Poems and Songs of Vladimir Vysotsky. The Demon Drink.

Commentary to the song “Such a plumber you haven’t seen for ages...”

The fifth stanza of this song has much in common with the words of Porphyry Ivanov, peace be upon him: “A great happiness is to be healthy.”

It is also pertinent to quote here Marcus Tullius Cicero’s words: “Bona valetudo melior est quam maximae divitiae.” (“Good health is worth more than the greatest wealth.”)

Translation versions of lines:

Line 7:

And except for my love left at home,
And except for my bride left at home,

Line 9:

To my bride, I sent letters and presents,

The presented text is adapted from Stas and Margaret Porokhnya and George Tokarev’s translations.

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