Most countries have an official national song, also known as an anthem, sung or played during important occasions. These songs are usually different from tracks that people listen to for pleasure. The music often is a march or a hymn in style, while the lyrics often refer to feelings of pa...
Wybicki’s tune was created to boost the morale of those soldiers and proved to be an instant hit far beyond the front lines thanks to its uplifting lyrics - this was a song which would become ananthem for a country which did not feature on any maps, but touched a chord with Polish p...
legions. Between 1797 and 1807 some 20,000 troops fought for the French emperor.1 One of their marching songs, the Dabrowski mazurka, had lyrics that spoke of returning from 'the Italian lands to Poland' (ziemi Wloski do Polski). It would become in due course Poland's national anthem. ...
1 The collective memory distinguishes it from other epochs by clear symbols: battles, a few national heroes such as Prince Józef Poniatowski, and the lyrics of a popular song of the time, which has since become the national anthem: 'Bonaparte has shown us the way to victory'. The heroic...