The meaning of the lyrics of the song "The Execution of the Mountain Echo" (Rasstrel gornogo eha) the performer of the song "Vladimir Vysotsky"

In the pass's silence, where cliffs stand firm against the wind,

On heights no one has ever scaled,

Lived a cheerful mountain echo,

Responding to cries - to the cries of humankind.

When loneliness rises in your throat like a lump,

And a stifled moan falls faintly into the abyss -

The echo swiftly catches this cry for help,

Amplifies it - and carries it carefully in its arms.

It must have been men, drunk on potions and spells,

To silence the loud clatter and rattle, unheard by anyone,

They came to kill, to mute the living gorge -

And they bound the echo, and stuffed a gag in its mouth.

All night long, the bloody, evil revelry continued,

And they trampled the echo, but no sound could be heard.

By morning, they shot the silenced mountain echo -

And tears, like stones, streamed from the wounded cliffs...

В тиши перевала, где скалы ветрам не помеха,

На кручах таких, на какие никто не проник,

Жило-поживало весёлое горное эхо,

Оно отзывалось на крик - человеческий крик.

Когда одиночество комом подкатит под горло

И сдавленный стон еле слышно в обрыв упадет -

Крик этот о помощи эхо подхватит проворно,

Усилит - и бережно в руки своих донесёт.

Должно быть, не люди, напившись дурмана и зелья,

Чтоб не был услышан никем громкий топот и храп,

Пришли умертвить, обеззвучить живое ущелье -

И эхо связали, и в рот ему всунули кляп.

Всю ночь продолжалась кровавая злая потеха,

И эхо топтали, но звука никто не слыхал.

К утру расстреляли притихшее горное эхо -

И брызнули слезы, как камни, из раненых скал...

In Vladimir Vysotsky's poem "The Shooting of the Mountain Echo," an allegorical tragedy unfolds, reflecting the suppression of freedom and individuality.

The mountain echo, dwelling in the inaccessible cliffs, symbolizes a free voice responding to the "cry" – a call for help, a cry of the soul. It "catches," "amplifies," and "carefully carries" this cry, becoming a symbol of hope and support in moments of despair.

However, "people drunk on dope and potion" – images of cruelty and ignorance – seek to destroy this symbol of freedom. They fear the truth that the echo might reflect and therefore want to "silence the living gorge." To "bind" and "gag" the echo are metaphors for the violent suppression of dissent and freedom of speech.

The bloody massacre of the echo is the culmination of the tragedy. The heartless murderers hear neither the echo's cries nor the "stamping" and "snorting," symbolizing their own brutality. The death of the echo, "hushed" under the yoke of violence, evokes "tears" – "stones from wounded rocks." This picture embodies the pain and destruction brought by the suppression of freedom.

Vysotsky's poem is not just a story about the death of an echo. It is an allegory for totalitarian regimes that destroy freedom of speech, suppress dissent, and leave behind only "wounded rocks" – crippled souls and broken destinies.