The meaning of the lyrics of the song "It's not true, there's no abyss above us, no darkness." (Nepravda, nad nami ne bezdna, ne mrak) the performer of the song "Vladimir Vysotsky"

No truth to that! Above us, no abyss, no gloom —

But a catalog of glories and retributions.

We gaze at the night's zodiac in bloom,

At the constellations' eternal gyrations.

We look up — heads tilted high —

Into silence, mystery, eternity's sway —

Where destinies' paths and our fleeting lives lie,

Marked by invisible milestones on display,

Guiding and guarding us along the way.

Aquarius, the eccentric, pours with glee,

Hot nectar in February's cold embrace,

Like sweet oil instead of misery,

Into Capricorn's bottomless, gaping space.

The universe flows, a twisting, turning stream,

Hued with mercury, then stained crimson red.

But Pisces, from March's darkness, break free, it would seem,

Mighty, they swim, undeterred, ahead,

Through Milky Way currents, to the fountainhead.

Sagittarius, weary, his arrows all spent,

Lingers, his broken spears he'll mend.

While Taurus, fearless, in spring's element,

Can frolic freely, where meadows extend.

From August's embrace, Leo, hungry and bold,

Eyes Aries in April's verdant domain.

With arms outstretched, in June's stories untold,

The gentlest of Virgo's celestial reign,

Transform Libra's scales into a playful swing.

Beams of light pierce the darkness profound,

Like Ariadne's thread, concrete and bright,

Yet Scorpio and Cancer, secrets abound,

Remain distant from us, harboring no fright.

Humanity never bemoaned its zodiac's art,

For what are stars to fear, even in disgrace?

He plucked those constellations from the celestial heart,

Set them in precious metal, time and space,

And the mystery became knowledge we embrace.

Неправда! Над нами не бездна, не мрак —

Каталог наград и возмездий.

Любуемся мы на ночной зодиак,

На вечное танго созвездий.

Глядим — запрокинули головы вверх —

В безмолвие, в тайну и в вечность —

Там трассы судеб и мгновенный наш век

Отмечены в виде невидимых вех,

Что могут хранить и беречь нас.

Горячий нектар в холода февралей,

Как сладкий елей вместо грога,

Льёт звёздную воду чудак Водолей

В бездонную пасть Козерога.

Вселенский поток и извилист, и крут,

Окрашен то ртутью, то кровью.

Но, вырвавшись мартовской мглою из пут,

Могучие Рыбы на нерест плывут

По Млечным протокам к верховью.

Декабрьский Стрелец отстрелялся вконец,

Он мается, копья ломая,—

И может без страха резвиться Телец

На светлых урочищах мая.

Из августа изголодавшийся Лев

Глядит на Овена в апреле.

В июнь к Близнецам свои руки воздев,

Нежнейшие девы созвездия Дев

Весы превратили в качели.

Лучи световые пробились сквозь мрак,

Как нить Ариадны конкретны,

Но и Скорпион, и таинственный Рак

От нас далеки и безвредны.

На свой зодиак человек не роптал.

Да звездам страшна ли опала?

Он эти созвездия с неба достал,

Оправил он их в драгоценный металл —

И тайна доступною стала.

Vladimir Vysotsky's poem "It's not true! Above us is no abyss, no gloom" is a hymn to human knowledge and the pursuit of unraveling the mysteries of the universe. The author contrasts the usual perception of space as something incomprehensible and frightening with the image of a beautiful, eternal, and harmonious dance of constellations.

Vysotsky argues that the sky is not an abyss, but a "catalogue of rewards and retributions" where human destinies are encrypted, marked by "invisible milestones." He uses metaphors and personifications to bring cosmic phenomena closer to human perception: constellations pour "starry water," "break free from bonds," "frolic," and "languish."

The poem traces the idea of cyclicity, the eternal cycle, embodied in the images of the zodiac signs replacing each other. The "universal stream," colored "now with mercury, now with blood," symbolizes the flow of time, in which stars are born and die, and epochs change.

However, despite the seeming coldness and detachment of space, man does not feel alone. He "did not grumble at his zodiac," but on the contrary, strives to know its secrets, to "reach" the stars from the sky.

The final lines of the poem are filled with optimism. By "setting" the constellations "in precious metal," that is, by studying and systematizing knowledge about them, man makes the mystery accessible, approaches an understanding of his place in the universe.