The Peddlers
(Russian: Коробе́йники, tr. Korobéyniki, IPA: [kərɐˈbʲejnʲɪkʲɪ], lit. ‘The Peddlers’) is a nineteenth-century Russian folk song that tells the story of a meeting between a peddler and a girl, describing their haggling over goods in a metaphor for courtship.
Outside Russia, “Korobeiniki” is widely known as the Tetris theme (titled “A-Type” in the game), from its appearance in Nintendo‘s 1989 Game Boy version of the game as arranged by Hirokazu Tanaka.
It has also appeared more authentically in TV and film portrayals of Russian and Russian diaspora communities, such as in the wedding scenes of The Deer Hunter (1978).
The song “Korobeiniki” is based on a poem of the same name by Nikolay Nekrasov, which was first printed in the Sovremennik magazine in 1861.[1] Its increasing tempo and the associated dance style led to it quickly becoming a popular Russian folk song.[2]
Korobeiniki were peddlers with trays, who sold fabric, haberdashery, books and other small items in pre-revolutionary Russia.[3] Nekrasov’s much longer poem tells the story of a young peddler who seduces a peasant girl named Katya one night in a field of rye. He offers her some of his wares as gifts in exchange for a kiss and, as it is implied, sexual favours. She rejects all but one of his gifts, a turquoise ring, reasoning that having his wares but not him would be unbearable. The next morning, he pledges to marry her when he returns from selling his wares at the market. The song’s narrative ends here; however, the poem concludes with the peddler being robbed and killed by a forest ranger whom he asks for directions while returning home with the profits made during his successful day at the market.
In 1989, the song was adapted into the theme of the video game Tetris.
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Practice tracks
Slow 110 bpm
Fast 220 bpm