"Chervona Ruta" ( uk, Червона рута) is a popular Ukrainian song written by

Volodymyr Ivasyuk Volodymyr Mykhailovych Ivasyuk or Volodymyr Ivasiuk ( uk, Володи́мир Миха́йлович Івасю́к) (4 March 1949 – 24–27 April 1979) was a Ukrainian songwriter, composer and poet. He is the author and composer of the wid ...

in 1968 and performed by many singers. The song was never formally

copyright A copyright is a type of intellectual property that gives its owner the exclusive right to copy, distribute, adapt, display, and perform a creative work, usually for a limited time. The creative work may be in a literary, artistic, education ...

ed and due to its wide popularity is considered a Ukrainian folk song. It is named after a

mythological Myth is a folklore genre consisting of narratives that play a fundamental role in a society, such as foundational tales or origin myths. Since "myth" is widely used to imply that a story is not objectively true, the identification of a narrat ...

flower, the chervona ruta, which if found turning a red colour by a young girl, was meant to bring happiness in love. The song's popularity peaked with the version performed by the Ukrainian singer

Sofia Rotaru Sofiia Mykhailivna Yevdokymenko-Rotaru (born 7 August 1947), known as Sofia Rotaru ( uk, Софія Михайлівна Ротару ; russian: link=no, Софи́я Миха́йловна Рота́ру; ro, Sofia Rotaru), is a former Ukrainia ...

. "Chervona Ruta" is popularly known in Ukrainian and other ethnic communities that were once part of the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...

and likely to be sung at weddings, karaoke and other social settings.

History

Rhododendron myrtifolium Chornohora Turkul

The song and its melody was written by a 19-year-old student of the

Chernivtsi Chernivtsi ( uk, Чернівці́}, ; ro, Cernăuți, ; see also other names) is a city in the historical region of Bukovina, which is now divided along the borders of Romania and Ukraine, including this city, which is situated on the upp ...

Medical Institute,

. Volodymyr found in his father's library a collection of " kolomyikas" (author of the collection was Volodymyr Hnatyuk), a traditional folk songs/dance of

Pokuttia Pokuttia, also known as Pokuttya or Pokutia ( uk, Покуття, Pokuttya; pl, Pokucie; german: Pokutien; ro, Pocuția), is a historical area of East-Central Europe, situated between the Dniester and Cheremosh rivers and the Carpathian Mountai ...

and Prykarpattia. Ivasyuk was puzzled by the mention of " chervona ruta" in some of the kolomyjkas. "Chervona ruta" literally means "red rue", however, the flowers of the plant

rue ''Ruta graveolens'', commonly known as rue, common rue or herb-of-grace, is a species of ''Ruta'' grown as an ornamental plant and herb. It is native to the Balkan Peninsula. It is grown throughout the world in gardens, especially for its bluis ...

are yellow. According to the local legend, the rue turns red on the Day of Ivana Kupala for a few minutes. A girl that finds that flower will be happy in love. Chervona ruta in the meaning of "red plant" or "red flower" is also associated with an attractive alpine plant with medicinal properties ''

Rhododendron myrtifolium ''Rhododendron myrtifolium'' ( syn. ''Rhododendron kotschyi'') is a species of flowering plant in the family Ericaceae. This evergreen shrub is common in the high mountain ranges of Eastern Europe, particularly Bulgaria, Romania and Ukraine ...

'', that grows in the

Carpathian Mountains The Carpathian Mountains or Carpathians () are a range of mountains forming an arc across Central Europe. Roughly long, it is the third-longest European mountain range after the Urals at and the Scandinavian Mountains at . The range stretches ...

in western Ukraine.

