The album All Souls’ Dances

(melody from singers from the parish of Glinianka, Mazowsze Leśne, song with the lyrics “He died, oh, he died, beloved Jesus”, sung there to this day on Holy Saturday; lyrics from Śpiewnik Pelpliński, no. 1040, p. 865)

Let the monarchs build their cities
Let them surround them with walls on all sides
Walls and fences are worthless
in the face of death...

Let them build impregnable castles,
Let them erect magnificent fortresses,
Death will mix marble buildings with mud
And golden roofs

Death breaks down iron doors in gates,
It boldly approaches the powerful,
Death does not fear princes and lords,
Nor commanders

Death comes to imperial palaces
It comes as it pleases, it does not knock on doors:
And the emperor will not settle in palaces
Death will visit him

Death will put the king from his throne into a gloomy coffin
And lead him from majesty into the ground
It will knock the sceptre from the emperor's hand,
Cover it with sand

Death strips the king of his precious purple
Sprinkles the golden crown with earth
Throws everything from the emperor's head into the mud
Pearls and gold

Stand like a whale in the deep sea
Be a swift eagle in the high sky
Be a salamander, and crawl in the fire
Call yourself a lion

Death in fire, in the sea, in the air will catch you.
It is difficult for a man to hide from death.
It will carry you away everywhere, drag you to the grave.
Miserable man.

(melody by Zofia Stolarek and Janina Stolarek from Kadzi, Radom; lyrics by the singers, from the collection of Prof. Andrzej Bieńkowski)

Death proves to us how vain the whole world is;
And when everyone leaves it, how pitiful this separation is.
You are leaving us in a time of mourning.
A dark grave has separated us.

Even if a man had everything he could ever want,
Death would take it all away from him, taking his health and his life.
You are leaving us...

Here on these walls we have a body,
Which until now was animated by a spirit,
Which a few days ago had life, strength and movement within it;
You are leaving us...

Now here today, like a stump, dead, faint, like a shadow;
The spirit, like a released prisoner, has already flown away to other places.
You are leaving us...

And we, fallible humans, let this corpse teach us:
That we are sinful and mortal, that our eyes will be fixed;
You are leaving us...

That the same fate awaits us, that a voice will ring in our ears:
Go before the throne of God the judge, give an account of your life.
You are leaving us...

(melody from singers from Gałki Rusinowskie, Radom region; lyrics from singers)

O Jesus of Nazareth, untie Your hand,
Bless the orphans who stand before You;
Hear our prayers, do not despise these tears.
O Jesus of Nazareth, have mercy on us!

Once, in the garden, He drank the cup of terrible suffering,
Fainting, He needed the support of a strong hand
And the arrival of an Angel with comfort for Himself;
O Jesus of Nazareth, support us in our need.

Through the crown of thorns pressed upon His head,
Through His temples pierced with thorns, His holy blood spilled.
When sorrow afflicts us here, faith sustains us,
When, O Lord, the measure of suffering is full

You bore severe torment for the Father in sacrifice,
You died forsaken, loving us sincerely,
On the cross You shed Your most precious Blood to the last drop;
May this torment and Your Blood wash away all our sins.

Oh, support our faith, our great trust in You,
And after death, let us love You with Your Mother in heaven.

(melody: Kurpie Zielone; lyrics from Śpiewnik Pelpliński, no. 1038, p. 864)

They fly by in years, as if on wings,
The moments of my life,
Like a boat on water, swift in its course,
With its sail billowing.

Poor man, in this mortal age,
You know neither the day nor the hour
When death will carry you away from the land
For a small reason.

Suddenly death steals human age easily,
Let them think about this;
Do not trust your health, be ready,
Let this be hidden in your heart.

Fear is harsh on human heads,
When they order a quick march;
They will take my fortune, lock me in a coffin,
They will strip me of everything.

And they will put the body made of dust into a dungeon,
Where worms will crush it.
This pierces me as a sinner
What will happen to the soul.

The poor soul, poor in virtue,
Has only two paths:
Either salvation or damnation,
Which terrifies the soul greatly.

(melody by Jan Wnuk from Zdziłowice, Roztocze; text from Śpiewnik Pelpliński, no. 1046, p. 872)

I bid you farewell, my joyful world, I am already going into the mortal ashes; The thread of life is breaking, death is driving me to the grave. The last hour is striking.

I bid you farewell, beloved parents, friends, relatives, and subjects: I thank you for your grace, I acknowledge your care. The last hour is striking.

I bid you farewell, dear friends, the time of the grave is laying me beneath the stone, eternal sleep is already darkening my mortal eyes. The last hour is striking.

I bid you farewell, kings and princes, rejoice in your happiness, ladies: I can no longer serve, I am setting off. The last hour is striking.

I bid you farewell, mitres and crowns, wait for your rulers, thrones: I must lower my head to the grave's threshold. The last hour is striking.

I bid you farewell, remaining servants, both mine and others: I follow in death's footsteps, without your parade. The last hour is striking.

I bid you farewell, sumptuous rooms, I will no longer enter your doors: Time has already given my mourning a study in the grave. The last hour is striking.

I bid you farewell, you remaining garments, I am no longer concerned about you: A moth will be your bed, a worm will become your blanket, The last hour is striking.

I bid you farewell, all the elements, the airy birds: I will not see you again, I leap into the grave, The last hour is striking.

I bid you farewell, you celestial planets, I must strive for my goal: Illuminate others, let me achieve it, The last hour is striking.

I bid you farewell, the most pleasant amusements, Internal, superficial matters: It will no longer be permissible to eat or drink in office, The last hour is striking.

I bid you farewell, the hours passed, the moment and the days passed: The clock is already ticking, the index does not fail, Death drives the soul to eternal sleep, The last hour is striking

(melody by Jan Wnuk from Zdziłowice, Roztocze)

My road has ended,
I'm going to God,
I'm making farewell today
and my last separation
from this world,

For some reason, the world, deceived me,
awakening evil desires in me,
until suddenly it passed away,
and everything ended,
over the grave,

Vain worries, fugitives,
man's dreams, runs,
behold, a rotten corpse from me,
on a bier arrived
to the grave,

Sad and dark grave,
I must sleep in you for a long time,
until one day the voice of the Archangel's trumpet calls me
to judgement,

Bitter was the dying,
the conviction of sins,
fear from all sides, pain will pour in,
where will guilt end
in eternity,

Everything collapses on me,,
I see the abyss there They gave,,
a severe, mournful voice,,
God is angry with me,,
my Father,

Pain grips my suffering,
oh, terrible torment,
only now I see,
now I feel my misery
over myself,

This is what evil has done to me,
these vile iniquities,
why I did wrong,
why I did not survive virtuously,
my God,

They call me before the Lord,
where my fate is lamentable,
I will know the Judge's hand,
I will go to terrible torture,
my Jesus,

All my hope is in you,
in your person, Jesus,
if it were not for your wounds,
the sinner would be punished
for eternity,

The cross still lights me up,
it ignites my hope,
my only happiness,
death, the cross and your wounds,
my Jesus.

(melody by Rozalia Rzeźnikiewicz from Brzeżanka, Rzeszów, from the collection of Dr Bartosz Gałązka)

Let us all praise with devotion
The Virgin, whom God chose
from among many for His faithfulness
to be the Mother of the Saviour

Hail Mary, blessed among women,
full of grace, the Lord is with thee,
thou art the adornment of the earth

The fruit of your womb,
Jesus, Son of the living God,
nourished by your breasts,
may he be praised.

O Mary, in our need,
hear us, we pray to you.
Now and at the hour of our death,
may none of us perish.