The meaning of the lyrics of the song "Citizens, ah, how much I sang, and not from laziness" (Grajdane, ah skolko ya ni pel, i ne ot leni) the performer of the song "Vladimir Vysotsky"

Citizens, ah, how long I have not sung, and not from laziness —

There is no one: the wife is in Paris, all the friends are in jail.

Even Gleb Zheglov — though he crammed some new slang —

Didn't sing a thing, the fool, for five evenings in a row.

It's good that in the hall there are no

All sorts of undesirables,

Everyone who wants to — to the banquet

Without any passports.

I will tell you about brothers —

Writers, comrades-in-arms,

About people of such soul,

That you will not find conformists.

Our television demanded sharply

To throw out the words "cop", "garbage" or "pig",

To change soap for an awl, an awl for a chisel,

And to transform the thieves into a "foreign element".

But brother said to brother:

"We will save everything.

We will carry it even through the editorial office."

So, in response, the accomplices,

Throwing off their dressing gowns,

Put on their striped shirts,

And over them — pea coats.

We read about the robber brothers by Schiller,

About the Lautensack brothers, Leon already wrote,

About the Serapion brothers, Kolya and Valya read...

But where is the novel about the Weiners? They are two in a million!

Having shown zeal,

The buddies said:

"“Era of Mercy”

Can even be shown in the USA."

From them, the artist Shkatnikov

Would have painted images of the Lares.

And we, in their face, are losing

Cool teddy bear-like guys.

Do not consider my speech a cry,

Do not consider it a whim,

Everything my brothers have done,

I propose to call "Weinerism"!

Граждане, ах, сколько ж я не пел, и не от лени —

Некому: жена — в Париже, все дружки — сидят.

Даже Глеб Жеглов — хоть ботал чуть по новой фене —

Ничего не спел, чудак, пять вечеров подряд.

Хорошо, что в зале нет

Ненаших всех сортов,

Всех, кто хочет, — на банкет

Без всяких паспортов.

Расскажу про братиков —

Писателей, соратников,

Про людей такой души,

Что не сыщешь ватников.

Наше телевидение требовало резко

Выбросить слова "легавый", "мусор" или "мент",

Поменять на мыло шило, шило — на стамеску,

А ворьё переиначить в "чуждый элемент".

Но сказали брату брат:

"Мы усё спасём.

Мы и сквозь редакторат

Это пронесём".

Так в ответ подельники,

Скиданув халатики,

Надевали тельники,

А поверх — бушлатики.

Про братьёв-разбойников у Шиллера читали,

Про Лаутензаков написал уже Лион,

Про Серапионовых читали Коля с Валей...

А где ж роман про Вайнеров? Их — два на миллион!

Проявив усердие,

Сказали кореша:

""Эру милосердия"

Можно даже в США".

С них художник Шкатников

Написал бы латников.

А мы же в их лице теряем

Классных медвежатников.

Не сочтите за крик выступленье моё,

Не сочтите его и капризом,

Всё, братьями моими содеянноё,

Предлагаю назвать "вайнеризмом"!

This song, "Citizens, ah, how long I haven't sung," by Vladimir Vysotsky is more than just a humorous lament about writer's block. Underneath the surface lies a biting satire of Soviet censorship and the conformism of the intelligentsia.

Vysotsky ironically complains about the absence of his usual lyrical inspiration: his wife is in Paris, his friends are imprisoned, even Gleb Zheglov, a character from the popular film "The Meeting Place Cannot Be Changed," can't sing "in the new slang." He then mocks the censorship restrictions that demand replacing "sharp" words and expressions with euphemisms. The image of "brothers," writers and comrades-in-arms, who will "carry" the truth through censorship is also filled with bitter irony.

Comparing his heroes to characters from classical literature – Schiller's robbers, Leon's Lautensack, Dostoevsky's Karamazov brothers – Vysotsky emphasizes the absurdity of the situation: while world literature praises rebellion and love of freedom, Soviet censorship fears even the mention of "thieves" and "cops." He calls for attention to the phenomenon of the Weiner brothers, authors of detective novels who managed to break through censorship barriers and show the realities of Soviet life.

In the final part of the song, Vysotsky proposes to call "Weinerism" the ability to maintain creative honesty and speak the truth, despite censorship pressure and social conformism. Thus, the song "Citizens, ah, how long I haven't sung" becomes a manifesto of freedom of creativity and the fight against censorship, disguised as a humorous sketch.