The meaning of the lyrics of the song "We were taking off like ducks from soggy fields." (Myi vzletali, kak utki s raskisschih poley) the performer of the song "Vladimir Vysotsky"

...We took off, like ducks, from the sodden fields.

Twenty sorties a day—how much more fun!

We laughed, mistaking the steam bath for fog.

And we crammed ourselves into the vastness—

Clouds were tearing, ripping to shreds,

Bullets were sewing parachute canopies from them.

We returned stealthily: without instruments, in the dark;

With the radio operator-gunner hanging on the straps;

Holes in the fuselage, holes in the wings;

And chills on the skin; and the control stick jammed,

And it trembled, and the shrapnel beat against my hands,

Like during a dangerous circus act.

It still makes my nerves tingle…

But we landed, banking sideways.

It seemed to us—the machine didn't want

And couldn't work for us.

Tomorrow, me and the machine, in the same breath,

In emergency mode, in full view of everyone.

Don't you dare stab me in the back at the last moment!

There will be a takeoff—there will be food: we'll have to, together,

Land on the airfield, my friend,

Because I wouldn't dare abandon you.

True, I wasn't born yesterday and I can sense it

In my one-winged, two-faced partner

A player who is hiding all his intentions for now.

But I don't give a damn about the burden of omens:

He has a limit—I don't!

Let's see which one of us will sing—and which one will cry!

If this flight is lived through—

Neither of us will be written off.

Who said that the machine can't

And doesn't want to work for us?!

…Мы взлетали, как утки, с раскисших полей.

Двадцать вылетов в сутки — куда веселей!

Мы смеялись, с парилкой туман перепутав.

И в простор набивались мы до тесноты —

Облака надрывались, рвались в лоскуты,

Пули шили из них купола парашютов.Возвращались тайком: без приборов, впотьмах;

И с радистом-стрелком, что повис на ремнях;

В фюзеляже — пробоины, в плоскости — дырки;

И по коже — озноб; и заклинен штурвал,

И дрожал он, и дробь по рукам отбивал,

Как во время опасного номера в цирке.До сих пор это нервы щекочет…

Но садились мы, набок кренясь.

Нам казалось — машина не хочет

И не может работать на нас.Завтра мне и машине в одну дуть дуду

В аварийном режиме у всех на виду.

Ты мне нож напоследок не всаживай в шею!

Будет взлёт — будет пища: придётся вдвоём

Нам садиться, дружище, на аэродром,

Потому что я бросить тебя не посмею.Правда шит я не лыком и чую чутьём

В однокрылом двуликом партнёре моём

Игрока, что пока все намеренья прячет.

Но плевать я хотел на обузу примет:

У него есть предел — у меня его нет!

Поглядим, кто из нас запоёт — кто заплачет!Если будет полёт этот прожит —

Нас обоих не спишут в запас.

Кто сказал, что машина не может

И не хочет работать на нас?!

The poem "We took off like ducks from the soggy fields" by Vladimir Vysotsky tells the story of pilots during the war, about the difficulties and dangers they faced every day.

The central theme is the relationship between the pilot and his combat aircraft in the face of mortal danger.

The image of ducks taking off from “soggy fields” immediately creates a feeling of heaviness, viscosity, and difficulties that have to be overcome. "Twenty sorties a day" is an incredible burden that speaks of the cruelty of war and the heroism of the pilots.

Despite the danger, they remain optimistic: “We laughed, confusing the fog with the steam bath”, “we were packed into the vastness until it was cramped”. This courage, bordering on recklessness, is characteristic of people living on the verge of life and death.

The description of the return from a combat mission is full of drama: “secretly: without instruments, in the dark”, “holes, dents”, “chilled skin”, “jammed control stick”. These details create a sense of the fragility of life hanging by a thread.

The "trembling control stick" becomes a metaphor for the struggle for life, and the comparison with a "circus act" emphasizes the risk and tension. Despite the fear, the pilot cannot allow himself to think about defeat: “It seemed to us - the machine does not want / And cannot work for us." He believes in his machine, which becomes his partner, an ally in the struggle for life.

The next verse shows the depth of this unity. The pilot addresses the plane as a living being: "Don't you dare stick a knife in my back at the end!" He is ready to share his fate with him: "We'll have to land together, buddy, at the airfield." This is more than just a machine - it is a friend, a comrade who cannot be abandoned.

However, the lyrical hero does not idealize his "partner." He understands that the machine is a "one-winged, two-faced partner" that can let him down. But he accepts this challenge, ready to fight to the end: “He has a limit - I don't!”.

The finale of the poem sounds like an affirmation of life: “If this flight is lived through - / They won't write us both off." The pilot challenges fate, he is sure that the outcome of the struggle depends only on him. The final lines sound like a hymn to the courage and resilience of a person in the face of death.