The meaning of the lyrics of the song "Royal procession" (Korolevskoe schestvie) the performer of the song "Vladimir Vysotsky"

We bravely and tightly closed our ranks,

Like bullets in a clip, like cards in a deck:

The King is among us - we are proud,

We march boldly among our people.

Fall on your faces, down, down -

This right is given to you,

Bow down before the King

Into the mud and dirt - it doesn't matter!

No, no, the people have no difficult role:

To fall to your knees - what's the problem?

The King is responsible for everything,

And if not the King, then the Queen!

Fall on your faces, down, down -

This right is given to you,

Bow down before the King

Into the mud and dirt - it doesn't matter!

Мы браво и плотно сомкнули ряды,

Как пули в обойме, как карты в колоде:

Король среди нас — мы горды,

Мы шествуем бодро при нашем народе.Падайте лицами вниз, вниз —

Вам это право дано,

Пред королём падайте ниц

В слякоть и грязь — всё равно!Нет-нет, у народа не трудная роль:

Упасть на колени — какая проблема?

За всё отвечает король,

А коль не король, ну тогда — королева!Падайте лицами вниз, вниз —

Вам это право дано,

Пред королём падайте ниц

В слякоть и грязь — всё равно!

Vladimir Vysotsky's song "The Royal Procession" uses a facade of grandeur and ceremony to deliver a biting satire of authoritarianism and the psychology of subservience. The lyrical hero, a part of the faceless crowd ("We bravely and tightly closed ranks"), describes the king's procession with awe and admiration. Comparisons like "like bullets in a clip," "like cards in a deck" emphasize the depersonalization and manipulation of the masses, ready to submit to blind force.

"Fall on your faces, down, down" – this refrain, repeated throughout the song, exposes the essence of the relationship between power and the people. The only role reserved for the people is one of humiliating submission: to bow down without daring to look at their "great" ruler. The mud and slush they are ordered to fall into symbolize the unscrupulousness and immorality of power that tramples human dignity.

Vysotsky's irony permeates every line. "No, no, the people have no difficult role: / To fall to their knees – what's the problem?" he asks with bitter sarcasm, ridiculing the servile obedience that has been elevated to the norm. The "king" – a faceless symbol of authoritarian power, easily interchangeable with a "queen" – bears responsibility for everything.

"The Royal Procession" is not merely a description of a procession; it is an allegory for any totalitarian system where a person is transformed into a mindless cog, and power is based on fear and submission.