The meaning of the lyrics of the song "On the river or on the lake" (Na reke l, na ozere) the performer of the song "Vladimir Vysotsky"

On a river or a lake,

Worked on a bulldozer,

All in overalls and dust,

I toiled till dawn.

I thought worms were trumps,

Extracted rubles from the ground.

It wasn't fate that beckoned me,

Nor a gold mine,

But my broad bone

And my natural rage.

Don't you puff your cheeks at me:

We're no angels - we're сплавщики (сплавщики - no direct English equivalent, but refers to a specific type of Russian river workers),

Commandments don't apply to us.

You can be God himself,

But I know my way around guns

And merrily walk in shackles.

It wasn't fate that beckoned me,

Nor a gold mine,

But my broad bone

And my natural rage.

На реке ль, на озере

Работал на бульдозере

Весь в комбинезоне и в пыли,

Вкалывал я до зари

Считал, что черви - козыри

Из грунта выколачивал рубли

Не судьба меня манила

И не золотая жила,

А широкая моя кость

И природная моя злость

Мне ты не подставь щеки:

Не ангелы мы - сплавщики,

Недоступны заповеди нам.

Будь ты хоть сам бог-аллах

Зато я знаю толк в стволах

И весело хожу по штабелям

Не судьба меня манила

И не золотая жила,

А широкая моя кость

И природная моя злость

The lyrics of Vladimir Vysotsky's song "On the River or on the Lake" tell the story of a man working on a bulldozer, who has no illusions about his life and place in the world. He is far from romantic notions of destiny and is not tempted by easy paths to wealth.

The hero of the song is a hard worker, accustomed to achieving everything through his own labor. He does not shy away from hard work, "toiling till dawn," seeing it as the only way to earn a living. His life philosophy is straightforward and unadorned: "I believed worms were trumps / I squeezed rubles out of the ground."

He himself recognizes his roughness, directness, even a certain aggression: "my wide bone / And my natural anger." He does not try to appear better, does not seek excuses for his actions, openly admitting that "we are not angels - we are сплавщики (сплавщики is a term difficult to translate directly, it refers to people who transport logs down the river, often associated with hard living and risk-taking) / The commandments are not accessible to us."

This man lives by his own laws, fearing neither God nor the devil: "Be you even God-Allah / But I know my way around guns / And I walk cheerfully on the scaffold." He is not prone to reflection, accepts his fate as it is, finding in it a certain freedom and even joy.

Thus, the song "On the River or on the Lake" is a kind of hymn to a simple working man, devoid of illusions and ready to face any difficulties.