Countries mentioned in the Polish national anthem

Posted by vladgrinch

43 Comments

  1. malachimusclerat on

    i was gonna remark on how weird it is that this song was written when there was no extant polish state, but i guess that’s also the case for the united states, now im thinking maybe the nature of nationalism just makes this the case as often as not?

  2. Mundane_Character365 on

    Okay, I get Sweden, but what have Russia, Germany, or Austria ever done to Poland?

  3. ProfessorPetulant on

    The translated lyrics :

    Poland has not yet succumbed.
    As long as we remain,
    What the foe by force has seized,
    Sword in hand we’ll gain.

    Chorus:
    𝄆 March! March, Dabrowski!
    March from Italy to Poland!
    Under your command
    We shall reach our land. 𝄇

    II
    Cross the Vistula and Warta
    And Poles we shall be;
    We’ve been shown by Bonaparte
    Ways to victory.

    Chorus

    III
    As Czarniecki Poznan town regains,
    Fighting with the Swede,
    To free our fatherland from chains.
    We shall return by sea.

    Chorus

    IV
    The German nor the Muscovite will settle
    When, with a backsword in hand,
    “Concord” be everyone’s watchword
    And so be our fatherland.

    Chorus

    V
    And the father to Basia,
    Then says and crying:
    “Listen to that, it’s our boys
    playing the drums!”

    Chorus

    VI
    All exclaim in unison,
    “Enough of this captivity!”
    We’ve got the scythes of Racławice,
    Kościuszko, if God wills.

  4. The italian anthem mentions poland too, iirc Italy and Poland are the only nations whos anthems mention each other

  5. After the heavy links with France in history and as allies in building the Polish nation, I’m kinda underwhelmed that France is only mentioned indirectly 😅

  6. Funny enogh, in the italian anthem there is a mention to poland
    “Il sangue di Italia, il sangue polacco bevé col cosacco, ma il Cor le brució”
    Translated in

    “The blood of Italy and the blood of Poland
    was drunk by the Cossack,
    but her heart still burned.”

  7. StrainSpecialist7754 on

    Why would Poland sing negatively about Germany and Russia? What have they ever done to provoke this unnecessary Aggression?

  8. I’d also include an indirect mention of Lithuania, Belarus and Ukraine (maybe Latvia as well), since the nation of “Poland” back then included all the cultures of the Commonwealth and meant what “Poland-Lithuania” means today

  9. Accomplished-Bass690 on

    As a Dane the negative mention of Sweden in a country’s national anthem is about the most beautiful thing I’ve ever heard of.

  10. France sent kings to rule Poland so hardly surprising they are mentioned. Don’t know about the other countries. Poland went through a period of history being ruled by others to stop their aristocracy from getting any ideas.

  11. Makes sense… The German national anthem used to mention Poland, just as a part of Germany

    Edit: clarified something

  12. ExerciseInside4362 on

    But is Poland mentioned or is it not?! It can’t just be polanded in the anthem!

  13. What’s the deal with the hate between Poland and Sweden? I personally live in West Germany and therefore only know about the conflict with the (grrrr…) French.

  14. Glad_Midnight_3834 on

    As a French I just wanted to let you know to my Polishs friends that we love you <3 You are from a strong and resilient nation, and you always faced adversity with strengh <3

  15. Savings_Background50 on

    The Polish Anthem based on this map (translated into English):

    *Oh, Sweden can go fuck itself,*

    *Because Poland’s the only Central European country worth a shit,*

    *We broke the Sickle with our Hammers,*

    *So we could go on holiday in Italy,*

    *Wish our anthem was ‘Marsielles’ instead because it really slaps.*

  16. This… actually makes a lot of sense lol. Let me guess:

    – Austria, Germany and Russia: partitions.

    – Sweden: invasions during the war with Russia (maybe also earlier invasions, but I don’t know that part well)

    – Italy: Polish legion?

    – France: big Polish diaspora historically and supported Polish independence (or paid lip service to that concept, at least).

  17. Wojtek1250XD on

    “Marsz marsz, Dąbrowski. Z ziemii **włoskiej** do Polski.” (“March march, Dąmbrowski. From **Italy’s** land to Poland”).

    This line mentions Jan Henryk Dąbrowski, a polish war general who created Polish Legions in Italy. Polish Legions fought alongside the French in the Napoleonic era, *which did actually end up with Poland regaining independence*. The country’s borders were an absolute spit in the face compared to what Poland used to be before it, but it was independence nonetheless. Of course Napoleon failed to defeat Russia and everything went back to how it was before him. Dąbrowski was praised a lot in the anthem, the name of the anthem is “Mazurek Dąbrowskiego”…

    “Dał nam przykład **Bonaparte** jak zwyciężać mamy.” (“**Bonaparte** gave us an example how we should win” *(syntax in Polish is very loose, you can order things almost however you want with slight changes to the meaning, the same order of this line as in Polish is not allowed in English)*).

    “Jak Czarniecki do Poznania po **szwedzkim** zaborze.” (“Just like Czarniecki to Poznań after **swedish** partition”).

    This line mentions *the deluge*. It was a ginormous invasion by Sweden while the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth was near its weakest. It is literally called “the deluge” because the swedish army moved through the country like water, and it left nothing behind. Miraculously, Poland managed to stall and repel the invasive army after the siege of Jasna Góra, which was a really unlikely victory. Stefan Czarniecki was a military commander who has done a lot in the second half of the deluge.

    The only place where Germany and Russia may be mentioned is the third and fourth line, but it’s a vague reference based on the country’s history: “Co nam **obca przemoc** wzięła, szablą odbierzemy”. (“What **foreign violence** has taken from us, we’ll retake with a sable”).

    Poland was constantly attacked by these two for its entire history, there has not been a single 100-year period since the establishment of Poland and Russia as countries where Russia did not attempt to hurt Poland…

  18. For those wondering why Sweden was mentioned negatively… we did invade Poland back in the day and the Swedish Empire encompassed among other territories what is today Poland even before that.

    So Poles have had a run-ins with Swedes in the past. Friendly now.

  19. WetOnionRing on

    For anyone curious, it indirectly mentions Prussia, Austria Hungary, and Russia indirectly by saying Poland will reconquer what it had lost, sword in hand. Those three countries were the ones that took land from The Commonwealth during the final partition. It indirectly mentions France by name dropping Napoleon.