The song is known in Russian as Эй, ухнем!, or 'yo, heave-ho!', and was apparently sung by the barge workers who dragged large boats along the banks of the Volga River, in central Russia.
The Volga River is the longest river in Europe, and barge-haulers were used to transport vessels between central Russia on towards the Caspian sea.
The piece itself fits beautifully with Ilya Repin's painting entitled 'Barge Haulers on the Volga' (as you can see, below) and the choir gives the feeling of struggle, yet a communal one. Everyone pulls their weight, and everyone has a part to sing. It is a lovely piece.
_-_Volga_Boatmen_(1870-1873).jpg)
Over the years, the song has been popularised in several different styles, by many different artists. It even reached #1 in the USA during 1941 (strange, I know), after its arrangement in jazz form (even stranger, I know) by Glenn Miller and his band (you couldn't make this up, could you).
There won't be a Song of the Day on Saturdays or Sundays, I'm afraid, but for now you can take a look at the Song of the Volga Boatmen on YouTube, below. I've also included the lyrics, in Russian and English.
Lyrics:
(Russian)
- Ey, ukhnem!
- Ey, ukhnem!
- Yeshcho razik, yeshcho da raz!
- Ey, ukhnem!
- Ey, ukhnem!
- Yeshcho razik, yeshcho da raz!
- Razovyom my beryozu,
- Razovyom my kudryavu!
- Ai-da, da ai-da,
- Ai-da, da ai-da,
- Razovyom my kudryavu.
- Razovyom my kudryavu.
- Ey, ukhnem!
- Ey, ukhnem!
- Yeshcho razik, yeshcho da raz!
- My po berezhku idyom,
- Pesnyu solnyshku poyom.
- Ai-da, da ai-da,
- Ai-da, da ai-da,
- Pesnyu solnyshku poyom.
- Ey, Ey, tyani kanat silney!
- Pesnyu solnyshku poyom.
- Ey, ukhnem!
- Ey, ukhnem!
- Yeshcho razik, yeshcho da raz!
- Ekh, ty, Volga, mat'-reka,
- Shiroka i gluboka,
- Ai-da, da ai-da,
- Ai-da, da ai-da,
- Volga, Volga, mat'-reka
- Ey, ukhnem!
- Ey, ukhnem!
- Yeshcho razik, yeshcho da raz!
- Ey, ukhnem!
- Ey, ukhnem!
(English)
- Yo, heave ho!
- Yo, heave ho!
- Once more, once again, still once more
- Yo, heave ho!
- Yo, heave ho!
- Once more, once again, still once more
- Now we fell the stout birch tree,
- Now we pull hard: one, two, three.
- Ay-da, da, ay-da!
- Ay-da, da, ay-da!
- Now we pull hard: one, two, three.
- Now we pull hard: one, two, three.
- Yo, heave ho!
- Yo, heave ho!
- Once more, once again, still once more
- As we walk along the shore,
- To the sun we sing our song.
- Ay-da, da, ay-da!
- Ay-da, da, ay-da!
- To the sun we sing our song.
- Hey, hey, let's heave a-long the way
- to the sun we sing our song
- Yo, heave ho!
- Yo, heave ho!
- Once more, once again, still once more
- Oh, you, Volga, mother river,
- Mighty stream so deep and wide.
- Ay-da, da, ay-da!
- Ay-da, da, ay-da!
- Volga, Volga, mother river.
- Yo, heave ho!
- Yo, heave ho!
- Once more, once again, still once more
- Yo, heave ho!
- Yo, heave ho!
No comments:
Post a Comment