Performances

The first public performance of "Chervona Ruta" (and debut of Volodymyr Ivasyuk) was on September 13, 1970, at a television broadcast from a theatre in

sung by the author and Olena Kuznetsova. In 1971 the Ukrainian pop group "Smerichka" ( uk, Смерічка) performed "Chervona Ruta", and this further helped the song's rise in popularity. Performed by "Smerichka", the song won the title USSR " Song of the Year" at the 1971 Television Song Festival competition in Moscow. It was also a multiple prizewinner in other Eastern European countries, sung by other groups. In 1971 the film ''Chervona Ruta'' was made, which featured many of the Ivasyuk's songs, including the song "Chervona Ruta", sung by

and

Vasyl Zinkevych Vasyl Ivanovych Zinkevych ( uk, Васи́ль Іва́нович Зінке́вич; born 1 May 1945) is a Soviet and Ukrainian singer, actor, dancer and costume designer. Alongside Nazariy Yaremchuk, Sofia Rotaru and Volodymyr Ivasyuk, Zinkev ...

. In 1972 the song was included by the Czech singer

Pavel Liška Pavel Liška (born 29 January 1972) is a Czech actor. He has appeared in more than fifty films since 1997. Selected filmography References External links * 1972 births Living people Czech male film actors Janáček Academy of Musi ...

in his album "Písničky Pro Každý Den" as the Ukrainian folk song "Až mi dáš znamení". The translation was done by Ronald Kraus. In 1972, the song "Chervona Ruta" was recorded by the Polish

skiffle Skiffle is a genre of folk music with influences from American folk music, blues, country, bluegrass, and jazz, generally performed with a mixture of manufactured and homemade or improvised instruments. Originating as a form in the United States ...

group "No To Co". The hard rock arrangement was made by Jerzy Krzemiński. "Chervona Ruta" was the debut song of

Ruslana Ruslana Stepanivna Lyzhychko ( uk, Руслана Степанівна Лижичко, ''Ruslana Lyzhychko''; born 24 May 1973), known mononymously as Ruslana, is a World Music Award and Eurovision Song Contest winning recording artist, holding ...

(who later became winner of the

Eurovision Song Contest 2004 The Eurovision Song Contest 2004 was the 49th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in Istanbul, Turkey, following the country's victory at the with the song "Everyway That I Can" by Sertab Erener. Organised by the European Broa ...

), which she performed at the

Slavianski Bazaar in Vitebsk The International Festival of Arts “Slavianski Bazaar in Vitebsk” ( be, Міжнародны фестываль мастацтваў «Славянскі базар у Віцебску», uk, Міжнародний фестиваль мист ...

in 1996. For her performance, she won First place with the maximum points (10) from all the jury, and was congratulated by the president of

Belarus Belarus,, , ; alternatively and formerly known as Byelorussia (from Russian ). officially the Republic of Belarus,; rus, Республика Беларусь, Respublika Belarus. is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by R ...

. The song was also performed by Rotaru together with the Ukrainian band " Tanok na Maidani Kongo" and was filmed for the musical film "Kingdom of Skewed Mirrors" produced by TV-channel "Rossiya" in 2008. A

Kyiv Kyiv, also spelled Kiev, is the capital and most populous city of Ukraine. It is in north-central Ukraine along the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2021, its population was 2,962,180, making Kyiv the List of European cities by populat ...

an native

Anna Sedokova Anna Vladimirovna Sedokova ( uk, А́нна Володи́мирівна Сєдоко́ва; russian: А́нна Влади́мировна Седоко́ва, born 16 December 1982) is a Ukrainian singer, actress and television presenter. Sedo ...

when performing the song added some English translation,The concourse of young performers "Five Stars" in Sochi
/ref> but to date the only complete English adaptation/translation and recording of this song has been by British-born singer songwriter of Ukrainian and Irish descent Stepan Pasicznyk. "Chervona Ruta" is one of the most popular Ukrainian songs and has been performed by many singers, among them: *

, Nazariy Yaremchuk

* target="_blank" class="mw-redirect" title="">
* Nazariy Yaremchuk

* Vasyl Zinkevych

* Yaroslav Evdokimov

* Stepan Pasicznyk (English translation)

*

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References

External links

History (Ukrainian, Russian) of the song on a website in memory of Volodymyr Ivasyuk

Short video about 45 years "Chervona Ruta"
{{DEFAULTSORT:Chervona Ruta (Song) Sofia Rotaru songs Ukrainian songs Soviet songs 1968 in the Soviet Union 1968 in Ukraine 1968 songs Volodymyr Ivasyuk songs

History

Performances

See also

References

External links