According to one version, Wacław Święcicki wrote the song in 1879 while serving a sentence in the Tenth Pavilion of the Warsaw Citadel for socialist activity.
[6] The music was written by composer Józef Pławiński, who was imprisoned together with Święcicki, inspired partially by the January Uprising song "Marsz Żuawów".
[7] Its Russian version with altered lyrics, which removed any mention of Warsaw from the song, the "Varshavianka" (Варшавянка), once experienced considerable popularity.
In 1924, Isadora Duncan composed a dance routine called Varshavianka to the tune of the song.
[10] It was notably sung by Paul Robeson (only the first stanza)[11] and Leon Lishner (full version, but with modified lyrics).