The "Song of the Volga Boatmen" (known in Russian as Эй, ухнем! y, ukhnem!, "Yo, heave-ho!" after the refrain) is a well-known traditional

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-ei ...

n song collected by Mily Balakirev and published in his book of folk songs in 1866. It was sung by

burlak A burlak ( rus, бурла́к, p=bʊrˈlak) was a towpath puller in Russian Empire. Overview The exact origin of the word is unknown. Different versions include old middle-German ''bûrlach'' (working team with fixed rules, artel), or Tatar '' ...

s, or barge-haulers, on the

Volga River The Volga (; russian: Во́лга, a=Ru-Волга.ogg, p=ˈvoɫɡə) is the longest river in Europe. Situated in Russia, it flows through Central Russia to Southern Russia and into the Caspian Sea. The Volga has a length of , and a catch ...

. Balakirev published it with only one verse (the first). The other two verses were added at a later date.

Ilya Repin Ilya Yefimovich Repin (russian: Илья Ефимович Репин, translit=Il'ya Yefimovich Repin, p=ˈrʲepʲɪn); fi, Ilja Jefimovitš Repin ( – 29 September 1930) was a Russian painter, born in what is now Ukraine. He became one of the ...

's famous painting '' Barge Haulers on the Volga'' depicts such burlaks in Tsarist Russia toiling along the Volga. The song was popularized by

Feodor Chaliapin Feodor Ivanovich Chaliapin ( rus, Фёдор Ива́нович Шаля́пин, Fyodor Ivanovich Shalyapin, ˈfʲɵdər ɪˈvanəvʲɪtɕ ʂɐˈlʲapʲɪn}; April 12, 1938) was a Russian opera singer. Possessing a deep and expressive bass v ...

, and has been a favorite concert piece of bass singers ever since. Bill Finegan's jazz arrangement for the

Glenn Miller Alton Glen Miller (March 1, 1904 – December 15, 1944) was an American big band founder, owner, conductor, composer, arranger, trombone player and recording artist before and during World War II, when he was an officer in the US Army Air Forc ...

band took the song to #1 in the US charts in 1941. Russian composer

Alexander Glazunov Alexander Konstantinovich Glazunov; ger, Glasunow (, 10 August 1865 – 21 March 1936) was a Russian composer, music teacher, and conductor of the late Russian Romantic period. He was director of the Saint Petersburg Conservatory between 190 ...

based one of the themes of his symphonic poem "Stenka Razin" on the song. Spanish composer

Manuel De Falla Manuel de Falla y Matheu (, 23 November 187614 November 1946) was an Andalusian Spanish composer and pianist. Along with Isaac Albéniz, Francisco Tárrega, and Enrique Granados, he was one of Spain's most important musicians of the first ...

wrote an arrangement of the song, which was published under the name ''Canto de los remeros del Volga (del cancionero musical ruso)'' in 1922.Hess, Carol A. ''Sacred Passions: The Life and Music of Manuel de Falla'', Oxford University Press, 2005, p. 134. . He did so at the behest of diplomat Ricardo Baeza, who was working with the

League of Nations The League of Nations (french: link=no, Société des Nations ) was the first worldwide intergovernmental organisation whose principal mission was to maintain world peace. It was founded on 10 January 1920 by the Paris Peace Conference th ...

to provide financial relief for the more than two million Russian refugees who had been displaced and imprisoned during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

. All proceeds from the song's publication were donated to this effort.

Igor Stravinsky Igor Fyodorovich Stravinsky (6 April 1971) was a Russian composer, pianist and conductor, later of French (from 1934) and American (from 1945) citizenship. He is widely considered one of the most important and influential 20th-century clas ...

made an arrangement for orchestra.

First publications and recordings

A version of the song was recorded by Mily Balakirev (a Russian composer) from Nikolay Aleynikov in

Nizhny Novgorod Nizhny Novgorod ( ; rus, links=no, Нижний Новгород, a=Ru-Nizhny Novgorod.ogg, p=ˈnʲiʐnʲɪj ˈnovɡərət ), colloquially shortened to Nizhny, from the 13th to the 17th century Novgorod of the Lower Land, formerly known as Gork ...

in 1860 or 1861. Already in 1866, the musician published it in his book ''A collection of Russian folk songs'' (russian: «Сборникъ русскихъ народныхъ пѣсенъ»; 1866), with his own arrangement. The first released version of the song was probably recorded in Russia in 1900 by Alexander Makarov-Yunev (russian: ) on

Gramophone A phonograph, in its later forms also called a gramophone (as a trademark since 1887, as a generic name in the UK since 1910) or since the 1940s called a record player, or more recently a turntable, is a device for the mechanical and analogu ...

(#22086).

Lyrics

The English lyrics above fit the melody. A more accurate translation of some lines are:

Notable recordings and arrangements

The song was arranged by Feodor Koenemann for

Chaliapin Feodor Ivanovich Chaliapin ( rus, Фёдор Ива́нович Шаля́пин, Fyodor Ivanovich Shalyapin, ˈfʲɵdər ɪˈvanəvʲɪtɕ ʂɐˈlʲapʲɪn}; April 12, 1938) was a Russian opera singer. Possessing a deep and expressive bass vo ...

