"God Save the Tsar", except that Tsar Nicholas II had recently abdicated. Stravinsky worked all night to have the music ready, assisted by Lord Berners and Ernest Ansermet. Czech composer Vítězslav Novák utilizes the main motif from Song of the Volga Boatmen in his Májová symfonie (May Symphony, Op. 73, 1943), for soloists, mixed chorus, and orchestra. A translated vocal version was sung by Paul Robeson. The first two lines of the song, in English, were used in George Formby's 1934 song, Madame Moscovitch. The Boston Pops Orchestra conducted by Arthur Fiedler recorded the Glazunov arrangement of the tune in New York City on June 30, 1937. The song, or at least the tune, was popularized in the mid-20th century through an instrumental jazz version played by the Glenn Miller Orchestra. Glenn Miller released the song as an RCA Bluebird 78 single, B-11029-A, in 1941 in a swing jazz arrangement by Bill Finegan which reached no. 1 on the Billboard pop singles chart in a 10-week chart run. Not in copyright, the song was not subject to the 1941 ASCAP boycott, allowing for more radio play that year. In 1965, Leonid Kharitonov, together with the Russian Red Army Choir, released a recording. Billy Squier included the Volga Boatmen melody as counterpoint in his 1981 song "The Stroke" and may have sampled it from the 1965 Red Army Chorus recording. The memorable melody of "The Song of the Volga Boatmen" was used in various media, generally as background music; a notable example being found in the video game Punch-Out!! for NES where it is the entry theme of the Russian boxer Soda Popinski. Some uses, particularly those portending doom or despair, employ only the iconic four-note beginning; others go so far as to add new, often wryly humorous, lyrics, such as the "Birthday Dirge". See also List of number-one singles of 1941 (U.S.) References External links YouTube: Song of the Volga Boatmen: Performed by Kovcheg Aca Pella; Five males, including two basso profundo. . YouTube: Song of the Volga Boatmen — sung in the tradition of Chaliapin by Leonid Kharitonov with the Alexandrov Ensemble, 1965. YouTube: Song of the Volga Boatmen — Paul Robeson. YouTube: Song of the Volga Boatmen — Glenn Miller and his orchestra. YouTube: Song of the Volga Boatmen — translated Chinese version performed by the Male Choir of the People's Armed Police. YouTube: Song of the Volga