Mury (''Walls'') was a

sung poetry Sung poetry is a broad and imprecise music genre widespread in European countries, such as Poland and the Baltic States, especially Poland and Lithuania, to describe songs consisting of a poem (most often a ballad) and music written especially ...

protest song A protest song is a song that is associated with a movement for protest and social change and hence part of the broader category of ''topical'' songs (or songs connected to current events). It may be folk, classical, or commercial in genre. ...

written by Polish singer

Jacek Kaczmarski Jacek Marcin Kaczmarski (22 March 1957 – 10 April 2004) was a Polish singer, songwriter, poet and author. Life He was the son of painter Anna Trojanowska-Kaczmarska, a Pole of Jewish background, and the artist Janusz Kaczmarski. Kaczmarski ...

in 1978. It was especially popular among the members of

Solidarity Solidarity or solidarism is an awareness of shared interests, objectives, standards, and sympathies creating a psychological sense of unity of groups or classes. True solidarity means moving beyond individual identities and single issue politics ...

(NSZZ Solidarność) and is one of Kaczmarski's best known songs. It became a powerful symbol of the opposition to the

communist regime A communist state, also known as a Marxist–Leninist state, is a one-party state in which the totality of the power belongs to a party adhering to some form of Marxism–Leninism, a branch of the communist ideology. Marxism–Leninism was ...

in the

People's Republic of Poland The Polish People's Republic (1952–1989), formerly the Republic of Poland (1947–1952), and also often simply known as Poland, was a country in Central Europe that existed as the predecessor of the modern-day democratic Republic of Poland. ...

and was sung at countless rallies, meetings, protests and strikes throughout Poland during the 1980s. It has become popular among protesters in the aftermath of the

2020 Belarusian presidential election Presidential elections were held in Belarus on Sunday, 9 August 2020. Early voting began on 4 August and ran until 8 August. Incumbent Alexander Lukashenko was announced by the Central Election Commission of Belarus, Central Election Commissi ...

. From May 2024, a typescript of the song from the collection of the

National Library of Poland The National Library (, ''BN'') is the national library of Poland, subject directly to the Polish Ministry of Culture and National Heritage. The main seat of the National Library is located in the Ochota district of Warsaw, adjacent to the Mo ...

is presented at a

permanent exhibition in the Palace of the Commonwealth Permanent may refer to: Art and entertainment * ''Permanent'' (film), a 2017 American film * ''Permanent'' (Joy Division album) * "Permanent" (song), by David Cook *"Permanent", a song by Alex Lahey from ''The Answer Is Always Yes'', 2023 Other ...

Inspiration

The lyrics for ''Mury'' were written in 1978 to the melody of the song '' L'Estaca'' by the Catalan singer Lluís Llach, which Kaczmarski heard on one of several Spanish records he borrowed from a friend in December of that year. The intention of Kaczmarski's lyrics was to examine how a song or poem can cease to become the 'property' of the author after it is 'stolen' by the masses, who may appropriate it for a particular cause even if it wasn't the author's intention in the first place. In this context, the song can be interpreted as supporting the Polish or Catalan struggle for independence, but also as a critique of certain aspects of mass

social movements A social movement is either a loosely or carefully organized effort by a large group of people to achieve a particular goal, typically a social or political one. This may be to carry out a social change, or to resist or undo one. It is a type of ...

. Interview with Kaczmarski on 18 October 1987, originally published by the journal INDEKS, featured o
Jacek Kaczmarski homepage

Solidarity's anthem

Despite its pessimistic conclusion (''A mury rosły, rosły…'', "And the walls grew, grew…") and, ironically, despite Kaczmarski's intention to criticise

for sometimes 'stealing' the words of an artist, the song's message of struggling for independence against oppression meant that ''Mury'' quickly gained

status and it was soon accepted nationwide as the unofficial

anthem An anthem is a musical composition of celebration, usually used as a symbol for a distinct group, particularly the national anthems of countries. Originally, and in music theory and religious contexts, it also refers more particularly to sho ...

. Its

refrain A refrain (from Vulgar Latin ''refringere'', "to repeat", and later from Old French ''refraindre'') is the Line (poetry)">line or lines that are repeated in poetry or in music">poetry.html" ;"title="Line (poetry)">line or lines that are repeat ...

(''Wyrwij murom zęby krat!'', "Pull out like teeth the bars from the walls!") later became the signal of the underground Radio Solidarity and the most popular part of the song, while its last pessimistic part was often left out. Kaczmarski came to see this phenomenon as both a misunderstanding of the song's meaning and a vindication of the point he was making when he wrote it. Nonetheless it remains one of his most popular songs. In 1987, after several years of severe repression by the

in the

had managed to erode some of the support for Solidarity, and before the

Polish Round Table Agreement The Polish Round Table Talks took place in Warsaw, communist Poland, from 6 February to 5 April 1989. The government initiated talks with the banned trade union ''Solidarity'' and other opposition groups to defuse growing social unrest. Hist ...

of 1989, Kaczmarski expressed his disappointment with the disillusionment he saw in Polish society by writing 'Mury '87'. In this song, which is set to the same melody and which Kaczmarski referred to as an '

antonym In lexical semantics, opposites are words lying in an inherently incompatible binary relationship. For example, something that is ''even'' entails that it is not ''odd''. It is referred to as a 'binary' relationship because there are two members i ...

' of 'Mury', he argues that instead of singing and hoping, people need to be taking action once again. In 2005, 'Mury' was performed by

Jean Michel Jarre Jean-Michel André Jarre (; born 24 August 1948) is a French composer, performer and record producer. He is a pioneer in the electronic, ambient and new-age genres, and is known for organising outdoor spectacles featuring his music, accompan ...

jointly with the Gdańsk University Choir and the

Polish Baltic Philharmonic Polish Baltic F. Chopin Philharmonic in Gdańsk (full name in Polish: ''Polska Filharmonia Bałtycka im. Fryderyka Chopina w Gdańsku'') is a concert hall located in Ołowianka, Gdańsk. History Polish Baltic F. Chopin Philharmonic was founde ...

during the concert ''Przestrzeń Wolności'' (''

Space of Freedom Space of Freedom was a concert performed by French musician Jean Michel Jarre in Poland, at the Gdańsk Shipyard, on August 26, 2005, to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the Solidarity trade union's foundation. Jarre was invited by Lech Wałę ...

'', 26 August 2005) on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of the formation of

.Yalta 2.0

Warsaw Voice ''Warsaw Voice: Polish and Central European Review'', commonly shortened to ''The Warsaw Voice'', is an English-language newspaper printed in Poland, concentrating on news about Poland and its neighbours. First released in October 1988, it is a ge ...

, 31 August 2005. Retrieved 8 October 2006.

Lyrics

References

External links

Listen to the song on the official site (mp3)

lyrics of ''Mury''Musical notes of ''Mury''Original lyrics of ''L'Estaca'' by Lluís LlachEnglish translation
and
Polish translationLive performance of ''Mury''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mury (Song) Polish songs Songs in Polish Protest songs

Inspiration

Solidarity's anthem

Lyrics

See also

References

External links