The meaning of the lyrics of the song "Tattoo" (Tatuirovka) the performer of the song "Vladimir Vysotsky"

We didn't share you, nor did we caress,

The love we had is in the past, I confess.

I carry your bright image, Valya, in my soul,

While Lesha etched your likeness on his chest, I'm told.

That day, at the station, as we said goodbye,

I vowed to remember you until the day I die.

"I won't forget Valya, ever in my life," I said.

"Even more so I," Lesha then replied.

Now tell me, which one of us has it worse,

Which one bears the heavier, the more painful curse?

He has your profile etched on his skin's facade,

While my very soul inside is deeply scarred.

And when my anguish grows unbearable, I swear,

May my words not offend you, my love, my dear,

I ask that Lesha unbutton his shirt for a while,

And I gaze, I gaze at you, for hours on end, with a smile.

But recently, my comrade, a friend so true,

Healed my pain with his artistic view.

He copied your image from Lesha's chest, you see,

And etched your profile on my chest, for me.

I know it's awkward to speak ill of my friend,

But you're closer, dearer, I can't pretend.

Because mine, or rather, yours, this tattoo I bear,

Is far better, far more beautiful than his, I swear.

Не делили мы тебя и не ласкали,

А что любили - так это позади.

Я ношу в душе твой светлый образ, Валя,

А Леша выколол твой образ на груди.

И в тот день, когда прощались на вокзале,

Я тебя до гроба помнить обещал, -

Я сказал:- Я не забуду в жизни Вали.

- А я тем более, - мне Леша отвечал.

А теперь реши, кому из нас с ним хуже,

И кому трудней - попробуй разбери:

У него твой профиль выколот снаружи,

А у меня - душа исколота внутри.

И когда мне так уж тошно, хоть на плаху, -

Пусть слова мои тебя не оскорбят, -

Я прошу, чтоб Леша расстегнул рубаху,

И гляжу, гляжу часами на тебя.

Но недавно мой товарищ, друг хороший,

Он беду мою искусством поборол, -

Он скопировал тебя с груди у Леши

И на грудь мою твой профиль наколол.

Знаю я, друзей своих чернить неловко,

Но ты мне ближе и роднее оттого,

Что моя, верней - твоя, татуировка

Много лучше и красивше, чем его.

Vladimir Vysotsky's song "Tattoo" tells the story of a love triangle and how two men preserve the memory of their beloved Valya in different ways.

The lyrical hero confesses that he and his rival, Lyosha, could neither share Valya nor make her happy. Love is a thing of the past. But while Lyosha captured Valya's image on his chest in the form of a tattoo, the lyrical hero carries it "in his soul". This very contrast between the external and the internal forms the core conflict of the work.

At the train station, bidding farewell to Valya, both heroes vow to remember her forever. However, their promises sound different. Lyosha's phrase "Especially me" sounds somewhat self-assured, as if the very fact of the tattoo makes his feelings stronger and more sincere. The lyrical hero, on the contrary, speaks of his pain, of the fact that his "soul is pierced" with memories.

In moments of longing, the lyrical hero asks Lyosha to show the tattoo to soothe his pain. The tattoo becomes for him not just an image, but a kind of "window" into the past, a symbol of lost love.

The climax of the song is the act of a friend who copies the tattoo from Lyosha's chest onto the lyrical hero's chest. This act can be interpreted in two ways. On the one hand, it helps the hero cope with mental pain, to get closer to the image of Valya. On the other hand, it emphasizes the superficiality of the hero's feelings, reducing them to outward imitation.

The final lines of the song are full of bitter irony. The hero rejoices that his tattoo is "better and more beautiful" than Lyosha's. He seems to forget that true love lives not on the skin, but in the heart. Thus, Vladimir Vysotsky in his song poses an important question to the listener: what is more important - the outward manifestation of feelings or their true depth?