The band's debut album, The Beginning, which consisted entirely of instrumental music, was released in 1990 with average success. By 1993, the band released the follow-up, The New Shape, with the line-up expanded to include Sławomir Romanowski and Robert Amirian. The album featured vocals by Robert Janson and Robert Amirian, along with guest vocalists including Edyta Bartosiewicz.
The band's breakthrough was the 1994 album Emu, which marked a significant change in musical direction, i.e. the band now had a lead singer, Anita Lipnicka, and started performing primarily in Polish. This formula was highly successful, and both Emu and the following 1995 album, Elf, sold more than half a million copies each. In 1995, the band won a Polish music award, the Fryderyk, for best Polish music group. Furthermore, the band provided a number of songs (mostly from Elf) for the soundtrack of the movie Młode wilki.
In 1996, Varius Manx appeared on the television show "Szansa na sukces", a kind of karaoke show in which the participants sing the songs of the visiting band. The winner of the show was the 19-year-old Kasia Stankiewicz. When, shortly afterwards, Amirian and Lipnicka both left the band, the remaining members asked Stankiewicz to join the band as new lead singer. This new line-up recorded Ego, which featured the band's biggest hit to date, the song "Orła cień".
In 1997, the band released its 6th album, End, which was a commercial hit, though it sold far less that the band's preceding albums.
In 2000, Varius Manx released their first compilation album Najlepsze z dobrych, which included four new songs along with remastered versions of the band's greatest hits. Shortly afterwards, Kasia Stankiewicz left the band and was replaced by Monika Kuszyńska. With her as lead singer, the band recorded the albums Eta (2001), Eno (2002) and Emi (2004).
In 2006, during the band's summer tour, the band members were involved in a car accident, which left lead singer Monika Kuszyńska paralyzed from the waist down. The band suspended its activities until 2010, then with a new lead singer, Lari Lu, with whom the band recorded the album Eli (2011).
The band's current lead singer, since 2013, is Edi Ann.
Nowy Jork i My
Varius Manx Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Miękko ich otula mrok
Oni ciągle widzą w górze
Ślad dwóch wież
Niebo dziś jest pełne łez
Patrzę na tysiące zdjęć
Oni wrócą, znów pojadą
W naszych sercach
Jest Nowy Jork
W naszych oczach
Jest Nowy Jork
Serca płaczą,
Bo z kurzu wynurza się świat
Świat kaleki i pełen ran
Ci, co ich strącili w mrok
Byli złem co rodzi zło
Oni chcieli zabić Boga
W każdym z nas
W naszych sercach
Jest Nowy Jork
W naszych oczach
Jest Nowy Jork
Serca płaczą,
Spraw Panie
Niech doda na sił
Pamięć o tych,
Co chcieli żyć (3x)
The lyrics to Varius Manx's song "Nowy Jork i My" speak about the tragedy of 9/11, specifically about the World Trade Center's Twin Towers. The opening lines describe how those responsible for the attack are now safe in the darkness, whereas those affected by it, the victims and their loved ones, are still reeling from the impact of the destruction. However, despite the darkness and the loss, the image of the Twin Towers continues to linger in their minds as a symbol of something lost, something that can never be regained.
As the song progresses, the singer ponders over the photographs of the disaster, the overwhelming sadness of it overcoming them. They imagine a world where the Twin Towers still stand, and the people who lost their lives there, still alive. They wonder at the resilience of the human spirit, how those who survived have gone on to rebuild their lives, and how others will continue to do so.
In the final lines of the song, the singer prays for strength and asks that we never forget those who lost their lives, as they were people who simply wanted to live.
Line by Line Meaning
Oni już bezpieczni są
They are safe now
Miękko ich otula mrok
The darkness softly embraces them
Oni ciągle widzą w górze
They still see the sky above
Ślad dwóch wież
A trace of two towers
Niebo dziś jest pełne łez
Today, the sky is full of tears
Patrzę na tysiące zdjęć
I look at thousands of photos
Oni wrócą, znów pojadą
They will return and travel again
Do swych wież
To their towers
W naszych sercach
In our hearts
Jest Nowy Jork
There is New York
W naszych oczach
In our eyes
Jest Nowy Jork
There is New York
Serca płaczą,
Hearts cry
Bo z kurzu wynurza się świat
Because a world emerges from the dust
Świat kaleki i pełen ran
A world crippled and full of wounds
Ci, co ich strącili w mrok
Those who pushed them into darkness
Byli złem co rodzi zło
Were evil that begets evil
Oni chcieli zabić Boga
They wanted to kill God
W każdym z nas
In each of us
Spraw Panie
Lord, grant
Niech doda na sił
Give us strength
Pamięć o tych,
Memory of those
Co chcieli żyć (3x)
Who wanted to live
Contributed by Charlie A. Suggest a correction in the comments below.