The meaning of the lyrics of the song "Horses are picky eaters." (Koni priveredlivyie) the performer of the song "Vladimir Vysotsky"

Along the cliff, above the precipice, right at the very edge

I whip my steeds, urging them on…

There's something I lack in the air — I drink the wind, I swallow the fog…

I feel it with a fatal delight: I'm falling, falling!

Slower, my steeds, a little slower!

Don't listen to the tight rein!

But something tells me these steeds are capricious —

And I didn't have time to live, didn't have time to finish my song.

Chorus:

I'll water my steeds,

I'll finish my verse —

Let me linger a little longer

on the edge…

I'll perish — the hurricane will sweep me away like a feather from its palm,

And in the sleigh, they'll rush me through the snow in the morning…

Take a step less hasty, my steeds,

Extend, even a little, the path to my final refuge!

Slower, my steeds, a little slower!

Whip and rein are no guides to you!

But what capricious steeds I've come across —

And I didn't have time to live, didn't have time to finish my song.

Chorus:

I'll water my steeds,

I'll finish my verse —

Let me linger a little longer

on the edge…

We've made it: there's no being late to God's.

So why then do the angels sing with such angry voices?!

Or is it the bell, overcome with weeping,

Or is it me, crying out to the steeds, not to rush the sleigh?!

Slower, my steeds, a little slower!

I beg you, don't gallop so wildly!

But what capricious steeds I've come across…

If I didn't have time to live, then at least — let me finish my song!

Chorus:

I'll water my steeds,

I'll finish my verse —

Let me linger for a moment longer

on the edge…

Вдоль обрыва, по-над пропастью, по самому по краю

Я коней своих нагайкою стегаю, погоняю…

Что-то воздуху мне мало — ветер пью, туман глотаю…

Чую с гибельным восторгом: пропадаю, пропадаю!

Чуть помедленнее, кони, чуть помедленнее!

Вы тугую не слушайте плеть!

Но что-то кони мне попались привередливые —

И дожить не успел, мне допеть не успеть.

Припев:

Я коней напою,

я куплет допою —

Хоть немного ещё постою

на краю…

Сгину я — меня пушинкой ураган сметёт с ладони,

И в санях меня галопом повлекут по снегу утром…

Вы на шаг неторопливый перейдите, мои кони,

Хоть немного, но продлите путь к последнему приюту!

Чуть помедленнее, кони, чуть помедленнее!

Не указчики вам кнут и плеть!

Но что-за кони мне попались привередливые —

И дожить не успел, мне допеть не успеть.

Припев:

Я коней напою,

я куплет допою —

Хоть немного ещё постою

на краю…

Мы успели: в гости к Богу не бывает опозданий.

Так что ж там ангелы поют такими злыми голосами?!

Или это колокольчик весь зашёлся от рыданий,

Или я кричу коням, чтоб не несли так быстро сани?!

Чуть помедленнее, кони, чуть помедленнее!

Умоляю вас вскачь не лететь!

Но что-за кони мне попались привередливые…

Коль дожить не успел, так хотя бы — допеть!

Припев:

Я коней напою,

я куплет допою —

Хоть мгновенье ещё постою

на краю…

The song "Picky Horses" by Vladimir Vysotsky tells the story of a man racing in a sleigh along the edge of a precipice. The lyrical hero is in a state of existential crisis, he feels the proximity of death ("I feel with fatal delight: I'm falling, I'm falling!"). However, he is not afraid of the inevitable, but accepts it with a kind of desperate ecstasy. The image of galloping horses symbolizes the transience of time, the inexorable movement towards the end.

The hero asks the horses to slow down, to give him time to "live", to "finish singing" his song, to prolong the moments of life. He clings to these moments as if trying to delay the inevitable. His words reveal despair, defiance, and a desire to squeeze everything out of life to the last drop.

The "pickiness" of the horses can be interpreted as a metaphor for the lack of human control over the flow of time and the inevitability of fate. The hero has no power over his own life; he is merely a passenger in a sleigh racing towards the finish line.

In the last verses, the hero resigns himself to his fate ("We made it: there are no delays when visiting God"). He hears the "angry voices" of angels, or perhaps it is just the ringing of a bell, distorted by the perception of the approaching end. At this point, he no longer asks the horses to slow down, but only wants to "finish singing" his song, to complete his earthly journey.