The meaning of the lyrics of the song "My tastes, my desires – strange indeed..." (I vkusyi, i zaprosyi moi – strannyi...) the performer of the song "Vladimir Vysotsky"

And my desires and tastes are strange,

I'm exotic, to put it mildly:

I can gnaw on glasses in a range,

And read my Schiller, German unconfined.

Two selves I have, two poles apart they dwell,

Two different people, enemies in me:

When one aspires to see the ballet well,

The other rushes to the racecourse, see?

I won't allow a thought that's not refined

When living as my true and better part,

But often bursting forth, I find,

My second self plays a scoundrel's part.

And I'm afraid, this villain I repress-

Oh, what a restless fate is now my lot! -

I fear mistake: what if I suppress,

Not that second self, as like as not?

When facets of my soul I lay displayed,

Where pure sincerity alone holds sway,

Then waitresses forget the bills I made,

And women lavish me with love all day.

But now my ideals fly into the mire,

Now rude am I, impatient, and enraged,

Now here I sit and dumbly eat glassware,

And Schiller's poems lie beneath me caged.

...The trial's on, the courtroom stares at me.

You, Prosecutor, you, Your Honor, please,

Believe me: it was not I who broke, you see,

That window, but my other self, at ease.

And I beseech you: judge me not too hard, -

Give me a term, but not a prison cell! -

I'll be a spectator, courtrooms my reward,

And visit prisons, just to wish them well.

I won't smash windows or assault, I swear,

Just write it down! My resolution's true!

The shattered halves within, beyond compare,

Of my afflicted soul, I will make two!

I'll root it out, bury it, hide it well, -

I'll cleanse myself, no secrets will remain!

This second self of mine is hateful hell -

No, it's not mine, this "I" that brings me pain!

И вкусы и запросы мои - странны, -

Я экзотичен, мягко говоря:

Могу одновременно грызть стаканы -

И Шиллера читать без словаря.

Во мне два Я - два полюса планеты,

Два разных человека, два врага:

Когда один стремится на балеты -

Другой стремится прямо на бега.

Я лишнего и в мыслях не позволю,

Когда живу от первого лица, -

Но часто вырывается на волю

Второе Я в обличье подлеца.

И я боюсь, давлю в себе мерзавца, -

О, участь беспокойная моя!-

Боюсь ошибки: может оказаться,

Что я давлю не то второе Я.

Когда в душе я раскрываю гранки

На тех местах, где искренность сама, -

Тогда мне в долг дают официантки

И женщины ласкают задарма.

Но вот летят к чертям все идеалы,

Но вот я груб, я нетерпим и зол,

Но вот сижу и тупо ем бокалы,

Забрасывая Шиллера под стол.

...А суд идет, весь зал мне смотрит в спину.

Вы, прокурор, вы, гражданин судья,

Поверьте мне: не я разбил витрину,

А подлое мое второе Я.

И я прошу вас: строго не судите, -

Лишь дайте срок, но не давайте срок! -

Я буду посещать суды как зритель

И в тюрьмы заходить на огонек.

Я больше не намерен бить витрины

И лица граждан - так и запиши!

Я воссоединю две половины

Моей больной раздвоенной души!

Искореню, похороню, зарою, -

Очищусь, ничего не скрою я!

Мне чуждо это ё мое второе, -

Нет, это не мое второе Я.

In his poem "My tastes and desires are strange...", Vladimir Vysotsky uses the metaphor of a split personality to illustrate the inner struggle of a person with himself. The lyrical hero confesses his duality: two opposite beginnings, two "selves" coexist in him – the high and the low.

The first "self" is a refined intellectual, a lover of classical literature, capable of reading Schiller in the original. The second "self" is a rude, uncontrolled person, capable of destructive actions, symbolized by eating glass and contempt for high art.

The hero's inner conflict is shown through contrasting images: ballet and races, waitresses giving on credit and the dull eating of glasses, women's caresses and smashing shop windows. These opposites emphasize the incompatibility of the two principles struggling within the lyrical hero.

Aware of his duality, the hero tries to justify his base actions by shifting the responsibility onto his second "self". He appears before the court of his own conscience and society, assuring that he is not guilty of his misdeeds. However, the final lines of the poem reveal the hero's insincerity: he tries to get rid of the dark side of his personality, denying it as a part of himself.

Thus, Vysotsky's poem is not just a description of an internal conflict, but also a reflection on the nature of the human personality, the complexity of self-knowledge, and personal responsibility for one's actions.