Polish lyrics are by Alfred Schütz (d. 1999). They may still be copyrighted (although they are available on numerous webpages, books, YouTube vidoes, and so on). The translation below is available in few places, and won't be available on Wikipedia due to possible copyright issues. As I felt bad about this work disappearing from our cultural repository, I am sharing it here. It may go down if I ever get a cease-and-desist letter from the Schütz estate... but let's hope it won't happen
(As with most copyrighted works, it is next to impossible to figure out who owns the copyright, and if there is such a thing as"Schütz estate" at all... sigh).
The Red Poppies on Monte Cassino
| In Polish | In English |
| Czy widzisz te gruzy na szczycie? | Do you see the rubble at the top? |
| Tam wróg twój się kryje jak szczur! | There, like a rat, lurks your foe! |
| Musicie, musicie, musicie! | You musn't stop, you musn't stop |
| Za kark wziąć i strącić go z chmur! | But from the clouds the enemy throw! |
| I poszli szaleni, zażarci, | And so, onward and upward they went; |
| I poszli zabijać i mścić, | They went to avenge and to kill, |
| I poszli jak zawsze uparci, | On the enemy's destruction, bent; |
| Jak zawsze za honor się bić. | To their honor they harnessed their will. |
| Czerwone maki na Monte Cassino | The red poppies on Monte Cassino |
| Zamiast rosy piły polską krew... | Drank Polish blood instead of dew... |
| Po tych makach szedł żołnierz i ginął, | O'er the poppies the soldiers did go |
| Lecz od śmierci silniejszy był gniew! | 'Mid death, and to their anger stayed true! |
| Przejdą lata i wieki przeminą, | Years will come and ages will go, |
| Pozostaną ślady dawnych dni!.. | Enshrining their strivings and their toil!... |
| I tylko maki na Monte Cassino | And the poppies on Monte Cassino |
| Czerwieńsze będą, bo z polskiej wzrosną krwi. | Will be redder for Poles' blood in their soil. |
| Runęli przez ogień, straceńcy! | The forlorn hope charged through the fire! |
| Niejeden z nich dostał i padł... | More than one was struck and felled... |
| Jak ci z Samosierry szaleńcy, | Yet like the horsemen at Samosierra, |
| Jak ci spod Rokitny, sprzed lat. | They charged with a force unrepelled, |
| Runęli impetem szalonym | Like those at Rokitna years ago. |
| I doszli. I udał się szturm. | And they made it, and carried the day. |
| I sztandar swój biało-czerwony | And they planted their red-and-white flag |
| Zatknęli na gruzach wśród chmur. | In the rubble amid the clouds. |
| Czerwone maki na Monte Cassino... | The red poppies on Monte Cassino... |
| Czy widzisz ten rząd białych krzyży? | Do you see the white crosses in a row? |
| To Polak z honorem brał ślub. | That's where the Poles pledged their all. |
| Idź naprzód - im dalej, im wyżej, | The farther, the higher you go, |
| Tym więcej ich znajdziesz u stóp. | The more you'll find them fall. |
| Ta ziemia do Polski należy, | This soil belongs to Poland, |
| Choć Polska daleko jest stąd, | Though Poland be far from here, |
| Bo wolność krzyżami się mierzy - | For 'tis crosses measure freedom's span — |
| Historia ten jeden ma błąd. | That is history's lesson dear. |
| Czerwone maki na Monte Cassino... | The red poppies on Monte Cassino... |
| Ćwierc wieku, koledzy, za nami, | A quarter-century has passed, |
| Bitewny ulotnił się pył | The dusts of battle no longer rise, |
| I klasztor białymi murami | And the monastery's walls at last |
| Na nowo do nieba się wzbił... | Once again climb, white, to the skies... |
| Lecz pamięć tych nocy upiornych | But memory of those nights terrible |
| I krwi, co przelała się tu - | And of the blood that once flowed here — |
| Odzywa się w dzwonach klasztornych, | Echoes in the monastery bells |
| Grających poległym do snu...! | That toll the fallen to sleep!... |
2 comments:
Although the music to Czerwone Maki na Monte Cassino (Red Poppies....) was composed by Alfred Schütz, the lyrics were written by Feliks Konarski, pseudonym "Ref-Ren". The copyright is still owned by Konarski's family, who live in Chicago.
Lyrics are by Feliks Konarski, music is by Alfred Schutz.
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