Historical and war threads in urban folklore songs
Historical and war threads in urban folklore songs

Summary/Abstract: The First and Second World War, striving for independence, Silesian Uprisings, were reflected in urban folklore, especially in Warsaw, Lviv and Silesia. In Lviv, the songs were about the fate of the city’s residents serving in the Austro-Hungarian army on various fronts of the First War, the song of the Warsaw street told about various as-pects of occupation life, the Silesian insurgent repertoire reflects the aspiration of the Silesians to connect with Poland.War events are reflected in this repertoire in different ways. Firstly, referring to specific historical events: dates, places of battles, names, etc. Secondly, showing the suffering, fear and uncertainty that accompanies both city residents and soldiers, and which the street song has often tamed with humorous and mocking elements. And thirdly – by showing the phenomena that usually accompany difficult times of war: smuggling, making money from others’ poverty, etc. All this can be found in the urban repertoire, because the songs of urban folklore usually reacted vividly to external events, com-menting on them characteristic way.

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