The meaning of the lyrics of the song "Song of the Stars" (Pesnya o zvezdah) the performer of the song "Vladimir Vysotsky"

I will never forget this battle – no way –

The air was thick with death... –

And from the heavens, in silent rain,

Fell the stars.

Another fell – and I made a wish:

To get out of the battle alive, –

So I hastily tied my life

To a foolish star.

I already decided: trouble had passed

And I managed to escape, –

From the sky a stray star fell –

Right into my heart.

They told us: "We need the high ground!"

And "Don't spare the ammo!"...

Look, a second star has rolled away –

To your funerals.

There are stars in the sky – like fish in the ponds, –

Enough for everyone and more.

If not for death, I would have walked then

Also – a Hero.

I would have given this Star to my son

Simply – as a keepsake...

A star hangs in the sky, a star falls –

There is nowhere to fall.

Мне этот бой не забыть нипочем –

Смертью пропитан воздух, –

А с небосклона бесшумным дождем

Падали звезды

Снова упала – и я загадал:

Выйти живым из боя, –

Так свою жизнь я поспешно связал

С глупой звездою

Я уж решил: миновала беда

И удалось отвертеться, –

С неба свалилась шальная звезда –

Прямо под сердце

Нам говорили: "Нужна высота!"

И "Не жалеть патроны!"...

Вон покатилась вторая звезда –

Вам на погоны

Звезд этих в небе – как рыбы в прудах, –

Хватит на всех с лихвою

Если б не насмерть, ходил бы тогда

Тоже – Героем

Я бы Звезду эту сыну отдал

Просто – на память...

В небе висит, пропадает звезда –

Некуда падать

In his song "Song of the Stars," Vladimir Vysotsky addresses the theme of war, but uses the metaphor of falling stars to convey the tragedy and senselessness of it. Stars, traditionally associated with hope, dreams, and something sublime, here become a symbol of death.

The lyrical hero, a participant in the battle, sees how "from the sky, like silent rain, the stars were falling." Each falling star represents someone's life cut short, a reminder of death that permeates the air: "the air was thick with death."

At the beginning of the song, the hero naively links his fate to a falling star, making a wish to survive. He believes in the omen and clings to it as a lifeline, because war calls into question all the usual foundations of life. However, the star turns out to be "stupid," it cannot grant the wish because in war, life and death are determined not by chance, but by cruel necessity.

With each new verse, hope fades. The death of comrades, the continuous fighting, the "heights" and the order "don't spare the cartridges" — all this creates an atmosphere of hopelessness. The hero realizes that stars fall regardless of people's desires and plans. Their vast number, "like fish in ponds," emphasizes the massive scale and inevitability of death in war.

In the finale, the hero reflects that he would have become a Hero if he had not been wounded. He cynically remarks that "there are enough stars for everyone," implying that people become Heroes posthumously. The star, which could have been an award, turns into a reminder of lost lives. The last line, "A star hangs in the sky, fading away — Nowhere to fall," sounds especially poignant, symbolizing the emptiness and despair of the postwar period.