Henryk Wars

Henryk Wars (birth name Warszawski or Warszowski, December 29 1902, Warsaw - September 1 1977, USA) was a Polish and later American pop music composer.

During the 1930s, he wrote the songs for a string of musical comedies in Poland, and his importance there is comparable to that of Irving Berlin in America. His melodies from this period (along with those of Jerzy Petersburski and Zygmunt Wiehler) are still quite popular in Poland today, and his most popular songs are often associated with pre-war Lwów. Recent recordings include "Ach, śpij kochanie" ("Ah, sleep my darling") by Grzegorz Turnau and others, as well as many performances of "Tylko we Lwowie". In 2002 the song "Umówiłem się z nią na dziewiątą" ("I have a date with her at nine") appeared in "The Pianist" directed by Roman Polański.

Wars was born to a musical family in the Russian partition of Poland. He began studies at the Academy of Fine Arts, but soon obtained a scholarship to the Music Conservatory in Warsaw, where he finished in 1925. He composed his first film score for "Na Sabir" in 1930 after gaining renown as a conductor and performer at various Warsaw cabarets and theaters.Shortly before the outbreak of World War II Henryk Wars was drafted into the Polish Army and served in the defence of Poland in 1939. He was taken prisoner of war by the German army but managed to escape from a stopped train. He organized the big band "Tea-Jazz" in Lwów in 1940, then under Soviet control. In late 1941, he and his musicians joined Polish II Corps of General Anders as part of the "Polska Parada" cabaret. After being demobilized from the army, he immigrated to the United States.

In the USA he changed his named to Henry Vars and after a period of struggling and poverty, he managed to resume his musical career. His songs were sung by Bing Crosby, Doris Day, Brenda Lee and Dinah Shore. He did the music and the song for the "Flipper" movie and television series as well as Daktari.

