Outside Russia, "Korobeiniki" is widely known as the Tetris theme tune, from its appearance in
Nintendo's
Game Boy version of the game (titled "A-Type") as arranged by the Japanese composer
Hirokazu Tanaka in 1989.
The song "Korobeiniki" is based on the
poem of the same name by
Nikolay Nekrasov, which was first printed in the Sovremennik magazine in 1861.[1] Its increasing tempo and the dance style led to it quickly becoming a popular Russian
folk song.[2] Early musical compositions of the song were published by
Yakov Prigozhy [
ru] and Alexander N. Chernyavsky (Чернявский, Александр Николаевич) in 1898.[3]Varvara Panina made
gramophone records of the song with several recording companies in 1905 and later.[3][4]
Melody
Lyrics sample
Russian lyrics
Transliteration
English translation
1
Ой полным полна моя коробушка Есть и ситец, и парча. Пожалей, душа-зазнобушка, Молодецкого плеча.
Oy polnym polna moya korobushka Yest' i sitets i parcha. Pozhaley, dusha-zaznobushka, Molodetskovo plecha.
Oh, my crate is so full, I've got
calico and
brocade. Take pity, oh sweety, Of this lad's shoulder
2
Выйду, выйду в рожь высокую, Там до ночки погожу, Как завижу черноокую, Все товары разложу.[5]
Vyydu, vyydu v rozh' vysokuyu, Tam do nochki pogozhu, Kak zavizhu chernookuyu, Vse tovary razlozhu.
I will, I will go out into the tall rye,[a] I will wait there till the night comes, Once I see the dark-eyed lass, I will showcase all my goods.
Critical reception
The official Tetris website wrote that Korobeiniki was "memorable enough on its own as both a poem and folk tune", independent of its adaption into the Tetris theme.[6]
After arrangements of "Korobeiniki" first appeared in
Spectrum Holobyte'sApple IIGS and
Mac versions of Tetris, the song was re-arranged in 1989 by
Hirokazu Tanaka[7] as the "Type A" accompaniment in Nintendo's Game Boy version 1.1. It has since become closely associated with the game in
Westernpopular culture, and the Tetris Company has required its inclusion in every version of the game since 2002.[8] In 2008,
UGO listed the song as the 3rd best video game music of all time.[9]
Tokyo Ska Paradise Orchestra has recorded and performed versions of the song under the title "Peddlers" (sometimes ベドラーズ "Pedorāzu") since their eponymous debut EP in 1989.[11] Most recently it can be found on their "Ska Me Forever" (2014) album.[12]
The string quartet
Bond included a version on their 2000 debut album
Born called Korobushka which they often perform at their live concerts.
A
trance cover arranged by
Ryu* is featured on the
Exit Trance release Exit Trance Presents FamiTrance EX (EXIT TRANCE PRESENTS ファミトランス EX, EXIT TRANCE PRESENTS Famitoransu EX, 2009) under the title "Korobushka". The song was later included on his album Ageha as "Korobushka (Ryu*Remix)".
In 2006, Jablay, sung by
Titi Kamal for original soundtrack of Mendadak Dangdut samples and slightly modifies Korobeiniki on chorus part.[16]
The
Timbers Army sings this melody with altered lyrics during
Portland Timbers games, usually accompanied by a simple dance with a large visual effect.[17][18][19]
The German Techno Band
Scooter used the melody for it in their song "Whistling Dave" from the 2007 album Jumping All Over the World.
A version of this song was arranged for the game The End Is Nigh titled ??? – Korobeiniki (Russian Folk 1861) by video game composer team Ridiculon (Matthias Bossi and Jon Evans).
German band
dArtagnan both used the music for their song Trink mein Freund and released a folk rock version of Korobeiniki (in Russian) in their 2022 album Felsenfest.[20][21]