''Hej, Sokoły'' (''Hey, falcons'', pl, Hej, Sokoły, uk, Гей, соколи), proper title ''Żal za Ukrainą'' (''Longing for Ukraine'') or ''Na zielonej Ukrainie'' (''In green Ukraine'') is a

Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Poles, people from Poland or of Polish descent * Polish chicken *Polish brothers (Mark Polish and Michael Polish, born 1970), American twin screenwr ...

and

Ukrainian Ukrainian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Ukraine * Something relating to Ukrainians, an East Slavic people from Eastern Europe * Something relating to demographics of Ukraine in terms of demography and population of Ukraine * So ...

folk song Folk music is a music genre that includes #Traditional folk music, traditional folk music and the Contemporary folk music, contemporary genre that evolved from the former during the 20th-century folk revival. Some types of folk music may be c ...

. The song's authorship is not completely certain, some historians attribute the writing of the song to the Ukrainian-Polish poet- songwriter

Tomasz Padura Tymko (Tomasz) Padura, also Padurra, ( uk, Тимко Падура; 21 December 1801 – 20 September 1871) was a Polish Romantic poet of the so-called Ukrainian school, musician-torbanist, and composer-songwriter. He was born into patriotic Po ...

(1801–1871) (however, according to the latest Ukrainian research, there are no lyrics of the song in any of Padura's song collections), and others believe it was written by the Polish classical composer

Maciej Kamieński Maciej Kamieński (13 October 1734, SopronGrove article states only the country: Slovakia. – 25 January 1821, Warsaw) was a Polish Classical music, classical composer of Slovaks, Slovak origin. He studied music in Sopron, where his patron was ...

(1734–1825). The Polish original was translated into several languages. The song is popular in Poland, Ukraine and Slovakia, and to a lesser extent in Belarus, Russia and the eastern Czech Republic. The tune was popular among Polish soldiers during the Polish-Soviet War, and was also sung by the Polish Home Army guerrillas during World War II. Polish folk singer

Maryla Rodowicz Maria Antonina Rodowicz, known professionally as Maryla Rodowicz, (Polish pronunciation: born 8 December 1945 in Zielona Góra), is a Polish singer, guitarist and actress. Throughout over 50 years of her career, she released twenty Polish and f ...

also performed a popular cover of the song. According to Olga Kharchyshyn, "Hej Sokoły" is based on the 19th century Polish folk song "Żal za Ukrainą", but with a new refrain and opening verses. It first appeared in the current form in the latter half of the 20th century and was subsequently translated from Polish into Ukrainian. The lyrics exist in several versions about a

girl to whom her betrothed, a

cossack The Cossacks , es, cosaco , et, Kasakad, cazacii , fi, Kasakat, cazacii , french: cosaques , hu, kozákok, cazacii , it, cosacchi , orv, коза́ки, pl, Kozacy , pt, cossacos , ro, cazaci , russian: казаки́ or ...

or an uhlan, says goodbye for the last time. It is sometimes presented as a

folk song and/or

folk song.Гей, Соколи
/ref> The lyrics vary only slightly between the two languages.

Lyrics

First verse

;Other verses

Usage during 2022 Russian Invasion of Ukraine

A number of social media videos put out by Ukrainian forces to celebrate victories in the

2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine On 24 February 2022, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, which began in 2014. The invasion has resulted in tens of thousands of deaths on both sides. It has caused Europe's largest refugee crisis since World War II. An ...

feature the song as the backing track.Army Rumour Service
Russian Troop Movements Reported Near Ukraine , Page 4861 , Army Rumour Service
accessdate: 25 June 2022 On 16 April 2022, the General staff of the

Armed Forces of Ukraine , imports = , exports = , history = , ranks = Military ranks of Ukraine , country=Ukraine The Armed Forces of Ukraine ( uk, Збро́йні си́ли Украї́ни), most commonly known ...

put out a video with a version of the song recorded by Pikkardiyska Tertsiya as a show of gratitude towards the military aid from Poland. UA General staff of the armed forces account on youtube
Pikkardiyska Tertsiya Hej, sokoly!
accessdate: 24 March 2023 On 23 March 2023 the Slovak Armed Forces uploaded a video on youtube showing the transfer of four

MiG-29 The Mikoyan MiG-29 (russian: Микоян МиГ-29; NATO reporting name: Fulcrum) is a twin-engine fighter aircraft designed in the Soviet Union. Developed by the Mikoyan design bureau as an air superiority fighter during the 1970s, the Mi ...

fighter jets to Ukraine, featuring a version of the song recorded by the

Military Music Band of the Armed Forces of the Slovak Republic The Military Music Band of the Armed Forces of the Slovak Republic ( Slovak: Vojenská hudba Ozbrojených síl Slovenskej republiky) is a musical element of the Bratislava Military Command of the Slovak Armed Forces that serves as the primary mili ...

. Armed Forces of the Slovak Republics account on youtube
4 STÍHAČKY MIG-29 SME ÚSPEŠNE ODOVZDALI UKRAJINSKÝM BRATOM V ZBRANI , Ozbrojené sily SR
accessdate: 24 March 2023

Notes

External links

Czech text of the song – (c) Martin Adámek, Náchod
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hej Sokoly (Song) Polish folk songs Polish patriotic songs Ukrainian folk songs Ukrainian patriotic songs Slovak songs Works about Cossacks