Polyushko-pole
Russian song
"Song of the Plains" (Russian: Полюшко-поле), also known as "Meadowlands", "Cavalry of the Steppes" or "O Fields, My Fields", is a Soviet song. In Russian, póle (поле) means 'plain', and pólyushko (полюшко) is a diminutive and hypocoristic form of póle.
Soviet arrangements
The music was composed by Lev Knipper, with lyrics by Viktor Gusev in 1933. The song was part of the symphony with chorus (lyrics by Gusev) "A Poem about a Komsomol Soldier" (Поэма о бойце-комсомольце) composed in 1934. The original lyrics are sung from the perspective of a Red Army recruit, who proudly leaves his home to keep watch against his homeland's enemies.
The song was covered many times by many artists in the Soviet Union, including a well-known rock version recorded by Poyushchiye Gitary, released c. 1967. The song has been regularly performed and recorded by the Alexandrov Ensemble, best known as the Red Army Choir, and it is listed in the Alexandrov Ensemble discography.
Full version at London 1945 Youth Congress
At the opening of the London 1945 Youth Congress, the full version of Polyushko-polye was performed by a choir of 6,000 members.
Other arrangements
Paul Robeson recorded the song in 1942 under the title "Song of the Plains", sung both in English and Russian.
Begin with the source’s own compact description: “Polyushko-pole” is russian song. The dossier treats that line as a proposition to test through Polyushko-pole, Russian and song, not as a finished interpretation.
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The phrase “russian song” supplies a clear boundary for inquiry. It also exposes the unanswered questions: who defined that boundary, when it became stable and which sources sit outside it.
Attribution, date and provenance are strongest when supported by the original work, a catalogue record and documented transmission. The source revision retrieved here is dated May 23, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q596389. The first chronological checks are 1933, 1934, 1967 and 1945.
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This entry incorporates text from “Polyushko-pole” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.