The meaning of the lyrics of the song "Don't worry!" (Ne volnuytes!) the performer of the song "Vladimir Vysotsky"

Don't cling to the waists of strangers,

Breaking free from the hands of your friends.

Remember how to the shores of Australia,

Swam the now-deceased Cook.

How, sitting in a circle under the azaleas,

From dawn till dusk,

The wicked savages ate

Each other in this sunny Australia.

But why did the natives eat Cook?

For what reason - it is unclear - science is silent.

It seems to me a very simple thing:

They wanted to eat - and they ate Cook.

There is a possibility that their leader - a big grump -

Shouted that there was a very tasty cook on Cook's ship.

A mistake was made - that's what science is silent about -

They wanted the cook, but they ate Cook.

And there was no trick or trap at all,

They entered without knocking, almost without a sound,

They put into action a club made of bamboo -

Thud! - right in the head - and Cook was no more.

But there is, however, another assumption,

That Cook was eaten out of great respect.

That the sorcerer - a sly and evil man - incited everyone:

- Get him, guys! Grab Cook!

Whoever gobbles him up without salt and without onions,

Will be strong, brave, kind, just like Cook!

Someone got a stone in his hand -

He threw it, the snake, and Cook was no more.

And the savages are now wringing their hands,

Breaking their spears, breaking their bows,

They burned and threw away their bamboo clubs -

They are worried that they ate Cook.

Не хватайтесь за чужие талии,

Вырвавшись из рук своих подруг.

Вспомните, как к берегам Австралии,

Подплывал покойный ныне Кук.

Как в кружок, усевшись под азалии,

Поедом с восхода до зари,

Ели в этой солнечной Австралии

Друга дружку злые дикари.

Но почему аборигены съели Кука?

За что - неясно, - молчит наука.

Мне представляется совсем простая штука:

Хотели кушать - и съели Кука.

Есть вариант, что ихний вождь - большая бука, -

Кричал, что очень вкусный кок на судне Кука.

Ошибка вышла - вот о чем молчит наука, -

Хотели кока, а съели Кука.

И вовсе не было подвоха или трюка,

Вошли без стука, почти без звука,

Пустили в действие дубинку из бамбука -

Тюк!- прямо в темя - и нету Кука.

Но есть, однако же, еще предположенье,

Что Кука съели из большого уваженья.

Что всех науськивал колдун - хитрец и злюка:

- Ату, ребята! хватайте Кука!

Кто уплетет его без соли и без лука,

Тот сильным, смелым, добрым будет, вроде Кука!-

Кому-то под руку попался каменюка, -

Метнул, гадюка, и нету Кука.

А дикари теперь заламывают руки,

Ломают копья, ломают луки,

Сожгли и бросили дубинки из бамбука, -

Переживают, что съели Кука.

In his song "Don't worry!", Vladimir Vysotsky uses irony and black humor to play with common myths and speculations surrounding the death of the famous explorer James Cook. Instead of sticking to historical accuracy, the author offers several absurd versions of the event, mocking humanity's tendency to sensationalize and embellish facts.

Vysotsky first hints at a possible cannibalistic feast, spicing it up with humorous details: "In sunny Australia they feasted, Those wicked cannibals, indeed." He then ironically remarks that science cannot explain the motives of the Aboriginals ("Why it happened, no one knows for sure"), and immediately puts forward his own, deliberately primitive version: "They were hungry, so they ate poor Cook."

What follows are equally absurd assumptions: a mistake due to the culinary preferences of the leader, an accidental killing during a robbery ("Whack! Right on the head, and Cook's no more"), and, finally, a murder out of "respect" at the instigation of a cunning sorcerer. All these versions, presented with deliberate simplicity and using colloquial expressions, highlight the absurdity of trying to explain a tragic event without sufficient grounds.

In the finale of the song, the Aboriginals, unexpectedly repenting of their deed, bitterly regret Cook's death. This ironic ending enhances the satirical effect, emphasizing the absurdity of the situation and mocking human stupidity and gullibility.