Czerwone Gitary were founded by guitarist/vocalist Jerzy Kossela (July 15, 1942 – January 7, 2017) and bassist Henryk Zomerski on 3 January 1965 in Gdańsk. Initial members included Bernard Dornowski (guitar/vocals), Krzysztof Klenczon (lead guitar /vocals) and Jerzy Skrzypczyk (drums/vocals); four members (Dornowski, Klenczon, Kossela and Zomerski) had played previously in another notable Polish band, the Niebiesko-Czarni (The Blue-Blacks). Note: Radio disc jockey Neil Kempfer-Stocker was the first person to air the Blue-Blacks 45 rpms in America while at WRMC Radio Bethlehem, Pennsylvania in 1968. In Autumn 1965 Zomerski was replaced by Seweryn Krajewski (bass/vocals) ; around that time the band also launched their first tour in Poland under the slogan "We play and sing the loudest in Poland".
Their 1966 debut album "To właśnie my" ("It's us") sold 160,000 copies, and their May 1967 follow up, Czerwone Gitary 2, sold a then-record (for Poland) 240,000. In the same year Krajewski received a special award at the National Festival of Polish Song in Opole (Krajowy Festiwal Piosenki Polskiej w Opolu). In 1967 Kossela left the band. The band's 1968 third album sold 220,000 copies, and the group received an award in Opole for their song "Takie ładne oczy" ("Such Pretty Eyes"). In 1969 the band received a MIDEM award in Cannes for the largest number of discs sold in Poland up to that date; this was the same year that the Beatles received this award. Thereafter the Czerwone Gitary would be known as the Polish Beatles (see also Beatlesque). The same year the group received a special award from Billboard magazine, and in Poland, another award from Opole festival for "Biały krzyż" ("White cross").
Klenczon left in 1970, the year of the band's acclaimed LP "Na fujarce" ("On the flute"). Krajewski then took lead as the group turned to mainstream folk-tinged pop in the 1970s.
After a hiatus the Czerwone Gitary returned in the early 1990s with Kossela, Dornowski and Skrzypczyk resurrecting the group. Krajeski refused to participate and even released a solo album credited to Czerwone Gitary by Seweryn Krajewski called "Koniec" ("The End"). Initially the new lineup played the old hits; its first new album since the 1970s was "...jeszcze gra muzyka" ("...still the music plays") in 1998. In a 2000 poll for the Polish magazine Polityka, Czerwone Gitary were selected as "One of the Best Polish Bands of the 20th Century". In 2005 a new song "Senny szept" ("Sleepy whisper") took fourth place in the Sopot International Song Festival.
Members:
Jerzy Kossela (guitar, vocals, founder, leader, left in 1967, returned in 1991, left again in 1993 and returned again in 1999, stopped touring in 2015 due to health problems and died in 2017)
Henryk Zomerski (bass, keyabords ('90 & '00 only), founder, left the band soon after it was founded, in late 1965; in the band since 1999 till his death in 2011)
Bernard Dornowski (guitar, vocals, bass, one of the original members, left in 1999)
Jerzy Skrzypczyk (drums, vocals, percussion, one of the original members, still in the band as of 2016)
Krzysztof Klenczon (lead guitar, vocals, harmonica,one of the original members; left in 1970)
Seweryn Krajewski (bass, vocals, guitar, piano, violin, keyboards, replaced Zomerski in December 1965; left in 1997)
Dominik Kuta (guitar, flute, vocals, briefly in 1970)
Ryszard Kaczmarek (bass, 1971–1975)
Jan Pospieszalski (bass, 1976–1980)
Wojciech Hoffman (guitar, 1997–2000)
Arkadiusz Malinowski (guitar, bass, 1999–2002)
Dariusz Olszewski (guitar, vocals, 2000–2004, rejoined in 2010, still in the band as of 2016)
Mieczysław Wądołowski (guitar, vocals, joined 1997, still in the band as of 2016)
Marek Kisieliński (guitar, keyboards, joined 2003, left in 2013)
Arkadiusz Wiśniewski (bass, guitar, vocals, joined in 2003, still in the band as of 2016)
Artur Chyb (guitar, joined in 2013, left in 2014)
Marcin Niewęgłowski (guitar, vocals, 2014-2016)
Marek Jabłoński (guitar, joined in 2016)
Artur Żurek (percussion, additional drums, joined in 2016)
Matura
Czerwone Gitary Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Za pół roku
Już niedługo, coraz bliżej - za pół roku
Minęła studniówka
Z wielkim hukiem
Czas ucieka i matura coraz bliżej
Dwa tygodnie
Już niedługo, coraz bliżej - dwa tygodnie
Oj za dzień matura (o jejku, co to będzie)
Za godzinę
Już niedługo, coraz bliżej - już za chwilę
I co dalej?
Znów za rok matura
Za rok cały
Już niedługo, coraz bliżej - za rok cały
Już niedługo, coraz blizej - za rok cały!
The lyrics of Czerwone Gitary's song "Matura" focus on the upcoming graduation exams, which are a significant milestone for students in Poland. The song captures the anxiety and anticipation that students feel as they approach this important event in their lives. The lyrics build up to the exam day, with the singer emphasizing the progressively shorter timeframes that lead up to it. The first verse mentions that the exams are a year away, followed by six months, one month, two weeks, one day, and finally one hour.
The repetition of the phrase "coraz bliżej" (closer and closer) highlights the sense of urgency and pressure felt by students as they approach the exam. The repetition also serves to create a rhythmic structure for the song, adding to its catchy nature. The final verse suggests that even after the exams are over, there will be another round of them the following year, indicating the cyclical nature of academic life. The overall message of the song seems to be that while the exams are a daunting challenge, they are a necessary step towards progress and growth.
Line by Line Meaning
Hej za rok matura
Hey, in a year comes the final high school exam
Za pół roku
In just half a year
Już niedługo, coraz bliżej - za pół roku
It's already almost here, getting closer each passing day - just half a year away
Minęła studniówka
The prom has passed
Z wielkim hukiem
With great noise and fun
Czas ucieka i matura coraz bliżej
Time flies and the final exams are getting closer
Za miesiąc matura
In a month comes the final exams
Dwa tygodnie
Two weeks
Już niedługo, coraz bliżej - dwa tygodnie
It's already almost here, getting closer each passing day - just two weeks away
Oj za dzień matura (o jejku, co to będzie)
Oh, tomorrow is the final exams (oh my, what will happen)
Za godzinę
In just an hour
Już niedługo, coraz bliżej - już za chwilę
It's already almost here, getting closer each passing moment - just a few moments away
I co dalej?
And what's next?
Znów za rok matura
Next year, it's the final exams again
Za rok cały
A whole year from now
Już niedługo, coraz bliżej - za rok cały
It's already almost here, getting closer each passing day - a whole year away
Contributed by Amelia A. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
poeta Piotr Rysiewski
321 [ Matura ]
Pióro, może długopis,
narzędziem,
by powstał ten najważniejszy w życiu rękopis.
Kasztan dopisał, jak co roku,
a w szkole tylko trochę inaczej,
nikogo w ławce z boku.
Bezrobotny dzwonek milczy cały czas,
że dziś nowe , dwumetrowe przerwy,
nie informuje nas.
Zmian więcej, ręce czyste po obowiązkowej dezynfekcji,
wszystkie ściągi zmyte ,
a ja nic nie pamiętam z lekcji.
Polskie Nagrania
Posłuchaj więcej hitów Czerwonych Gitar PolskieNagrania.lnk.to/czerwone-gitary-playlistaYC 🎸🔥
szybka spluwa
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będzie ciężko ale dzięki
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