"My, Pierwsza Brygada" (We Are the First Brigade), also known as ''Marsz Pierwszej Brygady'' (The March of the First Brigade) and ''Legiony to żołnierska nuta'' (The Legions Are a Soldier's Song), is one of the best-known patriotic marches of the Polish Legions formed during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

Józef Piłsudski ), Vilna Governorate, Russian Empire (now Lithuania) , death_date = , death_place = Warsaw, Poland , constituency = , party = None (formerly PPS) , spouse = , children = Wan ...

. Extolling the First Brigade of the Polish Legions, the song is considered an important

emblem An emblem is an abstract or representational pictorial image that represents a concept, like a moral truth, or an allegory, or a person, like a king or saint. Emblems vs. symbols Although the words ''emblem'' and '' symbol'' are often use ...

of the early-20th-century struggle for Polish independence. It is also now an official

anthem An anthem is a musical composition of celebration, usually used as a symbol for a distinct group, particularly the national anthems of countries. Originally, and in music theory and religious contexts, it also refers more particularly to short ...

of the

Polish Army The Land Forces () are the land forces of the Polish Armed Forces. They currently contain some 62,000 active personnel and form many components of the European Union and NATO deployments around the world. Poland's recorded military history stret ...

. The song melody was borrowed from ''

Kielce Kielce (, yi, קעלץ, Keltz) is a city in southern Poland, and the capital of the Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship. In 2021, it had 192,468 inhabitants. The city is in the middle of the Świętokrzyskie Mountains (Holy Cross Mountains), on the bank ...

March #10'' in the songbook of the Kielce Fire Department band. It had probably been composed by Captain Andrzej Brzuchal-Sikorski, the band's conductor from 1905, and later bandmaster of the First Brigade of the Polish Legions. It was he who arranged and first conducted the song.Leszek Marciniec, ''Vademecum Kuracjusza 21 Wojskowego Szpitala Uzdrowiskowo-Rehabilitacyjnego w Busku-Zdroju: przewodnik po Busku-Zdroju'', 2005, p. 47. The earliest recognized version of the song appeared in 1917, the words being composed spontaneously during the war by several individuals including Colonel Andrzej Hałaciński and Legions officer Tadeusz Biernacki. Between 1926 and 1927, many of Piłsudski's supporters viewed the song as the national anthem of Poland.

Notes

1917 songs National symbols of Poland Polish Legions in World War I Polish patriotic songs Songs of World War I Songs about soldiers Songs about the military Polish military marches {{anthem-stub