Poems and Songs of Vladimir Vysotsky. The Messenger.
Commentary to the song “ABOUT THE PROPHETS”.
Here comes to mind Mikhail Lermontov’s poem “The Prophet”.
And it is pertinent to recall here Alexander Gorodnitsky’s song “Atlantes”, where the Atlantes symbolize the messengers to mankind.
“A Song about the Seeress Cassandra” calls to mind the words of the surah “The Story”: “And never would We destroy the towns unless the people thereof are wrongdoers.”
In Greek mythology, C a s s a n d r a, a daughter of the king of Troy Priam, was endowed by Apollo with the gift of prophecy, but fated by him never to be believed because of she did not return his love.
The second song, also written in 1967, is “A Song about the Wise Oleg”, a variation on the theme of Alexander Pushkin’s poem of the same name.
T h e W i s e O l e g (Oleg of Novgorod) was the Prince of Novgorod the Great from 879 and the Grand Prince of Kiev from 882, he reigned to 912, when he took his death from his horse.
It is pertinent to note here that our horse is our present technical civilization.
The text of “A Song about the Seeress Cassandra” is adapted from George Tokarev and Alec Vagapov’s translations.