Read on to learn all about the national anthem of Poland, ‘Mazurek Dąbrowskiego’ (‘Poland Is Not Yet Lost’. We’ve got the lyrics in both Polish and English, together with some info about the anthem’s lyrics and music.
What is the Polish national anthem?
The Polish national anthem is ‘Mazurek Dąbrowskiego’ (‘Poland Is Not Yet Lost’). It was officially adopted as the national anthem of Poland in 1926, although it had been its unofficial anthem since the end of the First World War in 1918.
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The anthem is sung at sporting matches and state occasions. By the way, elsewhere on the site you can find the national anthems of Poland’s Group D rivals: we have the lyrics and history for the French national anthem ‘La Marseillaise’, to the Dutch national anthem, and to the national anthem of Austria.
What are the lyrics to the Polish national anthem, Poland Is Not Yet Lost?
Poland has not yet perished,
So long as we still live.
What the foreign force has taken from us,
We shall with sabre retrieve.
March, march, Dąbrowski,
From Italy to Poland.
Under your command
We shall rejoin the nation.
We’ll cross the Vistula, we’ll cross the Warta,
We shall be Polish.
Bonaparte has given us the example
Of how we should prevail.
Like Czarniecki to Poznań
After the Swedish annexation,
To save our homeland,
We shall return across the sea.
A father, in tears,
Says to his Basia
Listen, our boys are said
To be beating the tarabans.
March, march, Dąbrowski,
From Italy to Poland.
Under your command
We shall rejoin the nation.
Who are Dąbrowski and Czarniecki?
Mentioned in the lyrics, Jan Henryk Dąbrowski and Stefan Czarniecki are Polish military heroes.
What are the Polish lyrics to the national anthem, Mazurek Dąbrowskiego?
Jeszcze Polska nie zginęła, Kiedy my żyjemy. Co nam obca przemoc wzięła, Szablą odbierzemy.
ChorusMarsz, marsz, Dąbrowski,Z ziemi włoskiej do Polski.Za twoim przewodemZłączym się z narodem.
Przejdziem Wisłę, przejdziem Wartę,Będziem Polakami.Dał nam przykład Bonaparte,Jak zwyciężać mamy.
Chorus
Jak Czarniecki do PoznaniaPo szwedzkim zaborze,Dla ojczyzny ratowaniaWrócim się przez morze.
Chorus
Już tam ojciec do swej BasiMówi zapłakany –Słuchaj jeno, pono nasiBiją w tarabany.
Chorus
Find more national anthem lyrics
Who composed the Polish national anthem, Poland Is Not Yet Lost?
The lyrics were written by Józef Wybicki in July 1797 to help boost the morale of the Polish solders serving in the Napoleonic armies under Jan Henryk Dąbrowski. It was hoped that their participation in these wars would help the Poles’ case for independence as Poland was partitioned at the time and part of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth.
The lyrics served to feed the Poles’ desire for an independent state and emphasise their belief that the state would not die while they were willing to fight for it. The song became one of Poland’s most popular patriotic songs, despite Poland not getting its independence till 1918.
The music is a based on a Polish folk song, which Wybicki adapted to fit the lyrics.