Top images by Fulvio Spada from Torino, Italy – Snowball flowers, CC BY-SA 2.0 and Ivar Leidus – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0 Bottom image by Elder G.
The Red Viburnum is a beautiful plant, with white flowers and bright red fruit. A 150 year old patriotic Ukrainian song, celebrating the beauty of the Red Viburnum, compares the strength of the Ukrainian people with the resilience of this flowering shrub.
Oh, the Red Viburnum in the Meadow
Oh, in the meadow red viburnum bent down For some reason, our glorious Ukraine is distressed.
But we will raise that red viburnum! And we will cheer our glorious Ukraine up, hey-hey! Do not bend low, oh red viburnum, you have a white flower, Do not worry, glorious Ukraine, you have free people.
But we will raise that red viburnum! And we will cheer our glorious Ukraine up, hey-hey! Marching forward, our fellow volunteers, into a bloody fray, To free our brother Ukrainians from Moscow shackles.
But we will raise that red viburnum! And we will cheer our glorious Ukraine up, hey-hey! When the stormy wind blows forth from the wide steppes, Then it will glorify the Sich riflemen throughout Ukraine.
And we will cheer our glorious Ukraine up, hey-hey! But we will raise that red viburnum!
Ой у лузі червона калина
Ой у лузі червона калина похилилася Чогось наша славна Україна зажурилася.
А ми тую червону калину підіймемо, А ми нашу славну Україну, гей-гей, розвеселимо! Не хилися, червона калино, маєш білий цвіт, Не журися, славна Україно, маєш вільний рід.
А ми тую червону калину підіймемо, А ми нашу славну Україну, гей-гей, розвеселимо! Марширують наші добровольці у кривавий тан, Визволяти братів-українців з московських кайдан.
А ми тую червону калину підіймемо, А ми нашу славну Україну, гей-гей, розвеселимо! Як повіє буйнесенький вітер з широких степів, То прославить по всій Україні січових стрільців.
А ми тую червону калину підіймемо, А ми нашу славну Україну, гей-гей, розвеселимо!
“Oh, the Red Viburnum in the Meadow” is a Ukrainian patriotic march first published in 1875 by Volodymyr Antonovych and Mykhailo Drahomanov. It was rewritten in a modern arrangement by the composer Stepan Charnetsky in 1914, in honor and memory of the Sich Riflemen of the First World War. The song has many variations.
The red viburnum is a national symbol of Ukraine. It is a deciduous shrub that grows four to five metres tall. A silhouette of it is depicted along the edges of the flag of the president of Ukraine.
Following the 2014 annexation of Crimea, and then the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, singing “nationalist anthems” such as “Chervona Kalyna” in Crimea became punishable by fines and imprisonment.
Due to the song’s association with the Ukrainian people’s aspiration for independence, singing the song was banned during the period in which Ukraine was a Soviet Republic from 1919 to 1991. The song was also used by the Ukrainian Insurgent Army.
In March 2022, the song gained international attention when an Instagram video of an a cappella rendition by Andriy Khlyvnyuk… singing the first verse of the song was remixed by different artists around the world….
BoomBox was touring in the United States when the Russian invasion of Ukraine started on 24 February. In response to the invasion, Khlyvnyuk cut the tour short to return to Ukraine to join the armed forces. He recorded the video while wearing army fatigues, standing near Sophia Square in Kyiv, and uploaded it to his Instagram account on 27 February, where it became viral.
Ukrainian Folk Song 🇺🇦 ARMY REMIX | Andriy Khlyvnyuk x The Kiffness
Andriy Khlyvnyuk, the frontman of top Ukrainian band Boombox (Бумбокс) dropped his tour of the US to defend his country. He was kind enough to let me remix this recent video of him singing a Ukranian folk song, й у лузі червона калина (Oy u luzi chervona kalyna).
Thank you to the whole @familyboombox team & Adnriy Khlyvnyuk for making this video possible. I sincerely hope that you stay safe during this time. Special thanks to Manja and her mother Lada for their support.
My love & thoughts are with the people of Ukraine & with all the people in Russia who are against this senseless war waged on the people of Ukraine by President Putin. I hope this video helps in some small way. With love from South Africa.
As promised, we agreed that all royalty earnings from this video will be donated to humanitarian aid for the Ukrainian armed forces.
Pink Floyd Pink Floyd would like to thank everyone who has supported Hey, Hey, Rise Up. The single, recorded on 30th March with Andriy Khlyvnyuk of the Ukrainian band Boombox, has so far raised over £450,000 to help alleviate the suffering of the Ukrainian people.
