The meaning of the lyrics of the song "Power comes from the people..." (Vlast ishodit ot naroda…) the performer of the song "Vladimir Vysotsky"

Power comes from the people,

But where does it arrive

And from where does it originate,

To what lengths does it go?

What's this rally? Get down at once!

Someone is asking something,

Someone is posing questions

For some unknown reason.

Here, of course, the authorities gave

A burst from a machine gun,

And then someone fell down

Somehow at once, for some reason

Someone tumbled to the ground.

The authorities walk down the road -

Who is lying there on the road?

Someone stretched out their legs here,

Some corpse on the road...

Hey, but it's the people!..

Власть исходит от народа,

Но куда она приходит

И откуда происходит,

До чего ж она доходит?

Что за митинг? Живо слазьте!

Кто-то спрашивает что-то,

Задает вопросы кто-то

Почему-то отчего-то.

Тут, конечно, дали власти

Очередь из пулемета,

И тогда свалился кто-то

Как-то сразу, отчего-то

Повалился наземь кто-то.

Власти ходят по дороге -

Кто лежит там на дороге?

Кто-то протянул тут ноги,

Труп какой-то на дороге...

Эй, да это ведь народ!..

In Vladimir Vysotsky's song "Power comes from the people…" the author uses bitter irony to highlight the discrepancy between the declared ideals of power and the reality of life.

The phrase "Power comes from the people" is the foundation of a democratic society. However, Vysotsky shows how this phrase, having become an empty slogan, loses its true meaning. The authorities, while declaring their connection with the people, are in fact alienated from them, they do not hear and do not want to hear their voice.

The poem is built on sharp contrasts. On the one hand, we see a faceless, alienated power that "walks along the road", not noticing the people lying at its feet. On the other hand - the people, suppressed, humiliated, unable to be heard. Their questions, timid attempts at dialogue ("Someone is asking something") are met with aggression and violence ("a burst from a machine gun").

The image of a "corpse on the road" becomes a symbol of the tragic fate of man in a totalitarian state. He is faceless, voiceless, his death is both accidental and natural in a system where human life is worthless. The final phrase "Hey, it's the people!.." sounds like belated remorse, a realization of one's own guilt, but even this realization is devoid of sincerity and cannot change anything.