Katyusha (song)
 | This article needs additional citations for verification. (February 2008) |
 | This article may require copy editing for grammar, style, cohesion, tone, or spelling. (November 2011) |
"Katyusha", "Katusha" or "Katjusha" (Russian: Катюша) is a Russian wartime song composed in 1938 by Matvei Blanter with lyrics from Mikhail Isakovsky during the Second World War. The song depicts a girl longing for her beloved husband who is off on military service. It was first performed by Valentina Batishcheva in the Column Hall of Moscow's House of the Unions. Later it was performed by Lidiya Ruslanova and other singers. It is part of the repertoire of the Alexandrov Ensemble. In 2010, Russian countertenor Vitas covered a version of this song.
Katyusha is a tender diminutive from the female name Ekaterina (Katherine): Katya is the nickname and Katyusha, a tender diminutive.
The Russian song also gave name to the BM-8, BM-13, and BM-31 "Katyusha" rocket launchers that were built and fielded by the Red Army in World War II.
World War II
The song was first sung by female students from a Russian industrial school in Moscow to bid farewell to Russian soldiers going on the battle front against Nazi Germany in July 1941, who were deeply touched by the song. The song quickly became popular throughout the USSR; it instigates the soldiers to fight against the invading Germans.
Italian song to the tune of Katyusha
Italy surrendered and joined the Allies in 1943. During the next two years (1943–1945) Italian partisans fought against German forces in Italy and Italian Fascists. Felice Cascione (1918–1944) wrote Italian lyrics for the Russian song Katyusha. The song, titled Fischia il vento ("The wind blows"), became (with Bella ciao and La Brigata Garibaldi) one of the most famous partisan anthems.
In 1969 the melody of Katyusha was used as base for the song Casatchok (a free transliteration of the Cyrillic Казачок), sung by Dori Ghezzi.
French version of Katyusha
Performed by Rika Zarai under the name Casatschok.
The Greek version of Katyusha
During the Greek Civil War (1946–1949) Greek partisans, members of the National Liberation Front ("Εθνικό Απελευθερωτικό Μέτωπο", ΕΑΜ) who had also fought against the German Invasion in 1941, wrote their version of Katyusha named "The hymn of EAM" ("Ο ύμνος του ΕΑΜ"). Almost all partisan songs were passed from Panos Tzavelas but were recorded much later by Thanos Mikroutsikos and sung by Maria Dimitriadi. Nowadays there are many versions of this song by various artists and composers. The Greek version of the song speaks about EAM and its achievements during and after the war.
External links
- Катюша / Katyusha — Lyrics and MP3 song, at the Marxists Internet Archive
- Katyusha sung by Vitas
- Article about the song
- Sheet music
- English translation, at Poems Found in Translation
- Lyrics
Use in popular culture
The song was featured as the background theme music for the USSR level of the Nintendo Entertainment System video game Super Dodgeball. A remixed version of the song, composed by DJ Rasputin, was used as the music to which 2005 rhythmic gymnastics world champion Olga Kapranova used in the 2008 Olympic Games for her ribbon routine. The Soviet figure skaters two-time olympic champions and four-time world champions Ekaterina Gordeeva and Sergei Grinkov during the Olympic Games in Calgari (1988) performed their exhibition dance using this song. The song also appears in the film The Deer Hunter and Downfall and its soundtrack CD, albeit under the different name of "Jablotschko". A slightly more upbeat-dance version was featured in the game The Next Tetris.
Nat King Cole recorded a song with the same melody entitled Katusha.
