What music / song comes to your mind when you hear the words "The World Anthem of Freedom"?
Oh, the Red Viburnum in the Meadow (Ukrainian: Ой у лузі червона калина - Oi u luzi chervona kalyna) is a Ukrainian patriotic march first published in 1875 by Volodymyr Antonovych and Mykhailo Drahomanov. 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, it was later adopted by both the Ukrainian People's Army of the Ukrainian War of Independence and the Second World War-era Ukrainian Insurgent Army. This song is known to have many versions and covers.
Ukrainian rock star Andriy Khlyvnyuk and his group 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.
Then the song gained international attention and now it's an international Anthem of Freedom.
One of the first remix for this song was done by South African electronic artist, The Kiffness.
"My love & thoughts are with the people of Ukraine. I hope this video helps in some small way. As promised, we agreed that all royalty earnings from this video will be donated to humanitarian aid for the Ukrainian armed forces.
With love from South Africa." - The Kiffness.
"The response to "Oy U Luzi Chervona Kalyna" with Бумбокс has been incredible. In less than a day, the song has accrued over $7000 in royalties from Facebook, Bandcamp & Youtube. It gives me great pleasure to give all of that back to Ukraine's aid."
The video on their YouTube channel has now been viewed by over 13 million people.
At the end of March, 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 "Oh, the Red Viburnum...", by the Veryovka Ukrainian Folk Choir.
The video on their YouTube channel has now been viewed by over 11 million people.
German singer Marlaine Maas is the first artist to perform a cover of the anthem of the Ukrainian Sich Riflemen “Oh in the Meadow a Red Kalyna” in other languages. Along with the original Ukrainian version, she sang it in German, English, and French.
"I was deeply touched by this song and it definitely raised my spirit.Then suddenly I had this idea of making a European version of it, so that many people all over the world would understand the soul of this song and get their spirits lifted,too. All royaties from this song will be used to support Ukraine of course!
Thank you so much for Andriy Khlyvnyuk & The Kiffness - for your creation of this Ukrainian Folk Song.
You made me cry for hours and were the origin and Inspiration to my rendition.
God bless you" - Marlaine Maas.
The video on her YouTube channel has now been viewed by over 2 million people.
Since then, new versions have appeared on YouTube, even remixes of the original remix.
People all over the world are singing this song:
The video, performed by the famous Ukrainian singers, has been viewed by more than 24 million people on YouTube.
For those who would like to join the movement of freedom and show their support for Ukraine are welcome to download the song.
P.S. The red viburnum of the song (kalyna in Ukrainian)—a deciduous shrub that grows four to five metres tall—is referenced throughout Ukrainian folklore.
I have all ways had just one single favourite piece of music, "What a Wonderful World" by Louis Armstrong.
Now its two favourites and
without a doubt "Oh, the Red Viburnum in the Meadow" makes the top of my list.