Pre-World War II songs by Henryk Wars

* "A mnie w to graj" (words by Jerzy Jurandot, movie "Bolek i Lolek", sung by Adolf Dymsza)
* "A u mnie siup, a u mnie cyk" (words by Emanuel Szlechter, sung by Adolf Dymsza)
* "Ach, jak przyjemnie" (words by Ludwik Starski, movie "Zapomniana melodia" from 1938, sung by Adam Aston, later by Irena Santor)
* "Ach, śpij kochanie" (words by Ludwik Starski, movie "Paweł i Gaweł" from 1938, sung by Eugeniusz Bodo and Adolf Dymsza)
* "Będzie lepiej" (words by Emanuel Szlechter, movie "Będzie lepiej" from 1936)
* "Dobranoc, oczka zmruż" (words by Emanuel Szlechter, movie "Włóczęgi" from 1939, sung by Szczepko and Tońko, also known as "Kołysanka Tońka")
* "Jak pani się ten pan podoba" (words by Andrzej Włast, sung by Krystyna Paczewska)
* "Jak za dawnych lat" (words by Andrzej Włast or Jerzy Jurandot, sung by Stefan Witas)
* "Już nie mogę dłużej kryć" (words by Jerzy Jurandot, movie "Pani minister tańczy" from 1937, sung by Tola Mankiewiczówna and Aleksander Żabczyński)
* "Już nie zapomnisz mnie" (words by Ludwik Starski, movie "Zapomniana melodia" from 1938, sung by Aleksander Żabczyński)
* "Już taki jestem zimny drań" (words by Jerzy Nel and Ludwik Starski, movie "Pieśniarz Warszawy" from 1934, sung by Eugeniusz Bodo)
* "Kocha, lubi, szanuje" (words by Konrad Tom, Emanuel Szlechter, movie "Kocha, lubi, szanuje", sung by Mieczysław Fogg, later by Irena Santor)
* "Kocham" (words by J. Roland, movie "Bezimienni bohaterowie" from 1931)
* "Maleńka Jenny" (words by J. Roland, movie: "Głos pustyni" from 1932, sung by Mieczysław Fogg)
* "Miłość ci wszystko wybaczy" (words by Julian Tuwim, movie "Szpieg w masce" from 1933, sung by Hanka Ordonówna)
* "My dwaj, obacwaj" (words by Emanuel Szlechter, movie "Będzie lepiej" from 1936, sung by Szczepko and Tońko)
* "Na cześć młodości" (words by Ludwik Starski, movie "Sportowiec mimo woli" from 1939)
* "Na pierwszy znak" (words by Julian Tuwim, movie "Szpieg w masce" from 1933, sung by Hanka Ordonówna)
* "New York Times" (from 1928, sung by Tadeusz Olsza and Eugeniusz Koszutski)
* "Nic o Tobie nie wiem" (words by Konrad Tom and Emanuel Szlechter, movie "Włóczęgi" from 1939, sung by Andrzej Bogucki and Zbyszko Runowiecki)
* "Nic takiego" (words by Marian Hemar, movie "ABC miłości" from 1935, sung by Kazimierz Krukowski and Adolf Dymsza)
* "O, Key" (words by Konrad Tom and Emanuel Szlechter, movie "Czy Lucyna to dziewczyna" from 1934, sung by Eugeniusz Bodo and Jadwiga Smosarska)
* "On nie powróci już" (words by Andrzej Włast, sung by Chór Dana)
* "Panie Janie w stylu jazz" (words by Ludwik Starski, movie "Zapomniana melodia" from 1938)
* "Piosenka o zagubionym sercu" (words by A. M. Świniarski, movie "Pan minister i dessous", sung by Hanka Ordonówna)
* "Płomienne serca" (words by Marian Hemar, movie "Na Sybir" from 1930, sung by Tadeusz Faliszewski)
* "Reformy pani minister" (words by Jerzy Jurandot, movie "Pani minister tańczy" from 1937, sung by Tola Mankiewiczówna)
* "Serce Batiara" (words by Emanuel Szlechter, movie "Serce Batiara" for 1939 release, but all copies lost)
* "Sexapil" (words by Emanuel Szlechter, movie "Piętro wyżej" from 1937, sung by Eugeniusz Bodo)
* "Szczęście raz się uśmiecha" (words by Julian Tuwim, movie "Pan minister i dessous", sung by Hanka Ordonówna)
* "Tak cudnie mi" (words by Jerzy Jurandot, movie "Pani minister tańczy" from 1937, sung by Tola Mankiewiczówna and Aleksander Żabczyński)
* "Tyle miłości" (words by Konrad Tom, movie "Jego ekscelencja subiekt" from 1933, sung by Eugeniusz Bodo)
* "Tylko Ty" (words by Aleksander Jellyn)
* "Tylko we Lwowie" (words by Emanuel Szlechter, movie "Włóczęgi" from 1939, sung by Szczepcio and Tońko)
* "Tylko z Tobą i dla Ciebie" (words by Ludwik Starski and Jerzy Nel, movie "Pieśniarz Warszawy" from 1934, sung by Eugeniusz Bodo)
* "Umówiłem się z nią na dziewiątą" (words by Emanuel Szlechter, movie "Piętro wyżej" from 1937, sung by Eugeniusz Bodo)
* "W hawajską noc" (words by Konrad Tom and Emanuel Szlechter, movie "Czarna perła", sung by Eugeniusz Bodo and later by Irena Santor)
* "Zakochany złodziej" (words by Emanuel Szlechter and Ludwik Starski)
* "Zapomnisz o mnie" (words by Andrzej Włast, sung by Tadeusz Faliszewski)
* "Zatańczmy tango" (words by Andrzej Włast)
* "Złociste włoski" (words by Konrad Tom, movie "Jego ekscelencja subiekt" from 1933, sung by Eugeniusz Bodo)
* "Zrób to tak" (words by Ludwik Starski and Jerzy Nel, movie "Pieśniarz Warszawy", sung by Eugeniusz Bodo)

Wartime songs by Henryk Wars

From "Piosenki z plecaka Helenki". See external link below.

* "Polacy, do broni"
* "Może dzień ... może rok"
* "Po mlecznej drodze"
* "Ochotniczki"
* "Malowane usta"
* "Za pięć dwunasta"
* "Gdzie najlepiej"
* "Ochotniczka Helenka"

External links

* [http://www.moje.friko.pl/piosenki.htm "Lwowskie Piosenki,"] Lyrics in Polish with Lwów accent for "Dobranoc, oczka zmruż", "Serce batiara", "My dwaj, obacwaj", and "Tylko we Lwowie". Any actual performance may vary significantly from these words.
* [http://www.antoranz.net/BIBLIOTEKA/REFREN/REFRSTRT.HTM "Piosenki z plecaka Helenki,"] book by Feliks Konarski (alias REF-REN), Rome, 1946; in Polish.
* [http://www.usc.edu/dept/polish_music/PMJ/issue/4.1.01/schubert4_1.html "Film Scores of Henry Vars in the United States: An Overview"] by Linda Schubert in "Polish Music Journal", Vol. 4, No. 1.
* [http://www.dziennik.com/www/dziennik/kult/archiwum/07-12-04/pp-07-23-03.html"Szwajcarski paszport na Sybir,"] "Swiss passport to Siberia" by Diana Poskuta-Włodek in Nowy Dziennik, New York, 23 July 2004; in Polish.