| "Chervona Ruta" | |
|---|---|
| Song byVolodymyr Ivasiuk | |
| Language | Ukrainian |
| English title | "Red Flower" |
| Written | 1968 |
| Genre | Pop music,beat music |
| Songwriter | Volodymyr Ivasiuk |
"Chervona Ruta" (Ukrainian:«Червона рута»,lit. 'Red Rue') is a popular Ukrainian song written byVolodymyr Ivasiuk in 1968 and performed by many singers. Due to its wide popularity, "Chervona Ruta" is widely considered aUkrainian folk song. It is named after amythological flower, thechervona ruta, which if found turning a red color by a young girl, was meant to bring happiness in love.
The song's popularity peaked with the version performed by the Ukrainian singerSofia Rotaru. "Chervona Ruta" is popularly known in Ukrainian and other ethnic communities that were once part of theSoviet Union and likely to be sung at weddings, karaoke and other social settings.
The song and its melody was written by a 19-year-old student of theChernivtsi Medical Institute,Volodymyr Ivasiuk.[1][2] Volodymyr was inspired by a collection of "kolomyikas" (author of the collection wasVolodymyr Hnatiuk), traditional folk songs/dances ofPokuttia andPrykarpattia, found in his father's library[3]
Ivasiuk was puzzled by the mention of "chervona ruta" in some of the kolomyikas. "Chervona ruta" literally means "red rue", however, the flowers of the plantrue are yellow. According to the local legend, the rue turns red on theDay of Kupala Night 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 propertiesRhododendron myrtifolium, that grows in theCarpathian Mountains in western Ukraine.
The first public performance of "Chervona Ruta" (and debut of Volodymyr Ivasiuk) was on September 13, 1970, at a television broadcast from a theatre inChernivtsi sung by the author and Olena Kuznetsova. In 1971 the Ukrainian pop group "Smerichka" (Ukrainian: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.[2] It was also a multiple prizewinner in other Eastern European countries, sung by other groups.[4]
In 1971 the filmChervona Ruta was made, which featured many of the Ivasiuk's songs, including the song "Chervona Ruta", sung bySofia Rotaru andVasyl Zinkevych.
In 1972 the song was included by the Czech singerPavel Liška in his album "Písničky Pro Každý Den"[5] as the Ukrainian folk song "Až mi dáš znamení". The translation was done by Ronald Kraus.[6] In 1972, the song "Chervona Ruta" was recorded by the Polishskiffle group"No To Co". The hard rock arrangement was made byJerzy Krzemiński.[7]
"Chervona Ruta" was the debut song ofRuslana (who later became winner of theEurovision Song Contest 2004), which she performed at theSlavianski Bazaar in Vitebsk in 1996. For her performance, she won First place with the maximum points (10) from all the jury, and was congratulated by the president ofBelarus.
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.[8]
AKyivan nativeAnna Sedokova when performing the song added some English translation,[9] 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 descentStepan Pasicznyk.
"Chervona Ruta" is one of the most popular Ukrainian songs and has been performed by many singers, among them:
