The meaning of the lyrics of the song "The Gossip Song" (Pesnya o spletnyah) the performer of the song "Vladimir Vysotsky"

How many rumors strike our ears,

How many gossips eat away, like moths,

For example, there are rumors,

That everything will become more expensive, absolutely,

And especially table salt.

And like flies here and there

Rumors walk through the houses,

And toothless old women

Carry them to the minds,

Carry them to the minds.

Listen, have you heard, they are building a city underground,

And they say in case of nuclear war,

Have you heard, soon bathhouses

Will be closed everywhere

Forever and this information is true.

And like flies here and there

Rumors walk through the houses,

And toothless old women

Carry them to the minds,

Carry them to the minds.

And you know, Mamikin is being removed,

For his debauchery, for drunkenness, for rowdiness,

And by the way, your neighbor is being taken away, the villain,

Because he looks like Beria.

And like flies here and there

Rumors walk through the houses,

And toothless old women

Carry them to the minds,

Carry them to the minds.

Oh, what is happening, yesterday they were digging a trench,

So they dug up two streams of cognac,

They say spies poisoned the water with moonshine,

Well, bread is now made from fish scales.

And like flies here and there

Rumors walk through the houses,

And toothless old women

Carry them to the minds,

Carry them to the minds.

And they sing to each other in a whisper or in a shout,

Bad rumors always sound in the mouths of shouters,

And people are not used to good rumors,

They say that these are fabrications and nonsense.

And like flies here and there

Rumors walk through the houses,

And toothless old women

Carry them to the minds,

Carry them to the minds.

Hardened in many twists and turns,

Rumors are spreading, knowing no barriers,

Here are gossips that there will be no more

Rumors absolutely,

There are rumors that gossip will be banned.

And like flies here and there

Rumors walk through the houses,

And toothless old women

Carry them to the minds,

Carry them to the minds.

Сколько слухов наши уши поражает,

Сколько сплетен разъедает, словно моль,

Например, ходят слухи,

Будто всё подорожает абсолютно,

А особенно поваренная соль.

И словно мухи тут и там

Ходят слухи по домам,

А беззубые старухи

Их разносят по умам,

Их разносят по умам.

Слушай, слышал, под землёю город строят,

А говорят на случай ядерной войны,

Да вы слыхали, скоро бани

Все закроют повсеместно

Навсегда и эти сведенья верны.

И словно мухи тут и там

Ходят слухи по домам,

А беззубые старухи

Их разносят по умам,

Их разносят по умам.

А вы знаете, Мамыкина снимают,

За разврат его, за пьянство, за дебош,

И кстати, вашего соседа забирают, негодяя,

Потому что он на Берию похож.

И словно мухи тут и там

Ходят слухи по домам,

А беззубые старухи

Их разносят по умам,

Их разносят по умам.

Ой, что деется, вчера траншею рыли,

Так откопали две коньячные струи,

Говорят, шпионы воду отравили самогоном,

Ну а хлеб теперь из рыбьей чешуи.

И словно мухи тут и там

Ходят слухи по домам,

А беззубые старухи

Их разносят по умам,

Их разносят по умам.

И поют друг другу шёпотом ли, в крик ли,

Слух дурной всегда звучит в устах кликуш,

А к хорошим слухам люди не привыкли,

Говорят, что это выдумки и чушь.

И словно мухи тут и там

Ходят слухи по домам,

А беззубые старухи

Их разносят по умам,

Их разносят по умам.

Закалённые во многих заварухах,

Слухи ширятся, не ведая преград,

Вот ходят сплетни, что не будет

Больше слухов абсолютно,

Ходят слухи, будто сплетни запретят.

И словно мухи тут и там

Ходят слухи по домам,

А беззубые старухи

Их разносят по умам,

Их разносят по умам.

In his song "The Song of Gossip," Vladimir Vysotsky uses irony and sarcasm to portray the phenomenon of rumors and gossip spreading.

The main meaning of the song: To ridicule people's tendency to believe and spread unverified information and to show the absurdity and ridiculousness of most rumors.

Vysotsky uses hyperbole and grotesque to emphasize the absurdity of situations and the stupidity of the gossip itself. Examples:

"That everything will become absolutely more expensive, Especially table salt"

"Listen, I heard they're building a city underground, They say it's in case of nuclear war"

"They say spies poisoned the water with moonshine, And now bread is made from fish scales"

The image of "toothless old women" serves as a collective image of people prone to spreading rumors. They are presented as a kind of "information virus" spreading gossip "into minds."

Despite the comic nature of the images, the song also carries a serious message. It makes us think about how easily we succumb to the words of others and how important it is to be critical of the information we receive.