The meaning of the lyrics of the song "That's right." (Tak ono i est) the performer of the song "Vladimir Vysotsky"

That's just the way it is

Just like old times, just like old times

If you went against the grain

To the lamppost, to the lamppost

If you were stealing

Then you're going to jail, you're going to jail

If you knew too much

To be shot, to be shot!

I thought - finally I won't see them soon

The camps, the camps

But I ended up in this dusty, blurry city

With no people, no people

Crowds of people are wandering, not looking like people

Indifferent, blind

I looked into the black faces of passers-by

Neither my own, nor strangers

So why did I curse my bitter fate?

Apparently, in vain, in vain!

So why did I long for freedom for so long

In the camps, in the camps?!

Crowds of people are wandering, not looking like people

Indifferent, blind

I looked into the black faces of passers-by

Neither my own, nor strangers

That's just the way it is

Just like old times, just like old times

If you went against the grain

To the lamppost, to the lamppost

If you were stealing

Then you're going to jail, you're going to jail

And if you knew too much

To be shot, to be shot!

Так оно и есть

Словно встарь, словно встарь

Если шел вразрез

На фонарь, на фонарь

Если воровал

Значит, сел, значит, сел

Если много знал

Под расстрел, под расстрел!

Думал я – наконец не увижу я скоро

Лагерей, лагерей

Но попал в этот пыльный расплывчатый город

Без людей, без людей

Бродят толпы людей, на людей не похожих

Равнодушных, слепых

Я заглядывал в черные лица прохожих

Ни своих, ни чужих

Так зачем проклинал свою горькую долю?

Видно, зря, видно, зря!

Так зачем я так долго стремился на волю

В лагерях, в лагерях?!

Бродят толпы людей, на людей не похожих

Равнодушных, слепых

Я заглядывал в черные лица прохожих

Ни своих, ни чужих

Так оно и есть

Словно встарь, словно встарь

Если шел вразрез

На фонарь, на фонарь

Если воровал

Значит, сел, значит, сел

А если много знал

Под расстрел, под расстрел!

Vladimir Vysotsky's song "Tak ono i est" ("That's how it is") vividly expresses the bitterness and disappointment of the lyrical hero, who faced the brutal reality of Soviet society.

The song begins with the repeating lines "Slovno vstar..." ("As in the old days..."), painting a picture of a repressive system where any dissent ("shel vrazrez" - "went against the grain"), theft ("voroval" - "stole") or knowledge ("mnogo znal" - "knew a lot") was punished severely and irrevocably - by prison ("na fonar'" - "on the lamppost", a euphemism for prison, "sel" - "imprisoned") or even death ("pod расстрел" - "by execution"). The hero, having spent a long time in prison ("lagerях" - "camps"), dreamed of freedom, hoping that the repressions were a thing of the past.

However, upon his release, he finds himself in a "dusty, blurry city" that turns out to be no less oppressive than the camp. The city is full of a faceless, indifferent crowd ("бродят толпы людей, на людей не похожих, равнодушных, слепых" - "crowds of people wander, not looking like people, indifferent, blind"), in which the hero finds neither sympathy nor understanding ("ни своих, ни чужих" - "neither friends nor strangers"). The faces of passers-by, described as "black," symbolize their lack of humanity, their spiritual emptiness.

This contrast between the expected freedom and the suffocating reality creates a deep disappointment in the hero. He questions the meaning of his suffering, the purpose of fighting for freedom if it led him to a world no better than prison ("Tak zachem proklinal svoyu gorykuyu dolyu? Vidno, zrya, vidno, zrya! Tak zachem ya tak dolgo stremilsya na volyu v lageryakh, v lageryakh?!" - "Why did I curse my bitter fate? Apparently, in vain, in vain! Why did I strive for freedom in the camps for so long?!").

The final lines of the song, echoing the beginning, sound like a bitter admission of defeat. The system has not changed, it is still cruel and merciless. "Tak ono i est'" ("That's how it is") is a statement of fact, devoid of hope for change.