White Army, Black Baron
Encyclopedia
White Army, Black Baron is a marching song
written by Pavel Grigor'ev and composed by Samuil Pokrass
. Written in 1920, during the Russian Civil War
, the song was meant as a combat anthem
for the Red Army
.
In a Soviet-era animation set to the song, the march is sung by Ivan Baranov. A version (of the song, set instead to images of the period, not an animation) with English subtitles also exists on YouTube
. Both versions omit the third verse. A version performed by the Red Army Choir
, which repeats the first verse in place of the third verse, is also on YouTube.
groups collectively termed the "White Army", and the "Black Baron" is a reference to Pёtr Nikolaevič Wrangel
, a commanding General of some of the White military groups in southern Russia
during the Russian Civil War
and a leading figure of the time. The nickname comes from the alleged penchant that Wrangel had for wearing and dressing some of his elite units in black uniforms.
The reference to "the British
seas" actually means "nearly Britain
" and "the taiga
" in the song refers to the Russian Far East
and Siberia
(other Russian to English translations use "wild forest" instead of "taiga"); taken together as in the song, the reference is meant to indicate the expanse over which the Red Army
claimed superior prowess ("the Red Army is the strongest!").
The term "Revvoensoviet" in the second verse is a contraction
or portmanteau of "Revolutionary Military Council
" or "Revolutionary War Soviet." (Cyrillic: Революционный Военный Совет; transliteration Revoljucionnyj Voennyj Sovet.)
in the 1920s by German Communists
(see also Bavarian Socialist Republic and The Reichswehr and the Revolution). Some German versions are alleged to have replaced the first line with "White riffraff, noble scum" instead of the original "White Army, Black Baron."
A popular variant of the song, "Die Arbeiter von Wien," was written by Fritz Brügel in 1927 and set to the melody of the song. It became popular through its use by Austrian socialists (see also Republikanischer Schutzbund
) who fought the Dollfuss regime
in the short-lived Austrian Civil War
in February 1934. Lyrics for this variant (in German) are accessible online.
Also, the Greek song 'Black Crows with Sharp Talons' has the same tune and rhythm but different lyrics.
A Turkish version is known as "Avusturya İşçi Marşı" - Workers March from Austria (as the march has been adopted from German speaking countries) has also the same tune with different internationalist lyrics.
March (music)
A march, as a musical genre, is a piece of music with a strong regular rhythm which in origin was expressly written for marching to and most frequently performed by a military band. In mood, marches range from the moving death march in Wagner's Götterdämmerung to the brisk military marches of John...
written by Pavel Grigor'ev and composed by Samuil Pokrass
Samuel Pokrass
Samuel Yakovlevich Pokrass was a Jewish American composer. During the Soviet civil war in 1920, with poet P...
. Written in 1920, during the Russian Civil War
Russian Civil War
The Russian Civil War was a multi-party war that occurred within the former Russian Empire after the Russian provisional government collapsed to the Soviets, under the domination of the Bolshevik party. Soviet forces first assumed power in Petrograd The Russian Civil War (1917–1923) was a...
, the song was meant as a combat anthem
Anthem
The term anthem means either a specific form of Anglican church music , or more generally, a song of celebration, usually acting as a symbol for a distinct group of people, as in the term "national anthem" or "sports anthem".-Etymology:The word is derived from the Greek via Old English , a word...
for the Red Army
Red Army
The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army started out as the Soviet Union's revolutionary communist combat groups during the Russian Civil War of 1918-1922. It grew into the national army of the Soviet Union. By the 1930s the Red Army was among the largest armies in history.The "Red Army" name refers to...
.
In a Soviet-era animation set to the song, the march is sung by Ivan Baranov. A version (of the song, set instead to images of the period, not an animation) with English subtitles also exists on YouTube
YouTube
YouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....
