The meaning of the lyrics of the song "For bread and water" (Za hleb i vodu) the performer of the song "Vladimir Vysotsky"

We robbed the same house together,

We slipped through the same crack, -

We met them like three milk brothers,

Who had never laid eyes on each other.

For bread and water and for freedom -

Thanks to our Soviet people!

For nights in prisons, interrogations in MUR -

Thanks to our city prosecutor's office!

We were all transferred to the port of Nakhodka,

They'll let me go tomorrow, they'll let them go tomorrow, -

We met like three rubles for vodka,

And parted ways like vodka for three.

For bread and water and for freedom -

Thanks to our Soviet people!

For nights in prisons, interrogations in MUR -

Thanks to our city prosecutor's office!

How well the world is arranged! -

Yesterday they mentioned me in the order:

They released me five years early, -

And the signature: "Voroshilov, Georgadze."

For bread and water and for freedom -

Thanks to our Soviet people!

For nights in prisons, interrogations in MUR -

Thanks to our city prosecutor's office!

Why, this is the mathematics of the gods:

They sentenced me to twelve years, -

They took seven years from my life,

And now they've given me back five!

For bread and water, and for freedom

Thanks to our Soviet people,

For nights in prisons, interrogations in MUR

Thanks to our city prosecutor's office.

Мы вместе грабили одну и ту же хату,

В одну и ту же мы проникли щель, -

Мы с ними встретились как три молочных брата,

Друг друга не видавшие вообще.

За хлеб и воду и за свободу -

Спасибо нашему советскому народу!

За ночи в тюрьмах, допросы в МУРе -

Спасибо нашей городской прокуратуре!

Нас вместе переслали в порт Находку,

Меня отпустят завтра, пустят завтра их, -

Мы с ними встретились, как три рубля на водку,

И разошлись, как водка на троих.

За хлеб и воду и за свободу -

Спасибо нашему советскому народу!

За ночи в тюрьмах, допросы в МУРе -

Спасибо нашей городской прокуратуре!

Как хорошо устроен белый свет! -

Меня вчера отметили в приказе:

Освободили раньше на пять лет, -

И подпись: "Ворошилов, Георгадзе".

За хлеб и воду и за свободу -

Спасибо нашему советскому народу!

За ночи в тюрьмах, допросы в МУРе -

Спасибо нашей городской прокуратуре!

Да это ж математика богов:

Меня ведь на двенадцать осудили, -

Из жизни отобрали семь годов,

И пять - теперь обратно возвратили!

За хлеб и воду, и за свободу

Спасибо нашему советскому народу,

За ночи в тюрьмах, допросы в МУР-е

Спасибо нашей городской прокуратуре.

Vladimir Vysotsky's poem "For Bread and Water" is a bitter satire on the Soviet justice system and the propaganda clichés of the time.

The meaning of the text is built on the sharp contrast between official ideology and the reality of "ordinary Soviet citizens":

Irony: The entire text is imbued with biting irony. The lyrical hero thanks the Soviet people, the prosecutor's office, and personally Voroshilov and Geogadze (political figures of that time) for "bread and water", "nights in prison" and "interrogations in the MUR" (Moscow Criminal Investigations Department). It is obvious that this is not gratitude but bitter mockery of the system, which deprives people of their freedom and basic rights.

Absurdity: The situation described in the poem is absurd. The hero is sentenced to 12 years and then "released" 5 years early, presenting this as an act of mercy. Vysotsky ridicules the inhumanity of the system, for which human life is just a figure in a report.

Unity of Fates: The image of "three milk brothers" united not by blood ties but by their common fate in the jaws of the repressive machine emphasizes the mass nature of repression and arbitrariness in the USSR.

Primitive Rhetoric: The constant refrain "For bread and water and for freedom - Thanks to our Soviet people!" parodies the formulaic slogans and calls of the time, exposing their falsehood and hypocrisy.

Ultimately, Vysotsky's poem "For Bread and Water" is not just a story about a wrongly convicted person, it is an indictment of a system that cripples people's lives under the guise of beautiful words about freedom and justice.