The Volga Boatmen being the Burlak peasants, who were migrant workers along the Volga. They hitched themselves up and pulled barges along the river.
Maybe mules were a luxury.
In any case, the barges have tugboats with motors now, and there are no more Burlaks. A famous painting and this song remain.
The tune is here.
Russian:
Ey, ukhnem!
Ey, ukhnem!
Yeshcho razik, yeshcho da raz!
Ey, ukhnem!
Ey, ukhnem!
Yeshcho razik, yeshcho da raz!
Razovyom my beryozu,
Razovyom my kudryavu!
Ai-da, da ai-da,
Ai-da, da ai-da,
Razovyom my kudryavu.
Razovyom my kudryavu.
Ey, ukhnem!
Ey, ukhnem!
Yeshcho razik,
yeshcho da raz!
My po berezhku idyom,
Pesnyu solnyshku poyom.
Ai-da, da ai-da,
Ai-da, da ai-da,
Pesnyu solnyshku poyom.
Ey, Ey, tyani kanat silney!
Pesnyu solnyshku poyom.
Ey, ukhnem!
Ey, ukhnem!
Yeshcho razik, yeshcho da raz!
Ekh, ty, Volga, mat'-reka,
Shiroka i gluboka,
Ai-da, da ai-da,
Ai-da, da ai-da,
Volga, Volga, mat'-reka
Ey, ukhnem!
Ey, ukhnem!
Yeshcho razik, yeshcho da raz!
Ey, ukhnem!
Ey, ukhnem!
English:
Yo, heave ho!
Yo, heave ho!
Once more, once again,
still once
more
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 pull hard: one, two,
three.
Now we pull hard: one, two,
three.
Yo, heave ho!
Yo, heave ho!
Once more, once again,
still once
more
As we walk along the shore,
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
Oh, you, Volga, mother river,
Mighty stream so deep and wide.
Ay-da, da, ay-da!
Ay-da, da, ay-da!
Volga, Volga, mother river.
Yo, heave ho!
Yo, heave ho!
Once more, once again, still once
more
Yo, heave ho!
Yo, heave ho!
As a song of Russian peasants, the tune has become part of Russian nationalism, and has been covered by many 20th-century singers, among them The Russian Red Army Choir and Ivan Rebroff. Hell, even Paul Robeson got in on the act, and he's not even Russian. Then again, Rebroff covered Ol' Man River, so I guess it's fair.