Insurgent songs are a layer of Ukrainian song that arose among the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA) and the liberation movement of the 1940s–1950s. They are a continuation of the tradition of the Sich Riflemen songs: they combine folk melody with a marching rhythm, heroic pathos, and deep lyricism.
In these songs — “Lenta za lentoyu,” “Hey, u lisi, v lisi,” “Zrodylys my velykoi hodyny” — fidelity to the homeland, readiness for sacrifice, longing for home and family, and faith in victory are sung. For decades their performance was persecuted, so they were preserved in the people's memory in secret, from generation to generation. Today the insurgent songs sound openly as part of the national heritage and have again taken on a special meaning during Ukraine's struggle for freedom.
