The meaning of the lyrics of the song "Black Eyes. The Chase." (Ochi chyornyie. Pogonya) the performer of the song "Vladimir Vysotsky"

Slightly tipsy,

I ruled the forest.

Not tired yet,

I sang for good health.

And I knew how to sing

Absurd songs:

"How I loved you,

Oh, black eyes..."

They sometimes walked, sometimes rushed, sometimes trotted.

And the horse threw swamp mud in my face.

Only I would swallow the saliva with the dirt,

Tighten the scarf around my throat - and start again:

"Black eyes!

How I loved you..."

But - I finished off

What I had brought with me.

I shook my head,

To get rid of the foolishness,

And looked around -

And gasped:

The forest is a wall ahead - the wall won't let me through, -

The horses are backing away, ears pricked.

Where is the clearing, where is the gap - there's not a trace!

Needles are pricking me, reaching to the bone.

My root horse,

Help me out, brother!

Where are you going, dear, -

Why back?!

Rain - like poison from the branches -

Smells of trouble.

My trace horse

Dove under the shaft.

Oh, you drunken fool, you've really messed up!

Doom has come, and I can't escape, -

The ace has been drawn from my deck,

And such an ace, without which - death!

I shout to the wolves:

"Go to hell!..." -

While the horses

Are driven by fear.

I shake the whip -

I lash out

And shout at the same time:

"Black eyes!".

The clatter, the thud, the clang, the wild dance -

The bells are playing a jig from the arch.

Oh, my horses, I'll be the death of you, -

Carry me out, friends, carry me out, enemies!

...From that chase

Even the tipsiness faded.

We reached a steep ridge -

On bare axles,

Covered in foam -

Streams flowed down the ridge, -

We caught our breath, wheezed

And coughed.

To the exhausted horses, who didn't fail me,

I bowed to their hooves, down to the ground,

Threw off the luggage, led them by the reins...

God bless you, horses, that I'm still alive!

Во хмелю слегка,

Лесом правил я.

Не устал пока, -

Пел за здравие.

А умел я петь

Песни вздорные:

"Как любил я вас,

Очи черные..."

То плелись, то неслись, то трусили рысцой.

И болотную слизь конь швырял мне в лицо.

Только я проглочу вместе с грязью слюну,

Штоф у горла скручу - и опять затяну:

"Очи черные!

Как любил я вас..."

Но - прикончил я

То, что впрок припас.

Головой тряхнул,

Чтоб слетела блажь,

И вокруг взглянул -

И присвистнул аж:

Лес стеной впереди - не пускает стена, -

Кони прядут ушами, назад подают.

Где просвет, где прогал - не видать ни рожна!

Колют иглы меня, до костей достают.

Коренной ты мой,

Выручай же, брат!

Ты куда, родной, -

Почему назад?!

Дождь - как яд с ветвей -

Недобром пропах.

Пристяжной моей

Волк нырнул под пах.

Вот же пьяный дурак, вот же налил глаза!

Ведь погибель пришла, а бежать - не суметь, -

Из колоды моей утащили туза,

Да такого туза, без которого - смерть!

Я ору волкам:

"Побери вас прах!..." -

А коней пока

Подгоняет страх.

Шевелю кнутом -

Бью крученые

И ору притом:

"Очи черные!."

Храп, да топот, да лязг, да лихой перепляс -

Бубенцы плясовую играют с дуги.

Ах вы кони мои, погублю же я вас, -

Выносите, друзья, выносите, враги!

...От погони той

Даже хмель иссяк.

Мы на кряж крутой -

На одних осях,

В хлопьях пены мы -

Струи в кряж лились, -

Отдышались, отхрипели

Да откашлялись.

Я лошадкам забитым, что не подвели,

Поклонился в копыта, до самой земли,

Сбросил с воза манатки, повел в поводу...

Спаси бог вас, лошадки, что целым иду!

In Vladimir Vysotsky's song "Dark Eyes. The Chase", we encounter a lyrical hero entangled in his own life. Intoxication, symbolizing an escape from reality, gives way to despair and fear in the face of inevitable doom.

"Dark Eyes" is not just a love motif but an obsessive melody, personifying the past, perhaps fatal passions and mistakes. The hero tries to drown out his inner anxiety with it, but the song only intensifies the feeling of hopelessness.

The chase is a metaphor for life's circumstances squeezing the hero in a vice. The forest, offering no way back, symbolizes the dead end he has driven himself into. The horse, a faithful friend, tries to save its master, but the odds are stacked against them.

The image of "the ace, without which - death" is key to understanding the text. It represents something vital that the hero has missed in his life, perhaps love, vocation, meaning. The ending of the song is open-ended; it remains unknown whether the hero managed to escape.