Poland Is Not Yet Lost

"Poland Is Not Yet Lost"

National anthem of Poland
Also known as"Pieśń Legionów Polskich we Włoszech" (English: "Song of the Polish Legions in Italy")
"Jeszcze Polska nie zginęła" (English: "Poland Is Not Yet Lost")
LyricsJózef Wybicki, 1797
MusicComposer unknown (arranged by Kazimierz Sikorski), 18th century
Adopted1927 (1927)
Audio sample
U.S. Navy Band instrumental version (one verse)
Preview warning: Page using Template:Listen with missing file ":Mazurek_Dabrowskiego.ogg"

"Poland Is Not Yet Lost",[a][b] also known as the "Dąbrowski's Mazurka",[c] and the "Song of the Polish Legions in Italy",[d] is the national anthem of Poland.[1][2][3]

The original lyrics were written by Józef Wybicki in Reggio Emilia, in Northern Italy, between 16 and 19 July 1797, two years after the Third Partition of Poland erased the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth from the map. Its initial purpose was to raise the morale of Jan Henryk Dąbrowski's Polish Legions that served with Napoleon Bonaparte in the Italian campaigns of the French Revolutionary Wars. "Mazurek Dąbrowskiego" expressed the idea that the nation of Poland, despite lacking an independent state of their own, had not disappeared as long as the Polish people endured and fought in its name.[2][3]

The music is an unattributed mazurka and considered a "folk tune" that Polish composer Edward Pałłasz categorizes as "functional art" which was "fashionable among the gentry and rich bourgeoisie". Pałłasz wrote, "Wybicki probably made use of melodic motifs he had heard and combined them in one formal structure to suit the text".[2]

When Poland re-emerged as an independent state in 1918, "Mazurek Dąbrowskiego" became its de facto national anthem. It was officially adopted as the national anthem of Poland in 1927.[3] It also inspired similar songs by other peoples struggling for independence during the 19th century,[2] such as the Ukrainian national anthem and the song "Hej, Sloveni" which was used as the national anthem of socialist Yugoslavia during that state's existence.


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  1. ^ Public Domain This article incorporates public domain material from "Poland". The World Factbook (2024 ed.). CIA. 12 February 2013. Retrieved 4 March 2013. (Archived 2013 edition)
  2. ^ a b c d Pałłasz, Edward. "The Polish National Anthem". Poland – Official Promotional Website of the Republic of Poland. Warsaw, PL: Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Archived from the original on 23 February 2013. Retrieved 7 March 2013.
  3. ^ a b c Trochimczyk, Maja (2000). "Mazurek Dąbrowskiego". National Anthems of Poland. Los Angeles: Polish Music Center. USC Thornton School of Music. Archived from the original on 26 February 2013. Retrieved 7 March 2013.