex human feelings, on how important it is not to let hatred consume you entirely, to preserve in your soul the ability to love and believe in the best.