Misplaced Pages

This article may require copy editing for grammar, style, cohesion, tone, or spelling. You can assist by editing it. (October 2023) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

"Oi, u luzi chervona kalyna"
Image of a 1922 print of the song
Song
Language	Ukrainian
English title	Oh, the Red Viburnum in the Meadow
Released	1914
Genre	patriotic
Songwriter(s)	Stepan Charnetsky

"Oh, the Red Viburnum in the Meadow" (Ukrainian: Ой у лузі червона калина) is a Ukrainian patriotic march first published in 1875 by Volodymyr Antonovych and Mykhailo Drahomanov. It was written in a modern treatment 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 song "Oi u luzi" was in the repertoire of Feodor Chaliapin.

The red viburnum (kalyna in Ukrainian)—a deciduous shrub that grows four to five metres tall—is a national symbol of Ukraine. A silhouette of it is depicted along the edges of the flag of the president of Ukraine.

Following the 2014 annexation by Russia of the Ukrainian Crimean peninsula, and then the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, singing "nationalist anthems" such as Chervona Kalyna in Crimea became punishable by fines and imprisonment.

History

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 (1919-1991). The song was also used by the Ukrainian Insurgent Army.

Red Viburnum berries (kalyna) is a symbol that has been a part of the Ukrainian culture since ancient times.

2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine

In March 2022, the song gained international attention when an Instagram video of an a cappella rendition by Andriy Khlyvnyuk of the Ukrainian band BoomBox singing the first verse of the song was remixed by different artists around the world. The melody was somewhat changed, literally in the first line of the chorus the last syllable is sung in ascending sixth. According to Valentyna Kuzyk, in this variant, the energy of the primordial breath breaks out of stable forms and enters a new life space.

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 in order to join the armed forces. He recorded the video while wearing army fatigues, standing near Sophia Square in Kyiv, Ukraine, and uploaded it to his Instagram account on 27 February, where it became viral.

The first artist to remix Khlyvnyuk's rendition was South African musician The Kiffness in early March. At the end of the same month, Ukrainian ice dancers Oleksandra Nazarova and Maksym Nikitin performed to the song at the 2022 World Figure Skating Championships in protest of the invasion.

In April 2022, Pink Floyd made use of Khlyvnyuk's recording for the vocal track of "Hey, Hey, Rise Up!", a single and a video which the band released in aid of Ukrainian humanitarian relief. In the video, Khlyvnyuk's performance is projected behind the band while they are performing and is partly shown full screen. The song opens with a sample from another recording of Oi u luzi chervona kalyna, by the Veryovka Ukrainian Folk Choir.

Since then, new versions have appeared on YouTube, even remixes of the original remix.

Banned in Crimea

Following the 2014 annexation by Russia of the Ukrainian Crimean peninsula, and then the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, singing "nationalist anthems" such as Chervona Kalyna in Crimea was deemed to discredit the Russian army, and was punished by fines and imprisonment. In September 2022, The Russian occupation authorities in Crimea jailed and fined members of a wedding party for "discrediting" the Russian Armed Forces by playing the song. The singers of the song in an online video were imprisoned and fined.

Sergey Aksyonov, the Russian head of the Crimean peninsula, warned that authorities would punish people harshly for singing such songs. He said that "People who do this are acting like traitors", and that there was a special FSB security service group working on the matter.

Charts

Lyrics

Gallery

• Red Viburnum berries (kalyna), the subject of the song
• A commemorative coin released by the Government of Ukraine in 2022 with the inscription taken from the third line of the song
• A graveyard of Sich Riflemen soldiers near Ternopil. The song was written in their honor.

