The
folk composition
The Steep Banks Overflowed dates from the mid-17th century
Khmelnytskyi Uprising. The most popular variant of the song was recorded by Volodymyr Antonovych and Mykhailo Drahomanov during their
ethnographic studies in 1875 in the village of Marianivka, then part of
Yelysavethrad county,
Kherson Governorate. The text was probably composed in the mid-17th century, on the eve of or at the start of the
Khmelnytsky Uprising. The theme of the work, by providing an insight into Ukraine’s situation at the time, calls for an armed struggle for a better future. In 1875, the song was published by Fritz's printing house in Kyiv in the collection «Историческія пѣсни малорусскаго народа. Пѣсни о борьбѣ съ Поляками при Богданѣ Хмельницкомъ.» ("Historical Songs of the Little Russian People. Songs about the struggle against the Poles under Bohdan Khmelnytsky."), with commentary by
Mykhailo Drahomanov and
Volodymyr Antonovych. Soon thereafer, in the 1880s, the arrangement for male choir was made by
Mykola Lysenko. In 1914, just before the
First World War broke out, the director and producer of the
Ukrainska Besida Theatre in
Lviv,
Stepan Charnetskyi, decided that the final verses of the song
Rozlylysya kruti berezhechky became the opening of a new patriotic choral piece,
Oi u luzi chervona kalyna: In 1914, having staged ’s
tragedy about Hetman
Petro Doroshenko, ''
, Charnetskyi was dissatisfied with the final lamenting song Чи я в лузі не калина була? (Chy ya v luzi ne kalyna bula?
, "Was I not a viburnum in the meadow?"). To give the play a more optimistic ending, Charnetskyi incorporated the song Rozlylysja kruti berezhechky'' into the drama. He altered the lyrics slightly so that they would fit better with the play's narrative. However, he left the final verse unchanged. In addition, Stepan Charnetskyi composed a new melody for the song, one reminiscent of folk music. The song soon gained popularity among the Galician youth. Lieutenant Hryhoriy Trukh of the
Ukrainian Sich Riflemen, having heard the final verse of the song in Charnetsky’s adaptation, added three more stanzas to it. The two songs were merged, linking two different historical eras.
Oi u luzi chervona kalyna became a popular song among the Ukrainian Sich Riflemen, and eventually their anthem. In modern times, the song took on new meanings. Instead of ‘glorious Cossacks’, the lyrics now feature ‘our volunteers’. Following the
Declaration of Independence of Ukraine in 1991,
Oi u luzi chervona kalyna became one of several unofficial anthems of Ukraine. Another arrangement of the piece was created by , who composed one of the first
marches for the
Ukrainian Armed Forces military band, combining motifs from the melodies of
Chervona Kalyna by Charnetskyi and ''"Let's Fill, Brothers, the Crystal Cups"'' by
Viktor Lisovol. Thus, the patriotic theme of this folk song embodies the centuries-old traditions of Ukrainian freedom fighters. == Text ==