The meaning of the lyrics of the song "Height" (Vyisota) the performer of the song "Vladimir Vysotsky"

They clung to the height as if it were their own.

Mortar fire, heavy...

And we all climbed towards it in a crowd,

Like at a train station buffet.

And the cries of "hurrah" froze in our throats,

As we swallowed bullets.

Seven times we took that height -

Seven times we left it.

And nobody wanted to attack again,

The earth - like burnt porridge...

For the eighth time we'll take it for good -

We'll take what's ours, our blood.

Or maybe we could bypass it -

Why are we so fixated on it?!

But, apparently, all our fates and paths

Have crossed on this very height.

Вцепились они в высоту, как в свое.

Огонь минометный, шквальный...

А мы все лезли толпой на нее,

Как на буфет вокзальный.

И крики "ура" застывали во рту,

Когда мы пули глотали.

Семь раз занимали мы ту высоту -

Семь раз мы ее оставляли.

И снова в атаку не хочется всем,

Земля - как горелая каша...

В восьмой раз возьмем мы ее насовсем -

Свое возьмем, кровное, наше!

А может ее стороной обойти,-

И что мы к ней прицепились?!

Но, видно, уж точно - все судьбы-пути

На этой высотке скрестились.

Vladimir Vysotsky's song "The Height" tells the story of fierce battles for a nameless height that has become a symbol of perseverance, courage, and, perhaps, the senselessness of war for the lyrical hero and his comrades.

The very first lines, "They clung to the height as if it were their own," convey the ferocity of the fight. The enemy, defending the height, fights with the desperation of the doomed, because for them it is not just a strategic object, but something more - "their own." This contrasts with the image of the attacking soldiers: "And we all climbed towards it in a crowd, / Like a train station buffet." The rough comparison to a train station buffet reveals the tragedy of the situation, where war distorts familiar notions, blurring the lines between civilian and front-line life.

Repeated attempts to take the height ("Seven times we took that height - / Seven times we left it") emphasize the price the soldiers pay for every meter of land. The cry of "hurrah" freezing in their mouths from bullets is a vivid metaphor for the horror of battle and the proximity of death.

Exhausted by the fighting, the soldiers increasingly doubt the necessity of this sacrifice: "And no one wants to attack again, / The earth is like burnt porridge...". However, the understanding of the importance of the task ("We will take our own, our blood!") makes them move forward.

The culmination of the song is a question asked, rather, to himself: "Maybe we should just bypass it, / Why are we so fixated on it?!" It exposes the inner struggle of the lyrical hero, torn between the desire to survive and the sense of duty. The answer follows immediately: "But, it seems, for sure - all fates and paths / Have crossed on this height." The height turns into a symbol of fatal inevitability, of human destinies being predetermined by war.