. That Chaliapin's version became one of the most popular in Russia and has been released several times (e.g., in 1922, 1927, 1936). In 1905,

created his piece ''Ey, ukhnem'' based on the Balakirev's tune. In April 1917,

was asked by

Sergei Diaghilev Sergei Pavlovich Diaghilev ( ; rus, Серге́й Па́влович Дя́гилев, , sʲɪˈrɡʲej ˈpavləvʲɪdʑ ˈdʲæɡʲɪlʲɪf; 19 August 1929), usually referred to outside Russia as Serge Diaghilev, was a Russian art critic, pa ...

to orchestrate it for wind instruments, as the opening piece of a concert that would normally have begun with the Russian national anthem "God Save the Tsar", except that

Tsar Nicholas II Nicholas II or Nikolai II Alexandrovich Romanov; spelled in pre-revolutionary script. ( 186817 July 1918), known in the Russian Orthodox Church as Saint Nicholas the Passion-Bearer,. was the last Emperor of Russia, King of Congress Polan ...

had recently abdicated. Stravinsky worked all night to have the music ready, assisted by

Lord Berners Gerald Hugh Tyrwhitt-Wilson, 14th Baron Berners (18 September 188319 April 1950), also known as Gerald Tyrwhitt, was a British composer, novelist, painter, and aesthete. He was also known as Lord Berners. Biography Early life and education ...

and Ernest Ansermet. Czech composer

Vítězslav Novák Vítězslav Augustín Rudolf Novák (5 December 1870 – 18 July 1949) was a Czech composer and academic teacher at the Prague Conservatory. Stylistically, he was part of the neo-romantic tradition, and his music is considered an important ...

utilizes the main motif from ''Song of the Volga Boatmen'' in his ''Májová symfonie'' (''May Symphony'', Op. 73, 1943), for soloists, mixed chorus, and orchestra. A translated vocal version was sung by

Paul Robeson Paul Leroy Robeson ( ; April 9, 1898 – January 23, 1976) was an American bass-baritone concert artist, stage and film actor, professional American football, football player, and activist who became famous both for his cultural accomplish ...

. The first two lines of the song, in English, were used in George Formby's 1934 song, Madame Moscovitch. The Boston Pops Orchestra conducted by Arthur Fiedler recorded the Glazunov arrangement of the tune in New York City on June 30, 1937. The song, or at least the tune, was popularized in the mid-20th century through an instrumental jazz version played by the

Glenn Miller Orchestra Glenn Miller and His Orchestra was an American swing dance band formed by Glenn Miller in 1938. Arranged around a clarinet and tenor saxophone playing melody, and three other saxophones playing harmony, the band became the most popular and com ...

. Glenn Miller released the song as an RCA Bluebird 78 single, B-11029-A, in 1941 in a swing jazz arrangement by Bill Finegan which reached no. 1 on the ''Billboard'' pop singles chart in a 10-week chart run. Not in copyright, the song was not subject to the 1941 ASCAP boycott, allowing for more radio play that year. In 1965, Leonid Kharitonov, together with the Russian Red Army Choir, released a recording.

Billy Squier William Haislip Squier (, born May 12, 1950) is an American rock musician and singer who had a string of arena rock and crossover hits in the early 1980s. His best-known songs include " The Stroke", " Lonely Is the Night", "My Kinda Lover", " I ...

included the Volga Boatmen melody as counterpoint in his 1981 song "

The Stroke "The Stroke" is a song written and recorded by American rock artist Billy Squier. It was released in 1981 as the debut single from his 3× Platinum album '' Don't Say No''. This was Squier's first single to chart, reaching No. 17 on the US ''Bi ...

" and may have sampled it from the 1965 Red Army Chorus recording. The memorable melody of "The Song of the Volga Boatmen" was used in various media, generally as background music; a notable example being found in the video game Punch-Out!! for NES where it is the entry theme of the Russian boxer Soda Popinski. Some uses, particularly those portending doom or despair, employ only the iconic four-note beginning; others go so far as to add new, often wryly humorous, lyrics, such as the "Birthday Dirge".The Birthday Dirge

References

External links

YouTube: Song of the Volga Boatmen
Performed by Kovcheg Aca Pella; Five males, including two basso profundo. * .
YouTube: Song of the Volga Boatmen
— sung in the tradition of

by Leonid Kharitonov with the Alexandrov Ensemble, 1965.
YouTube: Song of the Volga Boatmen
—

.
YouTube: Song of the Volga Boatmen
—

and his orchestra.
YouTube: Song of the Volga Boatmen
— translated Chinese version performed by the Male Choir of the People's Armed Police.
YouTube: Song of the Volga Boatmen
— Performed by

Zivan Saramandic Zione ( fa, زيوان, also Romanized as Zīvān) is a village in , Fashapuyeh District Fashapuyeh District ( fa, بخش فشاپویه) is a district (bakhsh) in Ray County, Tehran Province, Iran. At the 2006 census, its population was 29,343 ...

, famous Serbian opera singer and orchestra of Russian folksongs Daniluska. {{DEFAULTSORT:Song of the Volga Boatmen, The Russian folk songs Sea shanties Songs about rivers Songs about boats Songs about occupations Year of song unknown Feodor Chaliapin songs Songs about Russia 1941 singles

First publications and recordings

Lyrics

Notable recordings and arrangements

See also

References

External links