Obligatory Post About "Koko Euro Spoko"

As the Euro2012 bears down on us—the opening match merely a day away—I feel compelled to mention the Euro2012 anthem for Poland, "Koko Euro Spoko"by Jarzebina.  Translating to something like Bawk (or cluck) Euro Cool (Note: koko is the Polish word for the sound a chicken makes), the song was voted the winner of "Hit Bialo-Czerwonych" (Hit of the Red-Whites) in a live concert.  The song itself seems to be a semi-disco polo song with lyrics about the Euro2012 tournament, of course playing to nationalist feelings (it's cheering on the Polish National Team.)  It has all the expected imagery: red and white, eagles, balls flying high.  The song immediately led to a mass facepalming from just about everyone who wasn't at the concert voting for it.

Those are traditional folk outfits.  They're not dressed as nuns.  But also fucking check out the guitarists rock out on this one.

Many feel that it's an enormous embarrassment for Poland to choose a cheesy song like this: but they're really missing the point.  The worst part of the song is the lyrics, which are pretty lame; however, most foreigners won't understand the lyrics.  The same works in reverse when trying to tell non-Poles about how great Pan Tadeusz is (the plot is super-lame; one reads it for the language, which is lost upon non-Polish speakers.)
Not all are detractors though.  Some find the lyrics and tune pretty catchy (I myself have annoyed more than one co-worker with my incessant singing of "Ciesza sie Polacy!  Cieszy Ukrainia!"  (Note:  I'm not endorsing this song or admitting that it's good, it merely entered into my rotation of songs to sing out loud for the Euro2012 duration.)
The last I heard, they were not going to perform this for the opening match.

Awwww shit, son!  It's the remix!

This is not the first folk song inspired by soccer.  Maryla Rodowicz also performed for the 1974 World Cup, in which Poland placed third.

All I can say is that I can't wait to see if this is submitted for the Eurovision contest.  Won't that bring down the house.

Trilling and Dancing

A few weeks back, there was a free concert showcasing traditional Polish folk dancers and singers. The whole ensemble was accompanied by an orchestra in adorable costumes. The dancers (see below) were very entertaining. I was quite captivated by the girls' trilled whoops (see if you can hear them do it in the videos.) The costumes are straight out of a Polish logo (Zywiec, or some butter company, etc.)

I wonder if Polish Folk Dancing will ever catch on the way Irish Step Dancing did. Maybe it's due for a renaissance.

Now, I was shooting this video blind and standing at the very back of the crowd. Please excuse me if the camerawork kind of sucks.

Songs of Learning

Way back when I was studying Polish at school, every Friday my teacher would rock out on his guitar and we'd all sing traditional Polish folk songs. There was an entire list, which I have unfortunately forgotten in the States. We'd go through and he'd explain the lyrics, where the song came from, plus the time period from which it originated. Then, we'd (actually, they, my fellow classmates, I usually looked down and tried to mumble something or hum along with the tune) would try to keep up as the professor strummed his six-string and lead us in tune. It's a great way to teach language and I try to get all my students to sing, with varying degrees of success.

There was a wide range of songs, but the most common were venerated staples like Hej Sokoły and Siekiera Motyka. Even though I don't have my lyric pages with me, I can still recall some of the lines (and the melodies.)

A personal favorite of mine was, Śmiej się Griska, a song that probably originated from Ukraine. It's about how this guy, Griska, shouldn't be sad and should drink his troubles away (sounds like something a Slav would say.) Of the lyrics, I only remember the first few lines:

Śmiej się, Griska

Bardzo do kieliśka

something something something

dah dah die dum dum

And that's about it.

The other songs are probably known by every Pole, even if they don't know all the lyrics. I was able to find the lyrics elsewhere, so I'm able to post them here.

Siekiera, Motyka lyrics:

Siekiera, motyka, bimber, szklanka,

W nocy nalot, w dzień łapanka,

Siekiera, Motyka, światło, prąd,

Kiedyż oni pójdą stąd.

Już nie mamy gdzie się skryć,

Hycle nam nie dają żyć.

Po ulicach gonią wciąż,

Patrzą, kogo jeszcze wziąć.

Siekiera, motyka, piłka, linka,

Tutaj Prusy, tam Treblinka,

Siekiera, motyka, światło, prąd,

Drałuj, draniu, wreszcie stąd.

Siekiera, motyka, Styczeń, Luty,

Hitler z Ducem gubią buty,

Siekiera, motyka, linka, drut,

Już Pan malarz jest kaput.

Siekiera, motyka, piłka, alasz,

Przegrał wojnę głupi malarz.

Siekiera, motyka, piłka, noż,

Przegrał wojnę już, już, już

They're rather rowdy songs, good to sing while drinking and waging war.