The song by KRISTONKO (Khrystyna Khrystonko) is a modern musical adaptation of the opening lines of the poem "Kateryna" , written by Ukraine’s national poet, Taras Shevchenko , in 1838. The Core Message

KRISTONKO had the melody for these specific verses in her head for over six months before finally recording it. She aimed to present Shevchenko’s words in a way that would resonate with every modern Ukrainian.

The child grows up to be a guide for a blind Ukrainian bard ( kobzar ), representing the survival of the Ukrainian spirit despite imperial oppression.

While Shevchenko’s original poem was a tragic story of a village girl named Kateryna, the modern version released by KRISTONKO in June 2022 gained massive popularity as a during the Russian invasion of Ukraine. It reinterprets Shevchenko’s 19th-century advice as a contemporary call for national identity and caution against those who have historically brought harm to Ukrainian land. The Story Behind the Music