The song of the “Girl from Poland”

In a small Polish town / there once lived a girl / she was so pretty. 
She was the prettiest child / in the whole of Poland. 
But no, but no, she said / I never kiss. [Translator’s translation]

In einem Polenstädtchen / da lebte einst ein Mädchen / das war so schön. 
Sie war das allerschönste Kind / das man in Polen findt. 
Aber nein, aber nein, sprach sie / ich küsse nie.[1]

In 1974, with his unmistakeable, deep voice, Heino belted out the song of the “Polenmädchen” into the hall during the “ZDF-Hitparade” show in Berlin. The audience loved it. However, most of them were probably unaware of the fact that at that time, the “Polenmädchen” already had a long history that began a century before, and which is still relevant today. But what is the story behind the song?

According to the lyrics, it is certainly about a young woman who is admired and desired by a man, as is clearly suggested by his incessant requests for a kiss. Despite all his efforts, however, she refrains from giving her admirer what he wants. As the song progresses, the story takes a tragic turn. Finally, the “Polenmädchen” is found dead: in some versions of the song, she is lying in a pond, while in others, she is found under an oak tree. In her hand, there is a note which reads: “I kissed once and paid a heavy price.” The words suggest the possibility of a sexual assault and its consequences.

In various versions of the song, the girl is called Anuschka (as sung by Heino) or Maruschka (in the version by the Austrian “Schlager” singer Freddy Quinn). Often, however, the girl remains nameless. The man is sometimes referred to as a “gentleman”, and sometimes as “grenadier”, in other words, as a soldier. By the First World War at the latest, “In einem Polenstädchen” (“In a Small Polish Town”) became a popular song, not only among soldiers, who also used it as a marching song, but also among the general public.

There are different versions of the origin of the song. We do not know where exactly it was written. An original version was probably produced at the end of the 18th century.[2] In 1840, an elderly teacher wrote it down from memory, under the title “In the Village where I Lived” (“Im Dörfchen, wo ich lebte”). This is regarded as being the basis for the further development of the “Polenmädchen” song, which from the First World War onwards was passed on with an increasing lyrical variety.[3]