Summer is here and my favorite thing to do is sitting by a bonfire with my family, singing songs and roasting marshmallows!

I still remember those wonderful nights in Poland, with my family and friends…I remember singing traditional Polish songs that everyone knew by heart:)

The Poles have always been a nation fond of singing. Singing was an indispensable part of the feasts and accompanied their most dramatic moments of the history. Songs described the fortunes and misfortunes of the villagers, encouraged soldiers for fighting and sustained the nation’s spirits during the partition, when Poland was absent on the political map of the world. During the People’s Republic of Poland songs served for propaganda purposes or were an expression of opposition against the socialist system.

Themes of Polish folk songs cover all aspects of daily human life: love,  work, play and rituals. Accordingly, they are divided into ritual songs (wedding, harvest), moral songs (love, flirt, soldier’s), chants accompanying dance melodies, ballads and religious songs. For centuries they were handed down orally from generation to generation, without notation or verbal.

Here is a list of few popular Polish songs to sing with friends by the bonfire, at a wedding or at any other party!

“Hej Sokoły” – is a traditional Polish song that was popular among soldiers during the Polish-Soviet War. The title translates roughly as “hey falcons.” The lyrics exist in several versions about a Ukrainian girl to whom her betrothed, either a cossack or an ulan says goodbye for the last time. Although its exact origins are unknown, the song was believed to have been written by the Polish-Ukrainian poet-songwriter Tomasz Padura in the first half of the 19th century. It is representative of what is known as the Ukrainian school of Polish literature. The song also became popular in Ukraine, with a slightly different text in Ukrainian. The tune was popular among Polish soldiers during the Polish-Soviet War, and was also sung by the Polish Home Army guerrillas during World War II.

“Płonie ognisko w lesie” – This is a scouting song in which scouts are advised to always stay alert.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2doMskPZrj0

“Szła Dzieweczka do Laseczka” – 

“Płonie ognisko i szumią knieje”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WpPT_yd2pJ8

“Pieśn pożegnalna (ogniska już dogasa blask)”

“Gdzie strumyk płynie z wolna”