The meaning of the lyrics of the song "Senezhina's Song" (Pesnya Senejina) the performer of the song "Vladimir Vysotsky"

Here's an obituary, like an excuse,

Explaining my death's fatal cause.

Simply: he's a Pom, she's a Pomor lass –

It's like fire and ice, without a pause...

And then everyone will understand who they've lost,

And condemn her – it's a sure thing,

They'll say: "How he loved! And she..." – and so forth.

The reason's clear: "Mumu" and a slap's sting.

It will be so – courts and caravans

Will lament the mournful news,

And captains will drown their sorrows in cans,

And the whole North will turn more gruff and obtuse.

And then everyone will understand who they've lost,

All will condemn her – it's a sure thing,

They'll say: "How he loved! And she..." – and so forth.

And the reason: "Mumu" and a slap's sting.

And sailors, gripping the helm tight,

Cursing their cruel fate with might,

Will give up hope for a plentiful trawling night:

What good's herring now – I'm lost from sight!

And then everyone will understand who they've lost,

All will condemn her – it's a sure thing,

They'll say: "How he loved! And she..." – and so forth.

This is the reason: "Mumu" and a slap's sting.

Вот некролог, словно отговорка,

Объяснил смертельный мой исход.

Просто: он помор, она поморка —

Это то же, что огонь и лёд...

И тогда все поймут, кого потеряли,

И осудят её — это точно, —

Скажут: "Как он любил! А она..." — и так дале.

Вот причина: "Муму" и пощёчина.

Будет так — суда и караваны

Проревут про траурную весть,

И запьют от горя капитаны,

И суровей станет Север весь.

И тогда все поймут, кого потеряли,

Все осудят её — это точно, —

Скажут: "Как он любил! А она..." — и так дале.

А причина: "Муму" и пощёчина.

И матросы, крепко сжав штурвалы

И судьбу жестоко матеря,

Перестанут уповать на тралы:

Разве тут до сельди — нет меня!

И тогда все поймут, кого потеряли,

Все осудят её — это точно, —

Скажут: "Как он любил! А она..." — и так дале.

Вот причина: "Муму" и пощёчина.

In Vladimir Vysotsky's "Senezhen's Song", we encounter a tragicomic story of unrequited love and posthumous fame. The lyrical hero, the sailor Senezhin, dies, and his death is explained with a cliché: "He's a Pomor, she's a Pomor woman - it's like fire and ice...". However, this phrase hides something more profound than a simple description of ethnicity and incompatibility.

Senezhin anticipates how everyone will mourn him and condemn his beloved after his death. He ironically describes how they will "wail about the mournful news" and "the entire North will become more severe." The hero paints a picture of universal grief, which, in essence, is merely a theatrical performance, having nothing to do with the true pain of loss.

The phrase "Here's the reason: 'Mumu' and a slap in the face" is the key to understanding the hero's inner conflict. "Mumu" refers to the tragic fate of the mute Gerasim, forced to drown his beloved creature. "A slap in the face" is likely a symbol of betrayal or humiliation that Senezhin experienced from his lover. Thus, the hero draws a parallel between himself and Turgenev's character, emphasizing that his love, like Gerasim's, was doomed to tragedy.

Bitter irony runs through the song: Senezhin, while alive, does not receive due attention and love, but after death becomes an object of universal grief and heroization. He sarcastically remarks that even the harsh sailors "will cease to rely on trawls," because without him, "who cares about herring."

"Senezhin's Song" is a reflection on love, death, loneliness, and how often people do not appreciate what they have until they lose it. Vysotsky masterfully uses grotesqueness and irony to convey the tragedy of human relationships and the existential loneliness of the lyrical hero.