Volga Boatman
from the MMF! Songbook

History
Volga Boatman also called Volga Boat Song or The Volga Burlak's Song is a popular traditional Russian folksong collected by Mily Balakirev. It is a genuine barge-haulers' shanty that was inspired by was Ilya Yefimovich Repin's painting, Burlaks on the Volga, which depicts the hardship of life for people in Czarist Russia.

Lyrics
Yo, heave ho! Yo, heave ho!
Once more, once again, still once more.

Now we fell the stout birch tree,
Now we pull hard: one, two, three.
Ay-da, da, ay-da!
Ay-da, da, ay-da!
Now we fell the stout birch tree.
Yo, heave ho!
Hey, hey, let's heave a-long the way,
To the sun we sing our song.

Yo, heave ho! Yo, heave ho!
Once more, once again, still once more.

As the barges float along,
To the sun we sing our song.
Ay-da, da, ay-da!
Ay-da, da, ay-da!
To the sun we sing our song.
Hey, hey, let's heave a-long the way,
To the sun we sing our song.

Yo, heave ho! Yo, heave ho!
Once more, once again, still once more.

Volga, Volga our pride,
Mighty stream so deep and wide.
Ay-da, da, ay-da!
Ay-da, da, ay-da!
Mighty stream so deep and wide.
Volga, Volga you're our pride.

Yo, heave ho! Yo, heave ho!
Once more, once again, still once more.

Free Printable Sheet Music

Volga Boatman for Easy/Level 2 Piano Solo

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