. Both versions omit the third verse. A version performed by the Red Army Choir
Red Army Choir
The A.V. Alexandrov Russian army twice red-bannered academic song and dance ensemble , in short, the Alexandrov ensemble is a performing ensemble that serves as the official army choir of the Russian armed forces...
, which repeats the first verse in place of the third verse, is also on YouTube.
Background
The "White Army" referenced in the lyrics refers to the military arms of various anti-BolshevikBolshevik
The Bolsheviks, originally also Bolshevists , derived from bol'shinstvo, "majority") were a faction of the Marxist Russian Social Democratic Labour Party which split apart from the Menshevik faction at the Second Party Congress in 1903....
groups collectively termed the "White Army", and the "Black Baron" is a reference to Pёtr Nikolaevič Wrangel
Pyotr Nikolayevich Wrangel
Baron Pyotr Nikolayevich Wrangel or Vrangel was an officer in the Imperial Russian army and later commanding general of the anti-Bolshevik White Army in Southern Russia in the later stages of the Russian Civil War.-Life:Wrangel was born in Mukuliai, Kovno Governorate in the Russian Empire...
, a commanding General of some of the White military groups in southern Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
during the Russian Civil War
Russian Civil War
The Russian Civil War was a multi-party war that occurred within the former Russian Empire after the Russian provisional government collapsed to the Soviets, under the domination of the Bolshevik party. Soviet forces first assumed power in Petrograd The Russian Civil War (1917–1923) was a...
and a leading figure of the time. The nickname comes from the alleged penchant that Wrangel had for wearing and dressing some of his elite units in black uniforms.
The reference to "the British
British Empire
The British Empire comprised the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom. It originated with the overseas colonies and trading posts established by England in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. At its height, it was the...
seas" actually means "nearly Britain
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
" and "the taiga
Taiga
Taiga , also known as the boreal forest, is a biome characterized by coniferous forests.Taiga is the world's largest terrestrial biome. In North America it covers most of inland Canada and Alaska as well as parts of the extreme northern continental United States and is known as the Northwoods...
" in the song refers to the Russian Far East
Russian Far East
Russian Far East is a term that refers to the Russian part of the Far East, i.e., extreme east parts of Russia, between Lake Baikal in Eastern Siberia and the Pacific Ocean...
and Siberia
Siberia
Siberia is an extensive region constituting almost all of Northern Asia. Comprising the central and eastern portion of the Russian Federation, it was part of the Soviet Union from its beginning, as its predecessor states, the Tsardom of Russia and the Russian Empire, conquered it during the 16th...
(other Russian to English translations use "wild forest" instead of "taiga"); taken together as in the song, the reference is meant to indicate the expanse over which the Red Army
Red Army
The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army started out as the Soviet Union's revolutionary communist combat groups during the Russian Civil War of 1918-1922. It grew into the national army of the Soviet Union. By the 1930s the Red Army was among the largest armies in history.The "Red Army" name refers to...
claimed superior prowess ("the Red Army is the strongest!").
The term "Revvoensoviet" in the second verse is a contraction
Contraction
Contraction may refer to:In physiology:* Muscle contraction, one that occurs when a muscle fiber lengthens or shortens** Uterine contraction, contraction of the uterus, such as during childbirth* Contraction, a stage in wound healing...
or portmanteau of "Revolutionary Military Council
Revolutionary Military Council
Revolutionary Military Council of the Republic or Revvoyensoviet Revolutionary Military Council of the Republic or Revvoyensoviet Revolutionary Military Council of the Republic or Revvoyensoviet (Революционный Военный Совет, Revolyutsionny Voyenny Sovyet; Реввоенсовет, Revvoyensovyet; also...
" or "Revolutionary War Soviet." (Cyrillic: Революционный Военный Совет; transliteration Revoljucionnyj Voennyj Sovet.)
