Song about the Towel

"Пісня про рушник"
Song
LanguageUkrainian
English title"Song about the Towel(Rushnyk)"
Released1958 (1958)
Composer(s)Platon Maiboroda
Lyricist(s)Andriy Malyshko

The Song about the Rushnyk (embroidered towel-cloth) (Ukrainian: Пісня про рушник, romanized: Pisnia pro rushnyk), a song also known as Rushnychok,[1] Ballad to Mother,[1] or "My dear mother" (Ridna maty moya),[2] is a popular Ukrainian song based on a poem by Andriy Malyshko.[3][4] The poem and song recount a lyrical hero whose mother gives him a rushnyk, an embroidered cloth serving as a sort of familial talisman through one's life cycle, draped over religious icons and ritual foods, and also used for handfasting or as a prosperity blessing at weddings.[5][6][7][8]

It was set to music by composer Platon Maiboroda (a native of the Poltava Region) for the soundtrack of the 1958 Soviet film Young Years (Ukrainian: Літа молодії) where it was performed by Oleksandr Taranets.[9] The song was later popularized by Dmytro Hnatyuk, who is most often associated with this song. It has since been sung by such singers and groups as Kvitka Cisyk, Yaroslav Evdokimov, Aleksandr Malinin, Alla Pugacheva, Igor Krutoy, Syabry,[10] Renata Babak,[11] and Rushnychok.[12]

The song has been translated into a number of languages and is popular within Ukraine as well as the Ukrainian diaspora, as demonstrated by the Ukrainian-Canadian group Rushnychok taking its name from the song.[13] It is dedicated to motherly love and alternately titled "Ballad to Mother."[1]

English lyrics

[edit]

by Stepan Pasicznyk (United Kingdom)

Dearest mother of mine,
Tell me why you aren't sleeping?
Why you woke me to gaze
At the stars up above?

Did you know I was leaving?
Tell me why ... was that why you were grieving,
Was the cloth that you gave me
As a sign of your love?

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b c Ballad to Mother (Rushnychok), retrieved 2023-08-08
  2. ^ Maiboroda, Platon. "Dearest mother of mine - Рідна Мати Моя". www.sheetmusicplus.com. Retrieved 2023-08-14.
  3. ^ "Пісня про рушник — Андрій Малишко, повний текст твору". www.ukrlib.com.ua. Retrieved 2023-08-14.
  4. ^ "Рідна мати моя | Пісня про рушник". Українська пісня. Retrieved 2023-08-14.
  5. ^ "Ukrainian Wedding Traditions: Rushnyk | St Volodymyr Cultural Centre and SVCC Banquet Hall". Retrieved 2023-08-14.
  6. ^ "Ritual cloth and its importance in tradition explained at Ukrainian Heritage Museum". SaskToday.ca. 2016-07-19. Retrieved 2023-08-14.
  7. ^ "Polish Rushnyk Ŗoses | RusClothing.com". www.rusclothing.com. Retrieved 2023-08-14.
  8. ^ "Rushnyky: Ritual Cloths of the Cossack Lands of Ukraine". Ukrainian History and Education Center. Retrieved 2023-08-14.
  9. ^ Годы молодые (1958) - Літа молодії - информация о фильме (in Russian)
  10. ^ Songs of the Syabry ensemble (ПЕСНИ Ансамбля СЯБРЫ). Syabry
  11. ^ Текст, акорди "Пісня про рушник" (in Ukrainian)
  12. ^ Rushnychok - Volume One, 1973, retrieved 2023-08-08
  13. ^ Rushnychok - Volume One, 1973, retrieved 2023-08-14
[edit]
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Song_about_the_Towel&oldid=1254965541"