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Żółte kalendarze

Piotr Szczepanik · 1966

A melancholic classic by Piotr Szczepanik (music: Andrzej Korzyński, lyrics: Jerzy Miller) about the impossibility of stopping time — released 1966, a major hit by 1968 and a nostalgic evergreen ever since.

Lyrics & Translation

Polski English
Verse 1
Czy znasz morza brzeg Bez poszumu fal? Czy znasz rzeki nurt Co nie płynie w dal? Czy znasz? Jeśli nie To dlaczego chcesz zatrzymać
Do you know the shore of the sea Without the murmur of waves? Do you know the current of a river That does not flow into the distance? Do you know? If not — Then why do you want to stop
Chorus
Prąd rzek, szum fal Twoje łzy, mój płacz Żal, nic tu nie pomoże Łzy twoje i mój płacz Nikt nie uciszy morza Nie zatrzyma biegu fal
The current of rivers, the sound of waves Your tears, my weeping Sorrow — nothing here will help Your tears and my weeping No one will quiet the sea Will not stop the running of the waves
Verse 2
Czy znasz taki wiatr Co w bezruch trwa? Czy znasz taką noc Która nie ma dna? Czy znasz taki dzień Co nie kończy się zmierzchaniem?
Do you know such a wind That stays in stillness? Do you know such a night That has no bottom? Do you know such a day That does not end in dusk?
Outro
Gdy sen ma przyjść Słyszę znów twój głos Wróć do krainy marzeń Gdzie zawsze wiosna trwa Spal żółte kalendarze Żółte kalendarze spal
When sleep is to come I hear your voice again Return to the land of dreams Where spring always lasts Burn the yellow calendars Burn the yellow calendars

  • Vocabulary

    • brzeg — shore / bank / edge
    • poszum — murmur / rustle (of waves)
    • nurt — current (of a river)
    • w dal — into the distance
    • zatrzymać — to stop / to hold back
    • prąd — current / flow
    • szum — sound / murmur / rustle
    • żal — sorrow / regret / grief
    • uciszyć — to quiet / to silence
    • bieg — run / course / flow
    • bezruch — stillness / motionlessness
    • dno — bottom / depth
    • zmierzchanie — dusk / twilight (verbal noun from zmierzchać)
    • kraina — land / realm / region
    • spal — burn! (perfective imperative of spalić — to burn up completely)

    Grammar note

    "Czy znasz...?" is a series of rhetorical questions building an argument by impossibility — do you know a sea without waves? A river without current? Of course not, so why try to stop them? The final imperative "Spal żółte kalendarze" uses the perfective aspect (spalić → spal): burn them up completely, once and for all. The accusative "żółte kalendarze" follows the verb. Note the chiastic word order in the last two lines: Spal żółte kalendarze / Żółte kalendarze spal — verb-object, then object-verb — a classic poetic inversion.

    Cultural context

    "Żółte kalendarze" (music: Andrzej Korzyński, lyrics: Jerzy Miller) was performed by Piotr Szczepanik and released in 1966, becoming one of the biggest Polish hits of 1968. The image of burning yellow calendars — yellowed by age, like old paper — is a command to stop clinging to the past. The song sits in the tradition of Polish lyrical pop that borrowed from French chanson and treated popular music as a vehicle for genuine poetry.

    Intermediate classicpopballadculturelistening

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