The meaning of the lyrics of the song "Split personality" (Razdvoennaya lichnost) the performer of the song "Vladimir Vysotsky"

My tastes, my whims are rather strange,

I’m quite exotic, to say the least.

I can gnaw glasses on a binge,

And read my Schiller, no dictionary deceased.

Two selves I have, two polar ends,

Two different beings, foes in me.

When one to see a ballet intends,

The other’s drawn to the racetrack, you see.

No room for excess in thought I find,

When living as my genuine self.

But often breaking free, unkind,

My second self emerges, a scoundrel elf.

I fear and stifle this rogue within,

Oh, restless fate, my constant plight!

I dread the error, the grievous sin,

Of crushing not the self that’s right.

When in my soul I facets bare,

Where pure sincerity resides,

Waitresses forgive my every snare,

And women's love is mine besides.

But then my ideals crumble and fall,

I'm rude, impatient, filled with ire.

I sit and munch on glasses, that's all,

While Schiller's pages feed the fire.

The trial is on, all eyes on me,

The prosecutor, the judge severe.

Believe me, it wasn't I, you see,

But my vile second self, my dear.

So please, I beg, don't judge too harsh,

Grant me a term, yet set me free.

I'll visit courts, observe the farce,

And drop by prisons, just to see.

I'll break no windows, harm no one,

Record my words, let it be known.

Two halves I'll merge, the deed be done,

My fractured soul at last be sewn.

I'll banish it, bury it deep inside,

Cleanse myself, nothing I'll conceal.

This second self, I cast it aside,

No, it's not mine, this "I" I feel!

И вкусы, и запросы мои странны,

Я экзотичен, мягко говоря,

Могу одновременно грызть стаканы

И Шиллера читать без словаря.

Во мне два "я", два полюса планеты,

Два разных человека, два врага.

Когда один стремится на балеты,

Другой стремится прямо на бега.

Я лишнего и в мыслях не позволю,

Когда живу от первого лица.

Но часто вырывается на волю

Второе "я" в обличье подлеца.

И я боюсь, давлю в себе мерзавца,

О, участь беспокойная моя!

Боюсь ошибки: может оказаться,

Что я давлю не то второе "я".

Когда в душе я раскрываю гранки

На тех местах, где искренность сама,

Тогда мне в долг дают официантки

И женщины ласкают задарма.

Но вот летят к чертям все идеалы.

Но вот я груб, я нетерпим и зол.

Но вот сижу и тупо ем бокалы,

Забрасывая Шиллера под стол.

А суд идет. Весь зал мне смотрит в спину,

И прокурор, и гражданин судья.

Поверьте мне, не я разбил витрину,

А подлое мое второе "я".

И я прошу вас, строго не судите,

Лишь дайте срок, но не давайте срок,

Я буду посещать суды, как зритель,

И в тюрьмы заходить на огонек.

Я больше не намерен бить витрины

И лица граждан. Так и запиши.

Я воссоединю две половины

Моей больной раздвоенной души.

Искореню! Похороню! Зарою!

Очищусь! Ничего не скрою я.

Мне чуждо это "я" мое второе.

Нет, это не мое второе "я".

language

In the poem "Split Personality", Vladimir Vysotsky uses the metaphor of a split personality to illustrate the internal conflict of the lyrical hero.

The hero feels dualistic: contradictory desires and aspirations coexist within him. On the one hand, he is a refined intellectual who reads Schiller in the original, on the other - a rude and uncontrollable person, capable of inappropriate actions ("gnawing on glasses").

The two "I"s of the hero are a metaphor for the struggle between the sublime and the base, culture and ignorance, good and evil within one person. The images of ballet and races, sincerity and meanness, reading Schiller and eating glasses are contrasted.

The inner struggle causes the hero suffering, he feels restless and split. He tries to suppress the "second self", which leads to destructive consequences, but is afraid to make a mistake, destroying his true essence.

The culmination is the court scene, where the hero tries to justify himself by shifting the blame onto his "second self". This indicates an unwillingness to take responsibility for one's actions and a desire to find an excuse for one's weaknesses.

In the final part, the hero expresses a desire to change, to "reunite the two halves" of his soul. However, it is doubtful that this is possible: denying one's "second self", trying to "bury" it will not lead to harmony.