Wartime Evacuation Music

The Enemy Burned the Hut where I was Born (1945)
Mark Bernes. Music: Matvei Blanter; Lyrics: M. Isakovskii
Description: Isakovskii’s 1945 poem, set to music by Blanter, was a source of such painful memories for so many Soviet citizens that it was banned in the post-war years. It was only recorded in the late 1950s, and quickly gained recognition as a ‘folk’ song.

At Four O’Clock Sharp, June 22 (1941)
N. I. Nemchinov. Popular lyrics sung to the music of Jerzy Peterburzhskii
Description: The first to appear after the Fascist invasion, this war song used the popular melody ‘Blue Kerchief’ with new lyrics by Boris Kovynev. It instantly caught on and spread in a simple recording by a soldier on the Ukraine Front, N. I. Nemchinov on June 29, 1941. There were subsequently many variations and recordings by singing stars, but this simple version provded the most memorable. It speaks of the vicious German attacks and panic-stricken evacuation with an uncommon honesty.

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