Renata Przemyk w… Read Full Bio ↴Renata Przemyk is a Polish singer and music writer.
Renata Przemyk was born on 10th February 1966 in Bielsko-Biała, where she attended primary and secondary school. She enjoyed her childhood together with her parents, grandmother and brothers. After finishing school, Renata moved to Katowice and began to study Czech philology at University of Silesia.
In 1994 she moved to Cracow, and at the end of 1999 she decided to lead quiet life in the country near Cracow, away from the fuss of a big city, which enabled her to compose, make arrangements of her own songs and bring up her daughter in a peaceful atmosphere.
Her career as a singer started when she was a teenager, by singing with local rock bands. However, the real calling for music she developed during her studies when she was inspired by the music of Tom Waits, Talking Heads and Frank Zappa. As a result of it, she started a band named "Ya Hozna" in 1989.
Although the fact, that the group lasted only for a year, they managed to release an album entitled "Ya Hozna", the album that revealed unique and original musical style of Renata Przemyk. After her music began to catch on, she started her solo career.
As an independent artist Renata has recorded and edited the following albums: "Mało zdolna szansonistka" (1992), "Tylko kobieta" (1994), "Andergrant" (1996), "Hormon" (1999), "Blizna" (2001), "Balladyna" (2002) - soundtrack from a play directed by Jan Machulski, "The best of" (2003) - a compilation of her most interesting songs, "Unikat" (2006).
From the beginning of her artistic path, she has been accompanied by her dearest friend and manager - Anna Saraniecka, who at the same time is the author of all lyrics. Mature and wise lyrics have the same importance for Renata's songs as the music, and are integral part of creating the unusual nature of her work.
Most of Renata's albums were awarded with a status of "golden album" for selling over 50.000 copies. Moreover, they were nominated and awarded many times - mostly for artistic individuality.
From the beginning of her career, the singer has also won numerous awards in various festivals in which she took part, including first prize in the festival in Cracow, "Karolinka" in Opole and "Bursztynowy Slowik" in Sopot.
As an artist that connects rock sounds with poetry and theatrical performance she could both perform - on the stage of a rock festival in Jarocin, and on prestigious festivals of stage song that took place in Wrocław and Köln. She has given concerts in France (Normandy, Britany, Paris) and in the USA (New York) but because of lyrics written in native language, she prefers to perform in front of the Polish publicity which can fully appreciate the words and also sing the songs with her.
Although, she has got many interests such as: art, cinema, the 19th and 20th century literature, modern theatre and drawing her own graphics, the most important for her is always music. She has cooperated with many artists but if it's for her art - she's always the only one who produces her ventures and decides about their character.
It is hard to classify her music - neither rock nor alternative nor poetry can describe what's deep inside it. She calls her music "an everlasting search for tones, sounds, emotions and climates not similar to anything that had been made before". That's why each album is different from the previous one. Nevertheless, there is always one motif in common - on every album we can hear the sound of accordion, an instrument the artist likes, despite all trends and fashions.
An individual and unique style of Renata's music has its origin in post-punk tones. However, the artist has been constantly using various instruments in her musical career. The electronic sounds were used for the first time by Renata on an album entitled "Hormon" in 1999, which at the same time was the first album composed by her. Since then she and the author of lyrics Anna Saraniecka have been the only "parents" of Renata's successes.
What is more, in plebiscites of two most important Polish weeklies - Polityka and Wprost, Renata has been chosen one of the most important artists of the last century.
Discography:
* Yahozna (1990)
* Mało zdolna szansonistka (1992)
* Tylko kobieta (1994)
* Andergrant (1996)
* Hormon (1999)
* Blizna (2001)
* Balladyna (2002)
* The best of Renata Przemyk (2003)
* Unikat (2006)
* Odjazd (2009)
Zoo
Renata Przemyk Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Wlecze żal po podciętym ogonie paw
Puma leży na ziemi wpółżywa i zakrywa pięścią smutne oczy
Nie wstyd wam
Dziesięć kroków do przodu i dwadzieścia w bok
Wije się po betonie małżeństwo fok
Lew wspomina uparcie jak walczył będąc świata królem jednak uległ
Póki co
I że krata tylko oknem jest na świat
Kto zechce może twoje życie mieć na własność
I samotny jesteś chociaż nigdy sam
Może mają w marzeniach swoich pomimo ran
Desperacki i ponoć nieludzki plan
Żeby wziąć swoich widzów choć zdziwionych nagłą zmianą pod ochronę
Choćby w snach
Mięso rzucą surowe pod nogi nam
Oczy zaślepi flesza znajomy blask
Palcem wytkną ci każdą choć banalnie małą lecz niedoskonałość
No i jak?
The song "ZOO" by Renata Przemyk describes the captivity and suffering of wild animals in a zoo. The lyrics depict the animals behind barbed wire and closed gates, with their tails and spirits cut off. The reference to a mourning peacock shedding tears due to the amputation of its magnificent tail feathers, and a puma lying on the ground with sad eyes half-covered with fists, portrays the agony and distress the animals' confinement causes them. The song highlights the animals as victims of human greed and cruelty, as they are robbed of their freedom and forced to entertain humans while living in cramped spaces.
The lyrics also reference the animals' desire for freedom and the futility of their attempts to escape. The "marriage" of seals wriggling on the concrete and the lion's memory of his days as king of the world, fighting fiercely but ultimately losing, depicts the animals' constant struggle to break free from their confines. The song concludes by painting a bleak picture of the animals' existence in captivity, with the only ray of hope being a desperate and inhumane plan to protect them from the sudden change in their surroundings.
Overall, "ZOO" by Renata Przemyk serves as a poignant reminder of the mistreatment of animals in captivity for our entertainment, and the importance of protecting their rights and natural habitats.
Line by Line Meaning
Pośród drutów kolczastych i zamkniętych bram
In between barbed wires and locked gates
Wlecze żal po podciętym ogonie paw
Dragging sorrow after a paw with a cut tail
Puma leży na ziemi wpółżywa i zakrywa pięścią smutne oczy
A puma lies on the ground, half-dead, covering her sad eyes with a fist
Nie wstyd wam
Aren't you ashamed?
Dziesięć kroków do przodu i dwadzieścia w bok
Ten steps forward and twenty sideways
Wije się po betonie małżeństwo fok
A seal couple wriggles on the concrete
Lew wspomina uparcie jak walczył będąc świata królem jednak uległ
A lion stubbornly remembers how it fought as the king of the world but eventually succumbed
Póki co
For now
Wyobraź sobie klatkę ciasną
Imagine a cramped cage
I że krata tylko oknem jest na świat
And that the bars are the only window to the world
Kto zechce może twoje życie mieć na własność
Whoever wants to can have your life as their property
I samotny jesteś chociaż nigdy sam
And you're lonely even though you're never alone
Może mają w marzeniach swoich pomimo ran
Maybe they have, despite their wounds, in their dreams
Desperacki i ponoć nieludzki plan
A desperate and supposedly inhumane plan
Żeby wziąć swoich widzów choć zdziwionych nagłą zmianą pod ochronę
To take their audience, albeit surprised by a sudden change, under protection
Choćby w snach
Even in dreams
Mięso rzucą surowe pod nogi nam
They'll throw raw meat at our feet
Oczy zaślepi flesza znajomy blask
The familiar flash will blind our eyes
Palcem wytkną ci każdą choć banalnie małą lecz niedoskonałość
They'll point out every, even the most banal and small imperfection with their finger
No i jak?
So, what now?
Contributed by Nicholas I. Suggest a correction in the comments below.