Dąbrowski's Mazurka

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Mazurek Dąbrowskiego (Dąbrowski's Mazurka) is the Polish national anthem (since 26 February 1927), written by Józef Wybicki in 1797. Originally called the "Anthem of the Polish Legions in Italy", it is also informally known in English as "Poland Is Not Yet Lost" or "Poland Has Not Yet Perished" from its initial verse, "Jeszcze Polska nie zginęła."

Contents 1 Origin and legacy 2 Notes and historical context 3 Media 4 Lyrics 5 External links

[edit] Origin and legacy

The song originated during the formation of the Polish Legions in Italy under the command of General Henryk Dąbrowski. Józef Wybicki, a close friend of Dąbrowski, wrote it in Reggio Emilia between 15-21 July, 1797, to the tune of a mazurka. Beginning with the words, "Poland has not yet perished," it was a nationalist call to arms to save the Polish state which had fallen under foreign occupation.

The "Anthem of the Polish Legions in Italy" ("Pieśń Legionów Polskich we Włoszech") quickly became very popular with the Polish Legionnaires, but also gained wide currency within Poland. It became one of the most popular hymns during Poland's November 1830 and January 1863 uprisings.

During the European Revolutions of 1848, it won favor throughout Europe as a revolutionary anthem. This led the Slovak poet Samuel Tomašik to write the anthem, Hey Slavs, based on the melody of the Polish Anthem. This was later adopted by the First Congress of the Pan-Slavic Movement in Prague as the Pan-Slavic Anthem. During the Second World War, a translation of this anthem became the national anthem of Yugoslavia, and later, Serbia and Montenegro. Similarity of the anthems sometimes caused confusion during the matches of football or volleyball representations of these countries. However, after the 2006 split between the two, neither Serbia nor Montenegro kept the song as it`s national anthem, choosing instead Bože pravde and Oj, svijetla majska zoro respectively.

[edit] Notes and historical context

See also Partitioned Poland

• Dąbrowski: General Henryk Dąbrowski, was one of the leaders of the Polish Legions. The anthem was originally written as an inspiration to his troops, who had been organized on Italian soil by Bonapartist France to fight against the occupiers of Poland.
• "Poland is not yet lost, so long as we live": At the time the anthem was written, the Polish State had been erased from the political map of Europe by Russia, Prussia and Austria in 1795. See Partitions of Poland.
• As Czarniecki to Poznań: Hetman Stefan Czarniecki was one of the leaders of Poland's ultimately victorious war against the 17th-century Swedish invasion. At the time of the occupation, he returned to Poland to fight the invaders alongside the King who was then at the Royal Castle in Poznań. In the same castle, Józef Wybicki, the author of the anthem, started his career as a lawyer (in 1765).
• Basia: A diminutive form of "Barbara." In this verse, "Basia" is meant to symbolize a generic Polish daughter, while her father is meant to symbolize a generic Polish man. The thought of young girls back at home who would be overjoyed to hear their brethren returning in arms to liberate the country was doubtless a morale booster for the Polish Legionnaires.
• Racławice: A village in Poland, and the site of a significant battle during the 1794 Kościuszko Uprising, in which the Polish insurgents' victory against invading Russian forces was largely assured through the valor of peasants armed with scythes.

[edit] Media

However, this is not Wybicki's original text. This is the anthem as it appears in the 2 April 1997 Constitution of Poland. The principal changes are in the first stanza and in the chorus.

[edit] Lyrics

[edit] External links

• "Mazurek Dąbrowskiego" in Mp3 format (Full version)
• "Mazurek Dąbrowskiego" in Mp3 format (Instrumental version)