The meaning of the lyrics of the song "After the victory, it became light..." (Posle pobedyi stalo svetlo...) the performer of the song "Vladimir Vysotsky"

After the Victory, it became bright,

Salutes thundered proudly,

But every fourth one did not sit

At the victorious table.

I walk, you walk, but he doesn’t walk,

He is dead.

I sing, he sings, only he is silent,

Every fourth one.

The widows waited long for their husbands,

Mothers waited for their sons,

They didn’t know that the dead –

Was every fourth one.

We remember now the double losses,

We remember this countless number,

Oh, how we miss you,

Every fourth one!

I walk, you walk, but he doesn’t walk,

He is dead.

I sing, you sing, only he is silent,

Every fourth one.

После Победы стало светло,

Били салюты гордо,

Но не сидел за победным столом

Каждый четвертый.

Я иду, ты идешь, а он не идет,

Он - мертвый.

Я пою, он поет, только молчит

Каждый четвертый.

Долго вдовы ждали мужей,

Матери ждали своих сыновей,

Не знали они, что мертвый -

Каждый четвертый.

Помним потери двойные сейчас,

Счет этот помним несчетный,

О, как нам не хватает вас,

Каждый четвертый!

Я иду, ты идешь, а он не идет,

Он - мертвый.

Я пою, ты поешь, только молчит

Каждый четвертый.

In Vladimir Vysotsky's song "After the Victory, It Became Light...", the author speaks about the terrible price the Soviet people paid for victory in the Great Patriotic War. The phrase "every fourth" is not just a metaphor, but a horrifying statistic: the war claimed the lives of almost 27 million Soviet citizens, practically every fourth inhabitant of the country.

Vysotsky highlights the contrast between the joy of victory ("Salutes were fired proudly") and the grief of irreplaceable losses. The "victory table" becomes a symbol of a peaceful life that was not meant to be for millions who perished.

The author uses anaphora ("I walk, you walk, but he does not walk," "I sing, you sing, only he is silent") to emphasize the chasm between the living and the dead. The repetition of the phrase "every fourth" creates the effect of an ominous refrain that haunts the listener, reminding them of the scale of the tragedy.

The song is filled with deep sorrow for the fallen, compassion for the widows and mothers who never saw their husbands and sons return. In the final lines "Oh, how we miss you, every fourth!" there is not only the pain of loss but also a call to remember the heroism of the fallen, and the price at which victory was won.