Polyushko Polye ღ Russian Red Army Choir

Polyushko-polye (Russian: По́люшко-по́ле) is a Soviet Russian-language song. Polye means "field" in Russian, "polyushko" is a diminutive/hypocoristic form for "polye". It is known as Meadowland or Meadowlands in English.

The music was by Lev Knipper, with lyrics by Viktor Gusev in 1933. The song was part of the symphony with chorus (lyrics by Gusev) "A Poem about a Komsomol Soldier" (Поэма о бойце-комсомольце) composed in 1934. The original lyrics are sung from the perspective of a Red Army recruit, who proudly leaves his home to keep watch against his homeland's enemies.

The song was covered many times by many artists in the Soviet Union, including a well-known rock version recorded by The Singing Guitars (Поющие гитáры), released c. 1967. The song has been regularly performed and recorded by the Alexandrov Ensemble, and it is listed in the Alexandrov Ensemble discography.

Full version at London 1945 Youth Congress:
At the opening of the London 1945 Youth Congress, the full version of Polyushko-polye was performed by a chord of 6.000 members. The music for this performance was composed by musician L. A. Stokovsky, based on the originial music of L. Knipper.

Outside Russia, several arrangements of the tune are known under the title The Cossack Patrol, particularly a version by Ivan Rebroff, and some under other titles including Meadowland, Cavalry of the Steppes and Gone with the Wind.

In France, a French version called Plaine, ma plaine was made famous during the 1960' by the male choir Les Compagnons de la chanson, from lyrics written by the French actor Francis Blanche.

Origa, a Russian singer based in Japan, released her own version with altered lyrics in 1998.

Cultural influence:
(^_^)>http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polyushko-polye
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