References

1. Від Хмельниччини до Хливнюка: як змінилася пісня «Ой у лузі червона калина…» за цілі епохи визвольної боротьби
2. "Ой, у лузі червона калина...". Історія легендарного гімну січових стрільців, що сьогодні звучить по-новому на весь світ
3. History of the song "Red Viburnum" is the history of our people
4. Шаляпин, Федор (2017). Страницы моей жизни (in Russian). Litres. p. 189. ISBN 978-5-0409-3491-1.
5. ^ Adams, William Lee (18 March 2022). "Go_A release "Kalyna" to raise funds for Ukraine…and to remind the world it must unite to fight evil". Kalyna (guelder-rose) is a symbol that has been a part of Ukrainian culture since ancient times. Its meanings were transferred through the ages in legends and songs. A broken kalyna tree was a sign of trouble and tragedy; abuse of this tree was a shameful act. Ukrainian people carefully protected it because there was a belief that kalyna grew only next to good people. According to our ancestors, kalyna has a power that brings immortality and can unite generations to fight evil.
6. "Avramenko, O.M., Shabelnykova, L.P. Chapter 12. Riflemen songs. Ukrainian literature. Sixth grade. (textbook)" (in Russian). School.xvatit.com. Archived from the original on April 4, 2023. Retrieved 15 October 2013.
7. Kovalev, Valery (11 March 2016). Саур Могила. Litres. ISBN 978-5-04-002029-4.
8. https://www.instagram.com/p/Cae5TydPAxh/
9. Kuzyk, Valentyna (2022-08-08). "Алгоритми конструювання символічної образності пісні "Ой у лузі червона калина"". МУЗИКА (in Ukrainian). Retrieved 2022-08-12.
10. Ukrainian Folk Song 🇺🇦 ARMY REMIX, Andriy Khlyvnyuk x The Kiffness on YouTube
11. "The Kyivness (The Kiffness) remixes Ukrainian folk song – tops charts worldwide". CapeTalk. Retrieved 2022-03-21.
12. Russell, Susan D. (March 25, 2022). "Nazarova and Nikitin – A Courageous Dance". International Figure Skating.
13. Pink Floyd - Hey Hey Rise Up (feat. Andriy Khlyvnyuk of Boombox) on YouTube
14. "'This is a crazy, unjust attack': Pink Floyd re-form to support Ukraine". The Guardian. 7 April 2022. Retrieved 7 April 2022.
15. Grow, Kory. "David Gilmour: Why I'm Bringing Back Pink Floyd After 28 Years". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 9 April 2022.
16. Хор імені Г. Верьовки - Ой, у лузі червона калина (G. Veryovka Choir - Oh, red viburnum in the meadow) on YouTube.
17. Ой у лузі червона калина (концерт "Доброго вечора! Ми з України!") on YouTube
18. Ukrainian Folk Song Marimba Remix on YouTube
19. Бумбокс - Ой, у лузі червона калина (The Kiffness) and GUITAR (VOVA from My Lions Pride) on YouTube
20. Chervona Kalyna (Червона калина 🇺🇦) The Kiffness Remix 2.0: YAVAS MEGAMIX on YouTube
21. "Crimea Wedding Party Arrested, Fined For Playing Ukrainian Patriotic Song". The Moscow Times. 2022-09-14. Retrieved 2022-09-16.
22. "Miss Crimea Fined for Singing Patriotic Ukrainian Song". The Moscow Times. 2022-10-04. Retrieved 2022-10-04.
23. ^ "Miss Crimea fined for singing patriotic Ukrainian song". The Guardian. 4 October 2022.
24. "Ukraine Airplay Chart for 2022-03-25." TopHit. Retrieved 12 August 2022.
25. "Top Radio Hits Ukraine Monthly Chart March 2022". TopHit. Retrieved 5 August 2022.
26. "Top Radio Hits Ukraine Annual Chart 2022". TopHit. Retrieved 30 December 2022.

v t e Symbols of Ukraine
Symbols of Ukrainian people
Official	Flag list regions Coat of arms list regions Presidential symbols Flag Collar Bulava Seal Peresopnytsia Gospel National colours
Unofficial	Slava Ukraini Vyshyvanka Pysanka Bandura Chervona kalyna Cossack with musket Cossack Mamay Hopak Horilka
Songs	Shche ne vmerla Ukraina Prayer for Ukraine Oi u luzi chervona kalyna Za Ukrainu Zaporizhian March Zrodylys my velykoyi hodyny
People	Taras Shevchenko Volodymyr the Great Yaroslav the Wise Lesya Ukrainka Ivan Franko Bohdan Khmelnytsky Ivan Mazepa Daniel of Galicia
Landmarks	Sofiyivka Park Kyiv Pechersk Lavra Kamianets-Podilskyi Castle Khortytsia Chersonesus Saint Sophia Cathedral Khotyn Fortress
Seven Wonders of Ukraine Greatest Ukrainians

• Ukrainian patriotic songs
• 17th-century songs
• 1914 songs
• 1914 in Ukraine
• Songs about the Russian invasion of Ukraine
• Songs in Ukrainian