Czesław Niemen: A Rock ’n’ Roll Romantic
Czesław Niemen was one of the most popular and influential Polish musicians of 20th century. He was also an admirer of the nation’s Romantic poets. Niemen not only set some of the great works of Polish literature to music, but he also embodied the role of a rock ’n’ roll Romantic – giving voice to the issues of the age and creating a legacy that lives on.
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Czesław Niemen, photo: Przemek Wierzchowski / PAP
Czesław Niemen, born Czesław Juliusz Wydrzycki in 1939, grew up singing in his church’s choir, where his powerful voice and captivating presence were recognised early on. He was active in the early days of the Polish rock ’n’ roll ‘big beat’ scene and toured with the band Niebiesko-Czarni, one of the first rock bands to sing in Polish and tour abroad. He eventually struck out on his own, collaborating with a variety of musicians and producing some of the most innovative and successful records in the history of Polish popular music over the course of the 1960s and 1970s.
Niemen’s influences were diverse. Listening to his catalogue, one hears echoes of James Brown, evocations of liturgical music, and collaborations with the Mahavishnu Orchestra and Michał Urbaniak. One also, perhaps more surprisingly, hears the words of Poland’s famed Romantic poets. Niemen found inspiration in the works of Cyprian Norwid and Juliusz Słowacki, amongst others, and frequently set their verse to music.
The impact of these legendary Romantic poets on Niemen did not end with their words, but extended also to his artistic persona. The Romanticism of the 19th century was characterised by a revolutionary, anti-establishment ethos, an interest in tradition and mysticism, and larger-than-life poetic figures. Poets like Słowacki and Adam Mickiewicz were stars whose verse spoke for a Poland that was dominated by foreign powers. As Niemen rose to fame in the 1960s, youth cultures around the world were embracing a similar spirit of change and rebellion, while also looking back to artists of the past. Mick Jagger read the poetry of the English Romantic poet Percy Bysshe Shelley on stage. American artists such as The Doors and Patti Smith incorporated references to William Blake into their work. It is perhaps no surprise then, particularly in a Poland that again found itself struggling against political oppression, that Poland’s poets came to be artistic role models for Niemen.
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Czesław Niemen, photo: Jan Bebel / Forum
Text
Strange is this world,
where still
there is so much evil.
And strange it is,
that for so many years
man despises man. […]
But there are more people of good will
and I strongly believe
that this world
will never perish thanks to them.
No! No! No! No!
The time has come,
high time,
to destroy the hatred within yourself.
Author
‘Dziwny Jjest Tten Świat’ (‘Strange is this World)’ by Czesław Niemen, trans. AA
The title track off Niemen’s 1967 debut album Dziwny Jest Ten Świat (Strange is this World), finds him passionately decrying the evil in the world and asserting his belief that thetime has come for people to fight hatred within themselves. Dziwny Jest Ten Świat features many of the hallmarks of Niemen’s sound, including the dramatic opening organ played by Marian Zimiński and Niemen’s rich and soaring vocals. Those familiar with James Brown’s It’s a Man’s Man’s Man’s World (1966), might also hear the influence of the American singer in Niemen’s performance.
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Czesław Niemen's album "Strange is this world", photo: MP
Though the song contains no explicit references to Polish politics, it taps into the 1960s spirit of rebelliousness and hope for change. The reign of those who sow hate and rule with evil is waning, Niemen suggests, for people of good will have the power to stand up for a better world. The defiant message resonated with Niemen’s audience and the album was a success, becoming the first to reach Gold Record status in Poland. Dziwny Jest Ten Świat also became one of the first and most popular protest songs against communist rule in the 1960s.
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Juliusz Słowacki, before 1849, photo: National Library Polona
In voicing a critique of the present and a vision of hope for the future, Niemen entered a long tradition of Polish artists commenting on the social and political conditions of their time. In The Books of the Polish Nation and of the Polish Pilgrimage (1832), Adam Mickiewicz wrote of a ‘world corrupted’, while promising the Polish nation would not perish, but rather rise and usher in an era free from oppression and suffering. Juliusz Słowacki’s 1833 drama Kordian similarly reflects on politics, offering an assessment of the failed November Uprising of 1830. Niemen’s favourite 19th-century poet, Cyprian Norwid, wrote verse that responded to current events ranging from the partitions of Poland to the hanging of the American abolitionist John Brown.
