The meaning of the lyrics of the song "The Mongoose Song" (Pesenka pro mangustov) the performer of the song "Vladimir Vysotsky"

"Snakes, snakes all around—damn them all!"—

The man screamed in frenzy and despair.

And he called for a mongoose's aid,

To come and rescue him right there.

And the mongooses got down to work,

With no thought for themselves or their kin,

They went hunting, day in and day out,

With no days off, no time to rest within.

And in deserts, in steppes, and in pampas,

An order to patrols was then relayed:

To ignore all the harmless snakes,

And reduce poisonous ones to naught, it said.

But get ready, for sadness awaits:

Man appeared, with stealth in his heart,

And he set up snares for the mongoose,

Declaring the creature a pest from the start.

He arrived in the morning, dog in tow,

And the mongoose was stuffed in a sack.

The mongoose resisted, and wept in woe,

Crying out: "I'm a useful creature, in fact!"

But the creatures, all broken, wounded, and sore,

Were tossed in the bag, like mushrooms in hand—

Driven mad from the pain in the traps they bore,

And the cruel twist of fate they couldn't withstand.

And they wondered: what was the reason behind,

Why were they being led to this gruesome end?

And an elderly mongoose, with wisdom aligned,

With a front leg broken, spoke up to defend,

That the goats in Belgium, the story has told,

Had devoured the cabbage, leaving none to be found,

The sparrows in China had feasted on gold,

Rice from fields, all around.

And in Australia, the mongooses bold,

Had wiped out the snakes, so useful and dear.

It was not some wondrous tale to be told,

They were helpful before—now their fate was unclear.

So this was the prize for their efforts so grand,

From the calculating humans they faced.

It seems humans can't live without poison at hand,

And that means, without snakes, their fate is embraced.

«Змеи, змеи кругом — будь им пусто!» —

Человек в исступленье кричал.

И позвал на подмогу мангуста,

Чтобы, значит, мангуст выручал.

И мангусты взялись за работу,

Не щадя ни себя, ни родных,

Выходили они на охоту

Без отгулов и без выходных.

И в пустынях, в степях и в пампасах

Даже дали наказ патрулям:

Игнорировать змей безопасных

И сводить ядовитых к нулям.

Приготовьтесь, сейчас будет грустно:

Человек появился тайком

И поставил силки на мангуста,

Объявив его вредным зверьком.

Он наутро пришёл, с ним собака,

И мангуста упрятал в мешок,

А мангуст отбивался, и плакал,

И кричал: «Я полезный зверёк!»

Но зверьков в переломах и в ранах

Всё швыряли в мешок, как грибы, —

Одуревших от боли в капканах,

Ну и от поворота судьбы.

И гадали они: в чём же дело,

Ну почему нас несут на убой?

И сказал им мангуст престарелый

С перебитой передней ногой,

Что, говорит, козы в Бельгии съели капусту,

Воробьи — рис в Китае с полей,

А в Австралии злые мангусты

Истребили полезнейших змей.

Это вовсе не дивное диво:

Раньше были полезны — и вдруг

Оказалось, что слишком ретиво

Истребляли мангусты гадюк.

Вот за это им вышла награда

От расчётливых наших людей,

Видно, люди не могут без яда,

Ну а значит — не могут без змей.

Vladimir Vysotsky's song "Song about Mongooses" is an allegory about the ingratitude and cynicism of the powerful towards those who serve them.

The song begins with a man afraid of snakes calling for mongooses to help. The mongooses selflessly do their job, exterminating dangerous snakes. However, the man soon changes his attitude towards the mongooses, declaring them harmful and mercilessly destroying them.

The old mongoose explains to the young ones that the reason for their misfortune is that they "were too zealous in exterminating the vipers." People, according to the old mongoose, "cannot live without poison," meaning they need the ability to use someone for their own purposes and then get rid of them when they are no longer needed.

Thus, the song ridicules the hypocrisy and treachery of those in power, who are ready to sacrifice anyone for their goals. Mongooses in the song symbolize the common people, who often become victims of manipulation and betrayal by those in power.