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Uciekaj moje serce

Seweryn Krajewski · 1982

A playfully melancholic pop hit from the early 1980s — lyrics by Agnieszka Osiecka, music by Seweryn Krajewski. The narrator catalogues the half-gestures of a hollow relationship (a brief corridor moment, a cold-lipped kiss, rainy Tuesdays) and concludes each verse: "that's still not enough, my heart, to live on." Upbeat and rhythmic, it's an excellent example of colloquial Polish and poetic compression.

Lyrics & Translation

Polski English
Verse 1
Gdzieś w hotelowym korytarzu krótka chwila Splecione ręce gdzieś na plaży, oczu błysk Wysłany w biegu krótki list Stokrotka śniegu, dobra myśl To wciąż za mało, moje serce, żeby żyć
Somewhere in a hotel corridor, a brief moment Intertwined hands somewhere on a beach, a flash of eyes A short letter sent on the run A snow-white daisy, a kind thought That's still not enough, my heart, to live on
Chorus
Uciekaj skoro świt Bo potem będzie wstyd I nie wybaczy nikt Chłodu ust twych
Run away at the crack of dawn Because afterwards there will be shame And nobody will forgive The coldness of your lips
Verse 2
Deszczowe wtorki, które przyjdą po niedzielach Kropelka żalu, której winien jesteś ty Nieprawda że tak miało być Że warto w byle pustkę iść To wciąż za mało, moje serce, żeby żyć
Rainy Tuesdays that will come after Sundays A drop of regret for which you are to blame It's not true that it was meant to be this way That it's worth walking into just any emptiness That's still not enough, my heart, to live on
Verse 3
Odloty nagłe i wstydliwe, niezabawne Nic nie wiedzący, a zdradzony pies czy miś Żałośnie chuda kwiatów kiść I nowa złuda, nowa nić To wciąż za mało moje serce, żeby żyć
Sudden and shameful departures, not at all funny The dog or teddy bear who knows nothing but has been betrayed A pitifully thin bunch of flowers And a new illusion, a new thread That's still not enough, my heart, to live on

  • Vocabulary

    • skoro świt — at the crack of dawn / at daybreak (frozen temporal expression)
    • wstyd — shame / embarrassment (będzie wstyd = there will be shame)
    • chłód — coldness / chill (chłodu ust = genitive: coldness of the lips)
    • spleciony — intertwined / entwined (splecione ręce = intertwined hands)
    • błysk — flash / gleam (oczu błysk = a flash of eyes)
    • winien — to blame / owing (winien jesteś ty = you are to blame)
    • pustka — emptiness / void (byle pustkę = just any emptiness)
    • złuda — illusion / delusion
    • kiść — bunch / cluster (kwiatów kiść = a bunch of flowers)
    • zdradzony — betrayed / cheated on

    Grammar note

    "Będzie wstyd" uses an impersonal noun construction — wstyd (shame) functions as a predicate without a personal subject, expressing a general emotional state: there will be shame / it will be shameful. This pattern is common in Polish: jest żal (there is regret), będzie wstyd (there will be shame). Note also the archaic-poetic genitive in the chorus: "chłodu ust twych" — chłód → chłodu (genitive), usta → ust (genitive plural), twoje → twych (archaic genitive plural). This compressed genitive chain is a hallmark of Osiecka's lyrical style.

    Cultural context

    "Uciekaj moje serce" was written by poet and lyricist Agnieszka Osiecka — one of the most celebrated writers in postwar Polish culture — with music by Seweryn Krajewski, lead singer and composer of the legendary band Czerwone Gitary. Maryla Rodowicz has performed the song many times in concerts and on television, which is why she is often associated with it, but the canonical recording is Krajewski's. Released in the early 1980s, the song's wry inventory of romantic half-measures — hotel corridors, cold lips, rainy Tuesdays — reflects Osiecka's signature ability to find melancholy inside an upbeat melody.

    Intermediate popclassicculturelistening

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