Kayah is a pseudonym of Katarzyna Rooijens (b. Katarzyna Szczot, 5 Nov 1967… Read Full Bio ↴Kayah is a pseudonym of Katarzyna Rooijens (b. Katarzyna Szczot, 5 Nov 1967, in Białystok, Poland), a successful female Polish singer-songwriter. She has released several albums & won numerous awards. At the start of her career, Kayah sang in choirs and with many bands (such as Tilt and Atrakcyjny Kazimierz). She made her solo debut with the song Daughter in 1988 at the Sopot Festival.

She released her first, self-produced solo album, Kamien (Stone), in 1996. It was a great success, consisting of melancholy pop songs. In the same year, she was voted ‘Vocalist of the Year’ by the Polish music industry and received a Fryderyk in recognition of her achievements.

In 1997, she received another Fryderyk, this time for the album Zebra, in the category of ‘Composer of the Year’. With Zebra she changed her style, moving in the direction of American soul music.

In 1999, she recorded one of the most popular Polish albums ever, with the Balkan composer Goran Bregović, entitled Kayah & Bregović: it is a blend of old Slavic songs and modern rhythms. Most of the music was composed by Bregović for the band Bijelo Dugme (White Button), which he had been a part of and movie soundtracks that he had worked on. The lyrics are both translations of the original text and inspired. In the same year she was awarded a Wiktor and another Fryderyk, in the category ‘Vocalist of the Year’.

In 2000, she released the album Jaka Ja Kayah which featured pop, jazz, and techno-influenced songs. She also released the single "Aniol Wiedzial" ("The Angel Knew") from the album, duetted with Cesaria Evora in Portuguese, and recorded English-language versions of some of her songs.

She was twice cast in advertisements for Polish mobile phone's Web - Orange POP (formerly Idea POP).

Sites: En.Wikipedia.

Cogito Ergo Non Sum
Kayah Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Czuję że to szczęście
myślę krótko
choć zacisnę pieści
prześliźnie się przez palce
on jest ze mną w nocy
myślę za długo
gdy otworzę oczy
zniknie ta jak przyszedł

Myślę więc nie jestem
myślę więc mnie nie ma

Gdy czasem cicho płaczę
myślę że krwawię
łzę krokodylą ranię
co zmienia serce w kamień
gdy ważny ktoś okłamie
myślę że się palę
uciekam jak najdalej
gdzie cicho gasnę

Myślę więc nie jestem
myślę więc mnie nie ma

A przed samotnością swoją
siebie w myślach sama winie
wiem że pustki nie odmieni
czyjś oddech ani imię
ref.: myślę więc nie jestem
myślę więc mnie nie ma

swoją twarz zakrywam
rękami obiema

Overall Meaning

The lyrics of Kayah's song Cogito Ergo Non Sum explore the idea of identity and the power of thoughts. The first verse implies the struggle of holding on to something that slips through your fingers, represented by the connection with someone in the night. The singer admits that she overthinks things and that, when she opens her eyes, the connection she felt vanishes. The second verse shows the fear of being emotionally hurt and the struggle to escape such pain, revealing that the singer finds solace in retreating to her own thoughts. The chorus, "Myślę więc nie jestem, myślę więc mnie nie ma," translates into "I think, therefore I am not, I think, so I am not," emphasizing the duality of existence and non-existence, suggesting that one's thoughts are powerful enough to shape one's identity. The singer concludes with the image of shielding her face with both hands, implying the need to protect oneself from the outside world and the power of her own thoughts.

Line by Line Meaning

Czuję że to szczęście
I feel that it's happiness

myślę krótko
I think briefly

choć zacisnę pieści
Even though I clench my fists

prześliźnie się przez palce
It'll slip through my fingers

on jest ze mną w nocy
He is with me at night

myślę za długo
I think for too long

gdy otworzę oczy
When I open my eyes

zniknie ta jak przyszedł
It'll disappear as it came

Myślę więc nie jestem
I think, therefore I am not

myślę więc mnie nie ma
I think, therefore I'm not here

Gdy czasem cicho płaczę
When I quietly cry sometimes