Introduction
The Eurovision Song Contest has been around since 1956. It started with only seven countries participating, but now 52 countries have performed in the contest. The song contest gives each country a chance to show off, usually in hopes of winning, and sometimes countries will use this opportunity to take aspects of their national identity and incorporate it into their performances. The use of language, whether the song is in English, the country’s language, or a different language, music types and genres, and how the performances are staged play a key role in how a country will represent itself. In Poland’s many appearances on the Eurovision stage, they use many aspects of their national identity and culture to express who they are. National Identity in Poland is usually seen through many factors such as: whether the person was born in Poland and have Polish parents, if the person speaks Polish and has a Polish name, if they keep up traditions, and if they are Catholic because it is the most widely practiced religion throughout Poland at 85% of the population. But, how does Poland represent itself in just a three-minute performance? People don’t typically sing about if they have Polish parents or if they have been born in Poland. Instead, the Polish will take aspects of their culture and present them in different ways, such as the genre of music, costumes, lyrics, and staging, on the stage. Throughout this post, I will be analyzing Poland’s 2019 performance, “Fire of Love (Pali się),” and some aspects of the song that tie into the Polish national identity.
Traditional Aspects of Tulia’s Performance
For the 2019 Eurovision Song Contest, the band Tulia was chosen to represent Poland. Tulia is a Polish folk music group from Szczecin, (Northwest) Poland, made up of four members at the time of the performance; Tulia Biczak (who the group was named after), Dominika Siepka, Patrycja Nowicka, and Joanna Sinkiewicz (who left the group in August of 2019 due to personal reasons and health issues). Tulia being a Polish folk music group, ties closely with Polish music history and how much the Polish understand and cherish their musical heritage. Polish folklore comes from a lot of Christian-oriented music, which was the most famous form of music at the time in Poland. Polish folklore is also unique in the sense that it differs from one area to the next. The distinct style of the song and the instruments played can show where in Poland the music is from (Maria Anne Harley, 2018).
Not only is folklore a popular genre of music in Poland, but so is a particular vocal tradition. The specific vocal practice known as “White Voice,” or biały głos, is originally from the southern mountain regions found in Poland. Because they are a traditional Polish group, Tulia specifically sings “Fire of Love (Pali się)” in a white voice, giving viewers of Eurovision a sense of what traditional Polish songs sound like while also incorporating modern aspects of music such as electric guitars and drums. So when it’s put together, it sounds like a blend of tradition and modern rock music. White voice is a voice technique that is based on using an open throat to let out a controlled scream sound. This sort of singing takes a lot of practice to get right, and if done right, it creates a loud and clear sound. With the mix of folklore and rock music, and adding white voice on top, Tulia’s perfmonance plays into novelty. According to Ellie Chalkely, novelty songs play into four different aspects, and Tulia’s performance fulfills three of those four. The first is unusual vocal quality and technique (white voice in Tulia’s song), the second is that it is about something other than love or heartbreak (this is the one aspect that Tulia does not do in their song), the third is a presentational gimmick (Tuila does this by wearing elaborate costumes and headpieces), and the fourth one is musical innovation (the mix of rock and folklore).
Tulia’s performance also includes a lot of traditional clothing. On the 2019 Eurovision stage in Israel, Tulia Biczak, Dominika Siepka, Patrycja Nowicka, and Joanna Sinkiewicz presented themselves in “time-honored costumes” (Hendryk, 2019) which are from a region of Poland named Opoczno. These costumes depict striped fabric, which is the traditional fashion of the area. And over the years, there was a continuous change of the colors and the size of the stripes due to the need for innovation. And the headpieces that the four girls are wearing, which are made up of veils and golden crowns, are also a traditional piece from Poland.
Although this performance has a lot of traditional Polish representation within it, and it doesn’t seem to play into themes of orientalism and appropriation, it plays into the theme of a simulation and essentialism which Catherine Baker dives into in “Wild Dances and Dying Wolves: Simulation, Essentialization, and National Identity at the Eurovision Song Contest.” Within the performance, Tulia brings in different aspects of Polish culture. Even though the costumes are traditional, they come from different parts of Poland, which plays into simulation. The performance doesn’t stay within one specific region of Poland, it takes characteristics from different areas and presents it as one, in one performance, simulating Poland’s traditions. People from Poland and people who know about Polish traditions might notice this simulation, but a general Eurovision fan probably wouldn’t pick up on it. Through the folklore and traditional costumes, Tulia is able to present different pieces of the Polish identity, combining parts of Poland that the Polish can recognize and relate to.
The Performance
Tulia's "Fire of Love (Pali się)" song is in part English and part Polish. The song, mainly being in Polish, is significant because a lot of the Polish national identity revolves around their language. Keeping in the traditional Polish folklore genre, this song contains themes of love, sorrow, and mourning. Because this is a love song, the traditional wedding costumes that are worn on stage also tie into the Polish national identity. Tulia's primary metaphor in this song is fire, which is used in multiple different ways. The primary use of fire is to show how it takes time to build (like in a relationship), but it can keep that relationship alive if it continues to burn. Another use of the word "fire" is seen in the chorus. The chorus presents almost a desperation of love and the wanting to be loved. Looking at the song as a whole, each verse begins with a proposed issue, and in the end, it gives a message of hope.
Although the lyrics of "Fire of Love (Pali się)" present a deep meaning of love, there aren't many themes that tie into the Polish national identity. Yes, the lyrics are in Polish which is a big part of the Polish national identity, but that is the only factor within the lyrics. The song as a whole contains many characteristics of what the Polish see as their national identity through language and traditional folklore. Still, the song's message doesn't bring in more factors of Polish national identity.
Poland's national colors are red and white, and they have significant meaning to Poland's history. The red stripe on the flag represents a history of struggle for freedom. And the white stripe of Poland's flag represents hope for peace for the people of Poland. These colors have represented Poland for centuries (Edarabia, n.d.). Poland's flag hasn't changed much throughout its history, but one aspect of it has. At the end of World War One, Poland had become an independent nation again because the German control and Russia's authority had crippled due to the Bolshevik Revolution. At this time, Poland's flag had red and white stripes, and it also had an image of a crown (Edarabia, n.d.). After the devastating effect World War Two had on Poland, the nation was under Soviet control. Although Poland wasn't made a Soviet Socialist Republic under Soviet rule and still had a level of independence, the nation's flag had to change. Due to the meaning of monarchy the crown symbolized, Poland had to take the crown off all flags and change their national flag to just a red and white stripe.
And while traditionally, these colors have represented royalty, the meaning of freedom, hope, and peace is known as the more modern interpretation. Because these colors have such a significant meaning in Poland, these colors are shown throughout Tulia's performance of "Fire of Love (Pali się)." Not only is red seen throughout the costumes that the four performers wear, but red is illuminated all over the stage. The stage is filled with red lights throughout almost the entire performance. And while the red is projected everywhere, there are flashes of white triangles moving throughout the stage and in the background. Although Poland doesn't show their actual flag on the stage in the performance, they are offering it through an eye-catching light show.