30 Days of Ukrainian Poetry - Day 22 - "The Glory and the Freedom of Ukraine Has Not Yet Perished"

Hello on this fine Day 22! As you may have noticed by the appearance for the first time in a while of a more typical, non-poetry-related blog entry, today is Flag Day in Ukraine, and tomorrow starts off the three-day Independence Day weekend. So, in lieu of finding a poem to read, I decided to sing the national anthem. Like our own US anthem, the Ukrainian anthem is a poem that somebody other than the author then set to music, and which later on was adopted as the national anthem. Also like the US anthem, usually only the first part of the poem is sung.

The author of the text, Pavlo Chubynskiy, allegedly wrote the text in half an hour while at a party. The story goes that some Serbian students studying in Kyiv had sung a patriotic song at this party, which inspired Pavlo. He immediately hopped into an adjacent room and wrote this poem that, more than a hundred years later, would become Ukraine's national anthem. The words have several times been changed slightly for the official version of the anthem, and I still get confused occasionally on which version is the "correct" version.

Ще не вмерла України

Павло Чубинський

Ще не вмерла України ні слава, ні воля,
Ще нам, браття-українці, усміхнеться доля.
Згинуть наші вороженьки, як роса на сонці,
Запануємо ми, браття, у своїй сторонці.

Душу, тіло ми положим за нашу свободу
І покажем, що ми, браття, козацького роду.

Станем, браття, в бій кривавий від Сяну до Дону,
В ріднім краї панувати не дамо нікому.
Чорне море ще всміхнеться, дід Дніпро зрадіє.
Ще у нашій Україні доленька наспіє.

Душу, тіло ми положим за нашу свободу
І покажем, що ми, браття, козацького роду.

А завзяття, праця щира ще свого докаже,
Ще ся волі в Україні піснь гучна розляже,
За Карпати відіб’ється, згомонить степами,
України слава стане поміж народами.

Душу, тіло ми положим за нашу свободу
І покажем, що ми, браття, козацького роду.

The Glory and the Freedom of Ukraine Have Not Yet Died*

Pavlo Chubynskiy

Translation by Andrea Wenglowskyj

Ukraine has not yet died, nor her glory, nor her freedom,
Upon us, fellow Ukrainians, fate shall smile once more.
Our enemies will vanish like dew in the sun,
And we too shall rule, brothers, in a free land of our own.

Souls and bodies we'll lay down, all for our freedom,
And we'll show that we, brothers, are of the Cossack nation!

We'll stand, brothers, in bloody battle, from the Syan to the Don,
We will not allow others to rule in our motherland.
The Black Sea will smile and grandfather Dnieper will rejoice,
For in our own Ukraine fortune shall shine again.

Souls and bodies we'll lay down, all for our freedom,
And we'll show that we, brothers, are of the Cossack nation!

Our persistence and our sincere toils will be rewarded,
And freedom's song will throughout all of Ukraine resound.
Echoing off the Carpathians, and across the steppes rumbling,
Ukraine's fame and glory will be known among all nations.

Souls and bodies we'll lay down, all for our freedom,
And we'll show that we, brothers, are of the Cossack nation!

*This translation goes by an older version of the text than what was officially adopted as the national anthem. The words have been changed slightly, so that instead of the first line meaning "Ukraine has not yet died, nor have glory and freedom", it instead means "the glory and freedom of Ukraine have not yet died". I used the title of the national anthem here, although the translator uses the older title "Ukraine Has Not Yet Died". There are many good English translations to choose from, based on various Ukrainian versions that differ slightly from one another, so I recommend you go a-googling if you want to find out more.

Now for my rusty, smoke-inhibited singing. Someone is always burning something somewhere around here, unfortunately. The upward angle from my iPhone is certainly not flattering for the somewhat awkward act of singing, and I apologize to all my former choir directors for how loudly I am breathing. That said, I love singing this anthem. I join in every time I hear it (which is quite often, as I live near the main square). I've often found myself stopping in the middle of what I'm doing in the kitchen if I hear it play, so I can stand at the window and look out at whatever assembly of people has gathered and sing along.

And now for a grander, more polished rendition: footage from last year's Independence Day parade in Kyiv. I feel it's impossible not to feel inspired watching it.

Вітаю всім з днем прапора - і завтра, з днем незалежності!
A happy Flag Day and Independence Day to all!