Warszawianka (1905)
"Warszawianka" is a Polish song written some time between 1879 and 1883.[1] The title, a deliberate reference to the earlier song by the same title, could be translated as either "the song of Warsaw" or "the lady of Warsaw". To distinguish between the two, it is often called "Warszawianka 1905 roku" ("Warszawianka of 1905"), after the song became the hymn of demonstrating workers during the Revolution in the Kingdom of Poland (1905–1907), when 30 workers were shot[2] during the May Day demonstrations in Warsaw in 1905.
According to one version, Wacław Święcicki wrote the song in 1879 while serving a sentence in the Tenth Pavilion of the Warsaw Citadel for socialist activity. Another popular version has it written in 1883, immediately upon Święcicki's return from exile in Siberia.[3][4] In any way, by the beginning of the next decade the song became one of the most popular revolutionary anthems in Russian-held Poland.[5] The composer of the music is unknown.
Non-Polish variants
Its Russian version with altered lyrics, the "Varshavianka", once experienced considerable popularity. It served as a name for 1953 film Hostile Whirlwinds. Gleb Krzhizhanovsky is usually reported as the author of the Russian version and the moment of writing the text is thought to be 1897, when Krzhizhanovsky was imprisoned.
The Spanish song "To The Barricades" is set to the same tune. In East Germany, a German translation was created and used as a common piece of marching music by the Army; whilst France's 1st Parachute Hussar Regiment adopted the same music using different lyrics. An English version with altered lyrics was created by Paul Robeson, but never achieved great popularity. In the opening scene of the 1997 film The Jackal, "Warszawianka" is played with footage of the October Revolution.
| Original Polish lyrics |
|---|
Śmiało podnieśmy sztandar nasz w górę,
Choć burza wrogich żywiołów wyje,
Choć nas dziś gnębią siły ponure,
Chociaż niepewne jutro niczyje.
O, bo to sztandar całej ludzkości,
To hasło święte, pieśń zmartwychwstania,
To tryumf pracy, sprawiedliwości,
To zorza wszystkich ludów zbratania!
Naprzód, Warszawo!
Na walkę krwawą,
Świętą a prawą!
Marsz, marsz, Warszawo!
Dziś, gdy roboczy lud ginie z głodu,
Zbrodnią w rozkoszy tonąć jak w błocie,
I hańba temu, kto z nas za młodu,
Lęka się stanąć choć na szafocie!
O, nie bez śladu każdy z tych skona,
Co życie sprawie oddają w darze,
Bo nasz zwycięski śpiew ich imiona
Milionom ludzi ku czci przekaże!
Naprzód, Warszawo!
Na walkę krwawą,
Świętą a prawą!
Marsz, marsz, Warszawo!
Hurra! Zerwijmy z carów korony,
Gdy ludy dotąd chodzą w cierniowej,
I w krwi zatopmy nadgniłe trony,
Spurpurowiałe we krwi ludowej!
Ha! Zemsta straszna dzisiejszym katom,
Co wysysają życie z milionów.
Ha! Zemsta carom i plutokratom,
A przyjdzie żniwo przyszłości plonów!
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| English literal translation |
|---|
Let us raise boldly our banner,
Even though a storm of hostile storms is howling
Even though sinister forces oppress us today,
Even though everybody's tomorrow is uncertain.
Oh, this is the banner of the whole mankind,
The sacred call, the song of resurrection,
It's the triumph of labor and justice,
It's the dawn of the brotherhood of all peoples!
Forward, Warsaw!
To the bloody fight,
Sacred and righteous!
March, march, Warsaw!
Today when the working people are starving,
To indulge in luxury is a crime,
And shame to those among us, who in our young age,
Are afraid to mount the scaffold!
Oh, we will never forget the deaths of those,
Who gave their life for the cause,
Because our victorious chant will make
Their names honoured by millions of people!
Forward, Warsaw!
To the bloody fight,
Sacred and righteous!
March, march, Warsaw!
Hurra! Let's tear down the crown of the tzars,
While peoples are wearing the one of thorns.
Let's drown the rotten thrones in blood,
Thrones already stained purple with the people's blood!
Ha! Frightful vengeance to today's tormentors,
That suck the life out of millions of people.
Ha! Vengeance to the tzars and plutocrats,
And we'll harvest the crops of the future!
|
| Paul Robeson version |
|---|
Whirlwinds of danger are racing around us
O'erwhelming forces of darkness prevail
Still in the fight see advancing before us
Bright flag of liberty that yet shall prevail!
Then onward, you workers, freedom awaits you
All o'er the world and the land and the sea
On with the fight for the cause of humanity!
March, march you toilers and the world will be free!
