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Polish 'Silent Night' - two versions. Why??



australia2Threads: 1
Posts: 4
Joined: Dec 27, 07 		  Dec 27, 07, 07:19 /  #
An odd one from Australia..
Apparently there is an earlier set of Polish lyrics for the universally popular 'Silent Night'. circa 1930's/40's
Not the current 'Cicha Noc' nor the much older, different, 'Wsrod Nocnej Ciszy'.
It is sung to the same German, (Father?) Franz Gruber's beautiful melody.
Does anyone know of it and why it was replaced - sometime in the 1960's ?
(I have the current one on a 'Sla,sk' (!!??) old vinyl record- mono I think ! I have 'written' it to a CD. Actually it is quite beautiful.)
Here is the first verse of the 'older' one (please pardon the English type characters.):-

"Cocha noc, swieta noc,
Wszystka spi, atoli
Czuwa Jozef I Maryja
Niechwiec Boska ich dziecina
W blogin spokoju spi.

I have two more verses now, since I started probing.
I have been running the topic as the thread on 'VirtualTourist.com, Miscellaneous Forum'.
Some other information and those verses are posted there.
Please visit if you can. VirtualTourist.com, - Browse to Forums - Miscellaneous Forum - (Date, Wed. Dec. 26th.) 'Silent Night in Polish ... ... ' - or a 'keyword search' in VT.
Understandably I could not post a direct link here.
Actually Google could bring it up if you speak to it nicely?!! ;-)

It is sort of a 'sacred, culture' subject so I hope will be forgiven for 'pushing the boundaries' a bit !
I have had, for a long time, very close Polish friends here in Melbourne, Australia.
I sang (with the congregation) at a Polish Mass in a big classic church yesterday - St. Stephen's day. I love it !!
I have driven a Peugeot 106 all around Poland and Europe - 10,000kms. And I love Trabi's !! :-))
Laurie. (A 'fair-dinkum mature age Aussie'.)
helloThreads: 37
Posts: 1,104
Joined: Dec 5, 06 		  Dec 27, 07, 18:06 /  #
What is the second version? Your first version is sort of incorrect (spelling)
australia2Threads: 1
Posts: 4
Joined: Dec 27, 07 		  Dec 27, 07, 18:27 /  #
Hi. Thank you.
Here it is 'complete' from an old Polish Mass/Hymn Book.
I think that my non-Polish keyboard letters are 'wrong spelling'.
Does it make sense now ?

These words were being sung up until about the 1960's.
Maybe the 'new' words are a closer translation of the original German words ???
(Can my keyboard be 'switced over' to Polish letters?)

1. "Cocha noc, swieta noc,
2. Wszystka spi, atoli
3. Czuwa Jozef I Maryja
4. Niechwiec Boska ich dziecina
5. W blogin spokoju spi.

6. Cicha noc, swieta noc,
7. Tobie csesc chcemy niesc
8. Bos pastuszkom oznajmiony
9. Przez Anielskie Gloria
10. Jezu witamy Cie !

11. Cicha noc, swieta noc,
12. Boze nasz, serca masz
13. Radosc sprawia nam nowina
14. Ze nadeszla ta godzina
15. W ktorejs narodzil sie."

Words for 'correction' - that I know of, there could be typos too (!) :-
Line(s) 1,6,11. - swie,ta ** 4 - niechwie,c ** 5 - s'pi ** 7 - czes'c' ** 7 - nies'c' ** 10 - cie, ** 12 - Boz'e
** 13 - Rados'c' ** 14 - nadezl/a ** 15 - ktorejs' ** 15 - sie, **
RJ_cdnThreads: -
Posts: 323
Joined: Sep 10, 07 		  Dec 27, 07, 19:17 /  #
You can find both versions here
URL
australia2Threads: 1
Posts: 4
Joined: Dec 27, 07 		  Dec 27, 07, 19:26 /  #
Thank you RJ. Can anybody tell me the fundamental difference - why the old one was superseded?
"He's got to know why !!!" :-(
RJ_cdnThreads: -
Posts: 323
Joined: Sep 10, 07 		  Dec 27, 07, 19:37 /  #
Why we have two versions? I think it is a result of two diferent translations (from the original)
This one,for example, was tranlated by Piotr Maszyński.
Cicha noc, święta noc,
pokój niesie ludziom wszem,
a u żłobka Matka Święta
czuwa sama uśmiechnięta,
nad Dzieciątka snem.

I have no idea who translated this one:
1. "Cocha noc, swieta noc,
2. Wszystka spi, atoli
australia2Threads: 1
Posts: 4
Joined: Dec 27, 07 		  Dec 30, 07, 05:42 /  #
Further research tells me that the original German carol had six verses written. This leaves me with the thought that possibly what I am callling the Polish translation 'old one' is actually the other three verses which are not often heard??
Not sure ???
mvgnl   Aug 8, 09, 14:06 /  #
Hi, this is really late but.. thanks for posting.. I was taught this version by my grandmother as a child and trying to find the translation I only got the new version. I thought I remembered it wrong so it's nice to see it exactly as I remember.
Thanks again.
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