Mury (song)

[citation needed] From May 2024, a typescript of the song from the collection of the National Library of Poland is presented at a permanent exhibition in the Palace of the Commonwealth.

[1][2] The lyrics for Mury were written in 1978 to the melody of the song L'Estaca by the Catalan singer Lluís Llach, which Kaczmarski heard on one of several Spanish records he borrowed from a friend in December of that year.

In this context, the song can be interpreted as supporting the Polish or Catalan struggle for independence, but also as a critique of certain aspects of mass social movements.

[3] Despite its pessimistic conclusion (A mury rosły, rosły…, "And the walls grew, grew…") and, ironically, despite Kaczmarski's intention to criticise social movements for sometimes 'stealing' the words of an artist, the song's message of struggling for independence against oppression meant that Mury quickly gained protest song status and it was soon accepted nationwide as the unofficial anthem of Solidarity.

[3] In 2005, 'Mury' was performed by Jean Michel Jarre jointly with the Gdańsk University Choir and the Polish Baltic Philharmonic during the concert Przestrzeń Wolności (Space of Freedom, 26 August 2005) on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of the formation of Solidarity.