Death to the kings and the rich parasites
Tremble before our sacred rage
The old order down we shall strike
Crops of the future harvest we will
Then all of you workers rightly will reign
All o'er the world and the land and the sea
On with the fight for the cause of humanity!
March, march you toilers and the world shall be free!
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| Russian version |
|---|
Вихри враждебные веют над нами,
Темные силы нас злобно гнетут.
В бой роковой мы вступили с врагами,
Нас еще судьбы безвестные ждут.
Но мы подымем гордо и смело
Знамя борьбы за рабочее дело,
Знамя великой борьбы всех народов
За лучший мир, за святую свободу.
На бой кровавый,
Святой и правый
Марш, марш вперед,
Рабочий народ.
Мрёт в наши дни с голодухи рабочий,
Станем ли, братья, мы дольше молчать?
Наших сподвижников юные очи
Может ли вид эшафота пугать?
В битве великой не сгинут бесследно
Павшие с честью во имя идей.
Их имена с нашей песню победной
Станут священны мильонам людей.
На бой кровавый,
Святой и правый
Марш, марш вперед,
Рабочий народ.
Нам ненавистны тиранов короны,
Цепи народа-страдальца мы чтим.
Кровью народной залитые троны
Кровью мы наших врагов обагрим!
Смерть беспощадная всем супостатам!
Всем паразитам трудящихся масс!
Мщенье и смерть всем царям-плутократам!
Близок победы торжественный час.
На бой кровавый,
Святой и правый
Марш, марш вперед,
Рабочий народ.
|
| German version |
|---|
Feindliche Stürme durchtoben die Lüfte,
drohende Wolken verdunkeln das Licht.
Mag uns auch Schmerz und Tod nun erwarten,
gegen die Feinde ruft auf uns die Pflicht.
Wir haben der Freiheit leuchtende Flamme
hoch über unseren Häuptern entfacht:
die Fahne des Sieges, der Völkerbefreiung,
die sicher uns führt in der letzen Schlacht
Auf, auf nun zum blutigen, heiligen Kampfe.
Bezwinge die Feinde, du Arbeitervolk.
Auf die Barrikaden, auf die Barrikaden,
erstürme die Welt, du Arbeitervolk!
Tod und Verderben allen Bedrückern,
leidendem Volke gilt unsere Tat,
kehrt gegen sie die mordenden Waffen,
dass sie ernten die eigene Saat!
Mit Arbeiterblut gedüngt ist die Erde,
gebt euer Blut für den letzen Krieg,
dass der Menschheit Erlösung werde!
Feierlich naht der heilige Sieg.
Auf, auf nun zum blutigen, heiligen Kampfe.
Bezwinge die Feinde, du Arbeitervolk.
Auf die Barrikaden, auf die Barrikaden,
erstürme die Welt, du Arbeitervolk!
Elend und Hunger verderben uns alle,
gegen die Feinde ruft mahnend die Not,
Freiheit und Glück für die Menschheit erstreiten!
Kämpfende Jugend erschreckt nicht der Tod.
Die Toten, der grossen Idee gestorben,
werden Millionen heilig sein.
Auf denn, erhebt euch, Brüder, Genossen,
ergreift die Waffen und schliesst die Reihn!
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In movies
The song, in version performed by The Red Army Choir, featured in the opening scene of "The Jackal" (credited as "Warsovienne") as well as in the submarine scene of "Hail, Caesar!" (credited as "Varchavianka").
Citations
- ↑ Zakrzewski, pp. 13–16
- ↑ Ascher, Abraham (1994). The Revolution of 1905: Russia in Disarray, Stanford University Press, pp.157-158, ISBN 0-8047-2327-3
- ↑ Szurczak, pp. 233–234
- ↑ Nadolski, p. 159
- ↑ Dobrowolski, p. IV
References
- Books
- Bogdan Zakrzewski (1981). >>Warszawianka<< Wacława Święcickiego [Wacław Święcicki's "Warszawianka"] (in Polish). Ossolineum. p. 44. ISBN 9788304007925.
- Stanisław Ryszard Dobrowolski (1888). Wybór poezyj dla robotników [Selection of poems for the workers]. Biblioteka Robotnika Polskiego (in Polish) VI. Geneva-Warsaw: Proletaryat. p. 56.
- Artur Nadolski (2008). Pani Chłodna; opowieść o warszawskiej ulicy [Miss Chłodna, story of a Warsaw's street] (in Polish). Bellona. p. 491. ISBN 9788311112582.
- Journals
- Anna Szurczak (1981). "Warszawianka". Polonistyka (in Polish) 34 (189). ISSN 0551-3707.
See also
External links