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Czesław Wydrzycki, soon to be Czesław Niemen, 1965, photo: Marek Karewicz / courtesy of Wydawnictwo SQN
Text
Till Jericho’s walls go tumbling like logs,
Swooned hearts will revive – nations clear mould from their eyes…
……………………………………………………………………….
On – and on – –
Author
‘To Bem’s Memory – A Funeral Rhapsody’ by Cyprian Norwid, trans. Danuta Borchardt
Cyprian Norwid, a 19th-century poet known for his syntactically complex and richly philosophical verse, might seem like an unlikely inspiration for a popular musician at the height of his creative powers in 1970. Niemen, however, found in Norwid a kindred spirit and resurrected the Romantic poet as a rock lyricist, most famously transforming Norwid’s 1851 poem To Bem’s Memory – A Funeral Rhapsody (originally: Bema Pamięci Żałobny Rapsod) into a rock showpiece on his 1970 album Enigmatic. Norwid’s poem ends with a reflection on the progression of humanity going ‘on – and on’, and with his recording of To Bem’s Memory, Niemen taps into that timeless message.
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Cyprian Kamil Norwid, 1871, photo: National Library Polona
Niemen’s introduction to the poem came from Wojciech Młynarski, a singer and songwriter, who suggested he might consider setting some of Norwid’s work to music. Of first reading To Bem’s Memory, Niemen recalls:
Text
There are some moments, from some verse, pictures, memory, or music that cause deep resonance in the soul. Encountering Norwid was for me such a shock – I’d previously notsuspected that any artists of the past could be so contemporary, so up to date, also so original in every way, yet so close to every person.
Author
From ‘Czesław Niemen : Kkiedy się Się dziwić Dziwić Pprzestanę .... ....’ by Roman Radoszewski, trans. AA
Years later, at a 2001 celebration of the 180th anniversary of Norwid’s birth, Niemen reiterated this sense of closeness to the poet, stating ‘I feel like Norwid’s late grandson’. With their long dark hair, prominent moustaches and intense stares, the two men almost look like family, but their physical resemblance is perhaps the least interesting connection between the artists. Though separated by time and genre, Norwid and Niemen were both innovative artists who pushed the boundaries of their respective artforms.
Danuta Borchardt, a translator of Norwid’s work into English, notes that ‘with his syntax and punctuation, Norwid departed from established forms’. The originality of his work prevented him from finding the success of his Romantic predecessors, though it made him a favourite of the modernist Young Poland artists at the turn of the century. It also perhaps made him a particularly appealing figure to Niemen, who, at the time, was pushing the boundaries of popular music by incorporating influences from blues, jazz, and psychedelic rock as he moved away from basic songs structures towards more complex compositions.
With his recording of To Bem’s Memory and its accompanying video, Niemen embodies the persona of a rock ’n’ roll romantic, blending Polish traditions with contemporary sounds and styles. Like much Romantic poetry, Norwid’s poem is concerned with questions of liberation and redemption, references Polish history and folklore, and formally evokes a sense of incompleteness. Its titular figure, Józef Bem, fought in the 1830 Polish Uprising against Russian partitioning powers and in numerous other European conflicts on the side of ‘freedom’ (most notably against Austrian power in Vienna and Hungary). Niemen builds on this Romantic tradition and roots his performance in the sounds and symbols of traditional Polish funeral rites. Hammond organ, bells and Latin recitation open the piece, and the video finds Niemen surrounded by burning candles. In both his impassioned performance and occasional thoughtful gaze into the distance, Niemen mirrors the pose of the Romantic poet. The result is a fascinating video that captures its own historical moment (the long hair and miniskirts of the featured backup singers from Alibabki are unmistakably 1970), while also reflecting the past.
Though Niemen expressed the greatest feeling of kinship with Norwid, his recording catalogue also included many of the biggest names in Polish poetry from the 19th and 20th centuries. His Strange is this World album included a well-known recording of Julian Tuwim’s Wspomnienie (Remembrance). Enigmatic featured verse by Adam Asnyk, Tadeusz Kubiak, and Kazimierz
Przerwa-Tetmajer alongside the featured recording of Norwid’s poem. In 1971, Niemen collaborated with Andrzej Kurylewicz and Wanda Warska to release Muzyka Teatralna i Telewizyjna (Theatre and Television Music), a magnificent collection that includes verse from Norwid, Adam Mickiewicz and Juliusz Słowacki. (Warska’s beautiful rendition of Norwid’s Czułość [Tenderness] is not to be missed!)
