Fill the Silence With Your Music!

I have been waiting to write a post about the Ukrainian music I have discovered over the past month and have grown to love. I will write that soon but have to share a pre-taped video message by President Zelenskyy that aired on The Grammys tonight.

I applaud him for using every avenue available to get the message about Ukraine in front of as many people as possible.

I discovered this song early on and listen to it several times each day.

Andriy Khlyvnyuk, the frontman of top Ukrainian band Boombox (Бумбокс) dropped his tour of the US to defend his country. Andriy sang this on the street acapella. The Kiffness, a South African electronic artist asked him if he could put it to music to help raise money for Ukraine. Please keep Andriy in your prayers. A mortar shell blew up in his face a few weeks ago. He has recovered enough to continue the fight.

The song’s title translates as "Oh, the Red Viburnum in the Meadow". It was written in 1914 to honor the Sich Riflemen, a Ukrainian military unit that fought in WW I. The red viburnum or kalyna berry referenced in the song is a national symbol of Ukraine, representing the blood roots and connection to the homeland.

Oh, the Red Viburnum in the Meadow

In the meadow, there a red kalyna, has bent down low ,

For some reason, our glorious Ukraine, has been worried so.

And we’ll take that red kalyna and we will raise it up,

And we, our glorious Ukraine, shall, hey – hey, cheer up – and rejoice!

And we’ll take that red kalyna and we will raise it up,

And we, our glorious Ukraine, shall, hey – hey, cheer up – and rejoice!

Ukrainian Folk Song

Photo by Dmitry Bukhantsov on Unsplash