The meaning of the lyrics of the song "About Cook." (Pro Kuka) the performer of the song "Vladimir Vysotsky"

The aborigines ate Cook for some reason

Why - it is unclear, science is silent

It seems to me quite a simple thing

They wanted to eat - and they ate Cook!

They wanted to eat - and they ate Cook!

There is an option that their leader is a big beech

He heard that there was a delicious cook on Cook's ship

A mistake came out - that's what science is silent about

They wanted a cook, but they ate Cook!

They wanted a cook, but they ate Cook!

And there was no catch or trick at all

They entered quietly, almost silently

They put into action a club made of bamboo

Whack! right in the forehead - and there is no Cook!

Whack! right in the forehead - and there is no Cook!

We've been racking our brains for centuries - it's just torment!

Why and how did the natives eat Cook?

How is Cook more pleasant? - that's what science is silent about

But one way or another, there is no Cook

One way or another, but there is no Cook

One way or another, but there is no Cook

And the savages broke spears out of bamboo

They were worried that they had eaten Cook!

We've been racking our brains for centuries - it's just torment!

Why and how did the natives eat Cook?

Why and how did the natives eat Cook?

Аборигены сьели Кука

Аборигены почему-то съели Кука

За что - неясно, молчит наука

Мне представляется совсем простая штука

Хотели кушать - и съели Кука!

Хотели кушать - и съели Кука!

Есть вариант, что ихний вождь - большая бука

Услышал, будто вкусный кок на судне Кука

Ошибка вышла - вот о чём молчит наука

Хотели - кока, а съели - Кука!

Хотели - кока, а съели - Кука!

И вовсе не было подвоха или трюка

Вошли тихонько, почти без звука

Пустили в действие дубинку из бамбука

Тюк! прямо в темя - и нету Кука!

Тюк! прямо в темя - и нету Кука!

Ломаем голову веками - просто мука!

Зачем и как аборигены съели Кука?

Чем Кук приятней? - вот о чём молчит наука

Но так иль иначе, а нету Кука

Так иль иначе, но нету Кука

Так иль иначе, но нету Кука

А дикари ломали копья из бамбука

Переживали, что съели Кука!

Ломаем голову веками - просто мука!

Зачем и как аборигены съели Кука

Зачем и как аборигены съели Кука

Vladimir Vysotsky's song "About Cook" is a satirical take on the historical event of James Cook's death at the hands of native Hawaiians. With irony and humor, Vysotsky plays with different versions of the incident, poking fun at the tendency to seek complex explanations where things might be much simpler.

The first verse immediately sets the tone for the entire piece: "The natives ate Cook / The natives, for some reason, ate Cook / Why – it's unclear, science is silent." Vysotsky uses the repetition of the phrase "ate Cook" to emphasize the absurdity of the situation and how this fact overshadows all other details. The "silence of science" here symbolizes the inability to rationally explain human actions, especially when it comes to cultures far removed from Western civilization.

The author then offers several humorous versions of what happened. First, he puts forward the simplest one: the natives were hungry. This version, which seems ridiculous at first glance, makes fun of the desire for simplification and the search for easy answers.

The second option is a mistake, a misunderstanding. The chief of the natives, mistaking Cook's surname for a profession, wanted to try the cook, but by mistake the natives ate Cook himself. This version makes fun of cultural differences and communication difficulties.

The third version describes the attack of the natives, but even here Vysotsky does not give a definite answer to the question "why?". He only states a fact: "Thump! Right in the head – and there's no Cook!".

In the final verses of the song, the author returns to the image of "silent science", which is trying in vain to find an explanation for the actions of the natives. Vysotsky ironically remarks: "We've been racking our brains for centuries - it's just flour! / Why and how the natives ate Cook?". At the end of the song, there is an unexpected twist: it turns out that the natives themselves "were worried that they ate Cook".

Thus, Vysotsky in his song does not so much try to answer the question about the causes of Cook's death, but rather ridicules the human tendency to over-rationalize, the desire to find complex explanations where everything can be much simpler.