Throughout the 1970s, Niemen increasingly turned to Polish poets for lyrical material and his albums from that era include works by Norwid, Słowacki, Bolesław Leśmian, Zbigniew Herbert, Maria Pawlikowska-Jasnorzewska and Jarosłsaw Iwaszkiewicz. Adapting the work of some of the most ‘difficult’ poets of the Polish language, Niemen not only pushed the boundaries of
popular music, but also left behind a catalogue that can be appreciated as an introduction to the beauty of Polish poetry even by those who don’t speak the language.
An enduring dream of Warsaw
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Czesław Niemen's album "Dream about Warsaw", photo: MP
Text
Some day, I will stop time.
Spread my wings like a bird.
I will fly like the wind
down to where my dreams
come true in Warsaw’s multicolour streets.
Author
‘Sen o Warszawie’ (‘A Dream of Warsaw’) by Czesław Niemen and Marek Gaszyński, trans. Marek Kazmierski
Of all Niemen’s iconic performances and popular songs, it is perhaps his 1966 Sen o Warszawie (A Dream of Warsaw) that has proven the most enduring. The song itself, with lyrics by Marek Gaszyński, was written when Niemen was in Paris and offers a loving reflection the Polish city he had come to call home. Listeners are treated to Niemen’s iconic voice leading them through Warsaw, sharing dreams on the city’s streets and watching dawn break over the River Wisła. Singing of stopping time in his beautiful Warsaw, Niemen created an anthem that has transcended time.
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Adam Mickiewicz Monument in Warsaw, photo: Bartosz Bobkowski / PAP
Such a warm tribute to one’s homeland, penned from abroad, resonates with the work of Niemen’s Romantic predecessors. Adam Mickiewicz, after all, penned Pan Tadeusz, a richly detailed account of the world of his childhood, as a political émigré in Paris. While A Dream of Warsaw might not quite compare to Pan Tadeusz in terms of significance or sophistication, it joins the literary classic as an enduring piece of Polish culture.
Football fans might know the tune as the anthem of the Warsaw-based team Legia Warszawa, where it is regularly sung at matches by tens of thousands of people. Wojciech Hadaj, a former announcer for Legia Warszawa, recalls hearing the song fill the stadium:
Text
Fans sing ‘A Dream of Warsaw’ when the players enter the pitch. As the announcer, I stood by the tunnel. I saw fear in the eyes of our rivals. The singing of thousands of people shook the stadium, and goose bumps ran down my arms. It is the most beautiful moment of the match.
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Niebiesko-Czarni band, second from right: Czesław Niemen, 1966, Warszawa, photo: Zdzislaw Olubczynski / Forum
In 2019, a different Warsaw stadium was filled with the familiar tune when the American band Metallica performed the song at a tour stop in the capital city. Met with cheers of recognition after only a few notes, the rockers were joined by fans in signing Niemen’s classic song. Videos of the performance are available online and worth checking out to hear the band’s take on the tune.
With A Dream of Warsaw, Niemen gave Warsaw an anthem. Over the course of his career, he gave Poland a rock legend. Today, streets across the country are named after him. His face has appeared on money and in murals, and his music has been sampled by rappers in Poland and the United States. There is a bench statue dedicated to him in Świebodzin, and a Niemen House Museum in his hometown of Staryya Vasilishki.
Like the Romantic poets with whom he felt a kinship, Niemen has become a lasting voice in Poland’s cultural heritage. He was voted a ‘timeless Polish artist’ in a 1999 readers’ poll in the Polish publication Polityka (Politics). With his powerful voice, willingness to push musical boundaries, and extravagant fashion and performances, Niemen was undoubtedly a rock star for the ages. By reflecting on the social issues of his time, reviving the traditions of the past, or creating verse that would outlive him, he also proved himself as a worthy heir to Poland’s Romantic bards.
Written by Alena Aniskiewicz, Jul 2021
Sources: ‘Poems’ by Cyprian Norwid, trans. Danuta Borchardt (Archipelago, 2011); ‘Czesław Niemen: Kiedy się Dziwić Przestanę ....’ by Roman Radoszewski (ISKRY, 2004);‘Rock and Romanticism: Blake, Wordsworth, and Rock from Dylan to U2’ by James Rovira (Lexington Books, 2018); ‘Czemu Kibice Legii Śpiewają “Sen o Warszawie” Czesława Niemena? “Nie Miał Być Hitem. Musiało Minąć aż 50 Lat”’ by Piotr Wesołowicz (Wyborcza.pl, 2018); Culture.pl
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