# The Kalyna Polka! *A Dance for the Living, the Dead, and Everybody Else* [Intro — Lively accordion and fiddle warming up, chatter and laughter in a crowded prairie dance hall] [Spoken — Cheerful older Ukrainian-Canadian woman, commanding and mischievous] Come, come! Everybody! Move the tables! Roll up the rugs! Tonight we dance! [Pause] And if your grandmother has been dead for fifty years... Well, invite her anyway! [Accordion flourish — Full band launches into a fast 2/4 polka] [Verse 1 — Bright, playful female lead] Out in Kalyna Country, Where the wheat and spirits grow, The babas know the secrets That the young folks ought to know! There's magic in the garden, There's a blessing in the bread, And if you hear a knock at midnight, Don't assume that someone's dead! [Chorus — Joyful mixed community chorus] Hey! Hey! The Kalyna Polka! Round and round we go! Spin beneath the prairie moon, And let the wild winds blow! Hey! Hey! The Kalyna Polka! Dance until the dawn! If the spirits want to join us, Tell them, "Come along!" [Instrumental — Accordion and fiddle trade increasingly elaborate melodies] [Verse 2 — Energetic female lead] In Vegreville the great egg glows, In Mundare the sausage walks! And somewhere near old Smoky Lake, The cranberry bushes talk! We've got sunflowers watching, And scarecrows dreaming dreams, And a ghost who plays the fiddle Where the old creek winds and gleams! [Chorus — Faster, enthusiastic clapping] Hey! Hey! The Kalyna Polka! Round and round we go! Spin beneath the prairie moon, And let the wild winds blow! Hey! Hey! The Kalyna Polka! Dance until the dawn! If the spirits want to join us, Tell them, "Come along!" [Instrumental Break — Wild accordion, racing fiddle, bouncing clarinet] [Spoken — Elderly woman, sternly] Young man! Who taught you to dance? [Spoken — Nervous young man] My grandmother! [Spoken — Elderly woman] Then ask her to teach you again! [Brief laughter, accordion flourish] [Verse 3 — Playful, increasingly magical] The rushnyk hangs above the door, The pysanky shine bright! The ancestors are watching us, And some are here tonight! The Eight Great Babas raise their hands, The candles burn with blue! And if your shadow starts to dance, Well, let it dance with you! [Music slows — Accordion drops out, haunting bandura and distant female harmonies] [Supernatural Bridge — Mysterious, beautiful, minor key] Where the old roads have forgotten, And the buried voices call, Every song becomes a memory, Every memory a wall. Where the kalyna berries redden, And the silver moon is high, Those who danced here long before us Have not truly said goodbye. [Quiet spectral voices echo the melody] [Spoken — Older woman, quietly] Ah. There you are, Mama. [Pause] Would you like another dance? [Soft ghostly female laughter] [Accordion suddenly returns] [Shouted — Joyful] WELL, DON'T JUST STAND THERE! [Explosive instrumental polka — Fiddle, accordion, clarinet, handclaps, stomping] [Final Chorus — Full community chorus, joyful and triumphant] HEY! HEY! THE KALYNA POLKA! ROUND AND ROUND WE GO! Through the wheat and through the winter, Through the rain and through the snow! HEY! HEY! THE KALYNA POLKA! DANCE UNTIL THE DAWN! For the living and the spirits, THE OLD WORLD CARRIES ON! [Instrumental Finale — Fast fiddle solo, accordion answering, exuberant folk dancing] [Spoken — Elderly woman, satisfied] Very good! Now, who wants perogies? [Another voice] Baba! The scarecrow's dancing again! [Pause] [Older woman] Then give him a partner! [Final exuberant accordion flourish]
