Throw away the spinning wheel

Kupalo songfolkComposerArranger

Mar 20

Written By andrew waller

Translated Text

Score Ukrainian

Score Transliterated

Throw away the spinning wheel | Кину кужіль на полицю | Kynu kuzhil' na polytsju

Arranger: R. Stelmashchuk | Р. Стельмащук

This folk song depicts a young girl abandoning the tedium of her spinning wheel in favour of working in the fields in order to meet boys and find a husband. A common theme in Ukrainian folk songs is that of a young girl's quest to find true love and happiness. As inspiration, many Ukrainian composers have tapped into the vast repertoire of Ukrainian traditional folk music, much of which had been orally passed down through generations. Most of the music from the Ukrainian folk song genre falls within two main areas: music that reflects the important stages of a person’s life, such as carefree youth, unrequited love, courtship, marriage, motherhood, and music that reflects the seasonal cycle of a predominantly agrarian society. Ukrainian folk song tradition is rich with imagery and conveys an array of emotions.

This lively and amusing folk song is part of Vesnivka’s considerable stable of fun-loving folk songs and has been performed on several concert tours as well as periodically during our regular concert series in Toronto. It invariably gets feet tapping, heads nodding, and elicits smiles and applause.