"Katyusha" (Russian: Катюша [kɐˈtʲuʂə] ^ⓘ – a diminutive form of Екатерина, Yekaterina — Katherine), also transliterated as "Katjuša", "Katioucha", or "Katiusza", is a Soviet-era folk-based song and military march composed by Matvey Blanter in 1938, with lyrics in Russian written by the Soviet poet Mikhail Isakovsky. It gained fame during World War II as a patriotic song, inspiring the population to serve and defend their land in the war effort. The song was still popular in Russia in 1995.^[1] The song is the source of the nickname of the BM-8, BM-13, and BM-31 "Katyusha" rocket launchers that were used by the Red Army in World War II.^[2]

Song

The song is about a Russian woman named Katyusha. Standing on a steep riverbank, she sings a song to her beloved, a soldier serving far away. The theme of the song is that the soldier will protect the Motherland and its people while his grateful woman will keep and protect their love. Its lyrics became relevant during the Second World War, when many Soviet men left their wives and girlfriends to serve in the Soviet Army during World War II, known in Russia as The Great Patriotic War.

Performance history

The song's popularity began to increase with the beginning of Operation Barbarossa launched by Germany against the Soviet Union. The song was sung by female students from a Soviet industrial school in Moscow, bidding farewell to soldiers going to the battle front against Nazi Germany. Its first official performance was by Valentina Batishcheva in the Column Hall of Moscow's House of the Unions, at the State Jazz Orchestra concert in the autumn of 1938.^[3] It has since been performed many times by other famous singers, including Lidia Ruslanova, Tamara Sinyavskaya, Georgi Vinogradov, Eduard Khil, Anna German, Ivan Rebroff, Dmitri Hvorostovsky, Joseph Kobzon and more. "Katyusha" is part of the repertoire of the Alexandrov Ensemble.^[4]

"Katyusha"
Single by the USSR State Jazz Band cond. by Victor Knushevitsky, soloists: Valentina Batishcheva, Pavel Mikhailov and Vsevolod Tyutyunnik
Released	1939
Genre	Patriotic
Label	Aprelevka Record Plant
Composer(s)	Matvey Blanter
Lyricist(s)	Mikhail Isakovsky
Audio
"Katyusha" on YouTube

In other languages

American jazz vocalist Nat King Cole recorded a translated version titled “Katusha” in 1945. This rendition was later released in 1991 under the album The Complete Recordings of The Nat King Cole Trio.

In 1943, the Kingdom of Italy, until then one of the Axis powers, joined the Allies. During the next two years, Italian partisans fought against German forces in Italy and Italian Fascists. Felice Cascione [it] wrote Italian lyrics for "Katyusha". His adaptation, Fischia il vento (The Wind Blows), became one of the most famous partisan anthems, along with La Brigata Garibaldi.

During the last battles on the Eastern Front, the Blue Division used the melody of "Katyusha" for an adaptation called Primavera (Spring), a chant extolling the value of Spanish fascist fighters.^[5]

During the Greek Civil War (1946–1949), Greek partisans who fought against the German invasion in 1941 wrote their version of "Katyusha" named Ο ύμνος του ΕΑΜ (The Hymn of EAM). The text to the melody was written by Vassilis Rotas,^[6] recorded much later by Thanos Mikroutsikos and sung by Maria Dimitriadi.^[7]

It has also been performed by the Syrian Communist Party in Arabic.

The song was translated into Hebrew and performed by 1945, and has been popular ever since in Israel.^[8]

Katyusha is also a popular song sung in the People's Republic of China due to influence from the Soviet Union in the second half of the 20th century and is still widely popular. During the 2015 Moscow Victory Day Parade, the Chinese honor guard contingent led by Li Bentao surprised hundreds of locals when they sang Katyusha during their march back to their living quarters during a nighttime rehearsal.^[9] That same parade saw the song being performed by the Massed Bands of the Moscow Garrison during the march of foreign contingents (specifically that of India, Mongolia, Serbia and China).^[10]

In Indonesia, the Joko Widodo campaign song Goyang Jempol Jokowi Gaspol uses its melody.^[11]

It is a popular song in Iceland (particularly among schoolchildren) where it is known as "Vertu til er vorið kallar á þig" ("Be Ready When Spring Calls"), the lyrics by Tryggvi Þorsteinsson encourage hard work in the hayfields in spring.^[12]

In Finland the best known version (in Finnish) of the song is called "Sörkan sällit", which is also quite popular as a student party song.

In popular culture

"Katyusha" has appeared in numerous works, most often in tandem with Russian or Soviet topics.

The song is sung during the wedding scene of the 1978 film The Deer Hunter.^[13]

The song is played in a level featuring the USSR in the 1989 NES video game Super Dodge Ball.

The song is featured in the 2013 album The Circus At The End Of The World by the band Abney Park.^[14]

A variant of the song appears in the 2018 film Cold War.^[15]

In the Girls und Panzer media franchise, the Russian-style academy Pravda High School uses "Katyusha" as their battle song, though this was removed from Western releases due to copyright. Furthermore, the school's commander, Katyusha, was named after the song.

A major key arrangement of the song can be heard in the Tengen version of Tetris, upon completing certain levels. A similar arrangement also appeared in the Bullet-Proof Software version after completing the final level at highest difficulty setting, albeit in its original minor key.