Use outside of Russia
The melody was also used in modified form in other locations outside of Russia, including Weimar GermanyWeimar Republic
The Weimar Republic is the name given by historians to the parliamentary republic established in 1919 in Germany to replace the imperial form of government...
in the 1920s by German Communists
Communism
Communism is a social, political and economic ideology that aims at the establishment of a classless, moneyless, revolutionary and stateless socialist society structured upon common ownership of the means of production...
(see also Bavarian Socialist Republic and The Reichswehr and the Revolution). Some German versions are alleged to have replaced the first line with "White riffraff, noble scum" instead of the original "White Army, Black Baron."
A popular variant of the song, "Die Arbeiter von Wien," was written by Fritz Brügel in 1927 and set to the melody of the song. It became popular through its use by Austrian socialists (see also Republikanischer Schutzbund
Republikanischer Schutzbund
The Republikanischer Schutzbund was a paramilitary organization established in 1923 by the Sozialdemokratische Arbeiterpartei Österreichs to secure power in the face of rising political radicalization after World War I....
) who fought the Dollfuss regime
Engelbert Dollfuss
Engelbert Dollfuss was an Austrian Christian Social and Patriotic Front statesman. Serving previously as Minister for Forest and Agriculture, he ascended to Federal Chancellor in 1932 in the midst of a crisis for the conservative government...
in the short-lived Austrian Civil War
Austrian Civil War
The Austrian Civil War , also known as the February Uprising , is a term sometimes used for a few days of skirmishes between socialist and conservative-fascist forces between 12 February and 16 February 1934, in Austria...
in February 1934. Lyrics for this variant (in German) are accessible online.
Also, the Greek song 'Black Crows with Sharp Talons' has the same tune and rhythm but different lyrics.
A Turkish version is known as "Avusturya İşçi Marşı" - Workers March from Austria (as the march has been adopted from German speaking countries) has also the same tune with different internationalist lyrics.
Lyrics
| Cyrillic/Russian | Transliteration: | English English language English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria... |
|---|---|---|
1. Белая армия, чёрный барон Снова готовят нам царский трон, Но от тайги до британских морей Красная Армия всех сильней. Припев: Так пусть же Красная Сжимает властно Свой штык мозолистой рукой, И все должны мы Неудержимо Идти в последний смертный бой! 2. Красная Армия, марш марш вперёд! Реввоенсовет нас в бой зовёт. Ведь от тайги до британских морей Красная Армия всех сильней! Припев 3. Мы раздуваем пожар мировой, Церкви и тюрьмы сравняем с землёй. Ведь от тайги до британских морей Красная Армия всех сильней! Припев |
1. Belaia armiia, chiornyj baron Snova gotoviat nam tsarskij tron, No ot tajgi do britanskikh morej Krasnaia Armiia vsekh silnej. Pripev: Tak pust zhe Krasnaia Szhimaet vlastno Svoj shtyk mozolistoj rukoj, I vse dolzhny my Neuderzhimo Idti v poslednij smertnyj boj! 2. Krasnaia Armiia,marsh marsh vperiod! Revvoensovet nas v boj zoviot. Ved ot tajgi do britanskikh morej Krasnaia Armiia vsekh silnej! Pripev 3. My razduvaem pozhar mirovoj, Tserkvi i tiurmy sravniaem s zemlioj. Ved ot tajgi do britanskikh morej Krasnaia Armiia vsekh silnej! Pripev |
1. The White Army and the Black Baron Are trying to restore the Czar's throne, But from the taiga to the British seas The Red Army is the strongest of all! Refrain: Let the Red Army Masterfully grip Its bayonet with its toil-hardened hand, And we must all Irrepressibly Go into a last deadly fight! 2. Red Army, march, march forward! The Revolutionary Military Council calls us into battle. For from the taiga to the British seas The Red Army is the strongest of all! Refrain 3. We are fanning the flames of a world-wide fire, We will raze churches and prisons to the ground. For from the taiga to the British seas The Red Army is the strongest of all! Refrain |