The meaning of the lyrics of the song "In the hospital" (V gospitale) the performer of the song "Vladimir Vysotsky"

I lived with my mother and father

On Arbat – I wish it could be like that now!

But now I'm in the medical battalion

On the bed, all in bandages.

What do I care about glory, about Klava the nurse – and the whole wide world!

My neighbor on the right died,

And the one on the left – not yet.

And once, as if in a frenzy,

That neighbor on the left,

Suddenly said to me: "Listen, buddy,

You don't have a leg."

How so? It can't be true, brothers,

He must be joking!

"We'll only amputate your toes,"

That's what the doctor told me.

And the neighbor on the left

Kept laughing, kept joking.

Even when he was delirious at night,

He kept talking about the leg.

He kept changing his story: saying I wouldn't get up,

Wouldn't see my wife, he said!

You should take a look at yourself, comrade,

See yourself from the side!

If I weren't crippled

And could get out of this bed,

I would have ripped out the throat

Of the one on the left!

I begged sister Klava

To show me what I had become.

If only the neighbor on the right were still alive,

He would have told me the truth!

Жил я с матерью и батей

На Арбате – здесь бы так!

А теперь я в медсанбате

На кровати, весь в бинтах

Что нам слава, что нам Клава

Медсестра – и белый свет!

Помер мой сосед, что справа

А тот, что слева, – еще нет

И однажды, как в угаре

Тот сосед, что слева, мне

Вдруг сказал: "Послушай, парень

У тебя ноги-то нет"

Как же так? Неправда, братцы

Он, наверно, пошутил!

"Мы отрежем только пальцы"

Так мне доктор говорил

И сосед, который слева

Все смеялся, все шутил

Даже если ночью бредил

Все про ногу говорил

Издевался: мол, не встанешь

Не увидишь, мол, жены!

Поглядел бы ты, товарищ

На себя со стороны!

Если б был я не калека

И слезал с кровати вниз

Я б тому, который слева

Просто глотку перегрыз!

Умолял сестричку Клаву

Показать, какой я стал

Был бы жив сосед, что справа

Он бы правду мне сказал!

Vladimir Vysotsky's poem "In the Hospital" is a poignant story about human pain, fear, and despair, seen through the eyes of a wounded soldier.

The protagonist is in critical condition in a hospital. His life is divided into "before" and "after" – a cozy world on Arbat Street has been replaced by the harsh reality of a hospital ward. Next to him are people just like him, crippled by war, whose lives hang in the balance. Death is a constant companion in this place, which is emphasized by the phrase "My neighbor on the right died, and the one on the left is still alive."

In this world of pain and fear, the only ray of light for the hero is nurse Klava. She is a symbol of hope, mercy, a reminder of life outside the hospital.

The poem culminates in a terrible truth revealed to the hero: his legs have been amputated. His neighbor on the left, likely severely wounded himself, tries to convey this information, but does it rudely, with the cruel humor characteristic of people who have come face to face with death.

The hero's reaction is understandable: denial, anger, a desire for revenge. He clings to the last hope – to hear the truth from nurse Klava or from his deceased neighbor on the right.

The ending of the poem remains open. We don't know if the hero has actually lost his legs or if it's a delirium caused by pain and medication. But the main thing is the range of feelings that the author conveys: the horror of the unknown, the despair of loss, the fragility of human life against the backdrop of war.