The meaning of the lyrics of the song "A gypsy woman with cards..." (Cyiganka s kartami...) the performer of the song "Vladimir Vysotsky"

A gypsy with cards, a long road,

A long road, a state house.

Perhaps the old, Central prison

Awaits me, a young lad, once again.

Chorus:

Taganka, all nights, full of fire.

Taganka, why have you ruined me?

Taganka, I am your permanent prisoner,

My youth and talent have perished

Within your walls.

I know, my dear, even without fortune-telling:

Different roads are destined for us.

On Fridays, the visits will resume,

And the bitter tears of my kin.

Farewell, my love, we shall not meet again,

You will tire of waiting for me, the unfortunate one.

I will die in Taganka, I will die loving you,

I will not see your beautiful eyes again.

Цыганка с картами, дорога дальняя,

Дорога дальняя, казенный дом.

Быть может, старая тюрьма Центральная

Меня, мальчишечку, по новой ждет.

Припев:

Таганка, все ночи, полные огня.

Таганка, зачем сгубила ты меня?

Таганка, я твой бессменный арестант,

Погибли юность и талант

В твоих стенах.

Я знаю, милая, и без гадания:

Дороги разные нам суждены.

Опять по пятницам пойдут свидания

И слезы горькие моей родни.

Прощай, любимая, больше не встретимся,

Меня, несчастного, устанешь ждать.

Умру в Таганке я, умру, тебя любя, -

Твоих красивых глаз мне не видать.

Vladimir Vysotsky's song "The Gypsy with Cards" presents a tragic confession of a lyrical hero doomed to suffering and separation. The image of the road, which opens the song, is immediately filled with an ominous meaning: "a long road, a state-owned house." This is not a path to freedom and new horizons, but a path to imprisonment, to "the old Central prison", which may await the hero.

The gypsy's fortune-telling in this case is just a grim confirmation of the hero's premonition, the bitter truth that he has already come to terms with. "I know, my dear, even without fortune-telling: we are destined for different paths". Separation from his beloved is an inevitable price for the chosen path, for the fatal connection with Taganka, which becomes in the song not just a topographic landmark, but a symbol of a tragic fate that absorbs the hero.

Taganka is not just a place, but a way of life, a creative environment full of fire and passion ("Taganka, all nights are full of fire"). However, this fire burns the hero, ruins his youth and talent. He feels like Taganka's "permanent prisoner," locked in the cage of his own destiny.

The finale of the song features the motif of death, inextricably linked with Taganka: "I will die in Taganka, I will die loving you". This is not only physical death, but also the death of hope, love, and the future.