Image of the Disco Polo Music TV logo by Kamild1, Wikimedia Commons license
I moved to Poland in 2012, the year “Ona Tańczy Dla Mnie” by Weekend hit the charts and the corporate office parties. Most Polish people I talked to claimed to hate it – but three vodka shots later, they were all jumping around on the dance floor 😆
Since then, several Polish teachers have recommended Disco Polo for learning. As a good student, I decided to put it to the test!
Note: Disco Polo lyrics include a lot of slang, swearwords, and sexual references. There are a few in this article.
Quick links – jump directly to:
- A short history of Disco Polo
- Popular Disco Polo acts
- Are there any Disco Polo girl bands?
- Learn Polish with Disco Polo
- Is Disco Polo sexist?
- Disco Polo today
- Disco Polo playlists
- Other Disco Polo songs
- Sources
- Follow Sing Polish
Disco Polo is a Polish dance-pop genre known for energetic beats and catchy choruses that get stuck in your head.
The songs are made for having fun and revolve around love, flirting, physical attraction, heartbreak, parties, and drinking. Expect sentimental or comical lyrics, simple melodies and an unpretentious production. If subtlety is your thing, you might struggle.
Disco Polo has been hugely successful, and is especially popular in rural areas among certain social groups.
In a poll from 2019, 63% of Poles said they like listening to Disco Polo. But out of the people who said they “really like” listening to Disco Polo, just 8% lived in large cities and 6% had completed a higher education degree. In rural areas and among people with lower levels of education, the numbers were 33% and 39%, respectively.
Whether we like it or not, Disco Polo is a cultural phenomenon that’s proved resilient to criticism. And if you live in Poland, there will probably be times when you can’t avoid it.
A short history of Disco Polo
The roots of Disco Polo go back to Polish wedding bands influenced by folk music in the 1980s. Add some inspiration from Eurodance and Italo Disco and you have a recipe that never fails to fill dance floors and wedding halls.
The genre exploded in popularity in the 1990s. It offered something light and fun at a time when Poland was going through big political and economic changes. TV shows like Disco Polo Live (aired from 1996) helped to popularise the genre.
The band Bayer Full, formed in 1984, has been credited as the first Disco Polo act. One of their biggest hits is the patriotic “Wszyscy Polacy”, a track that also features on Sing Polish’s Top 10 Polish songs with simple lyrics:
Fanatic is another early Disco Polo band. They hit the charts in 1990 with “Czarownica” (“Witch”), a cover of a song by Janusz Laskowski.
Other bands that have been around since the 90s (and are still going) are Akcent, Boys, Classic, and Milano.
The scene went a bit quiet in the early 2000s, but came back with a vengeance a few years later.
Popular Disco Polo acts
There are tons of Disco Polo stars – here are five to start with:
Akcent
The undisputed kings of Disco Polo? Led by Zenek Martyniuk, they’ve been around since the early days. Zenek has performed on New Year’s Eve broadcasts to millions of viewers, and there’s even a biopic about his life.
Boys
Founded in 1990, Boys can now look back at 35 years as one of the most successful Disco Polo bands. The group’s leader, composer, and lyricist is Marcin Miller and you can find out more about him in the documentary Boys Extraklasa (YouTube in Polish, English captions available).
Weekend
The group was formed in 2000 and rose to national stardom with “Ona Tańczy Dla Mnie” in 2012. But this monster hit also saw some success abroad; it became the first Polish song to be featured in the international dance game Just Dance.
Piękni i Młodzi (“Beautiful and young”)
Formed in 2010 by the couple Magdalena and Dawid Narożny together with Daniel Wilczewski. In 2019, Magdalena and Dawid got divorced. The year after, Dawid was expelled from the group while the others continued with new member Daniel Biczak.
In 2023, Dawid decided to form his own group under the same name. Since then, there are two Piękni i Młodzi – PiM Magdalena Narożna and PiM Dawid Narożny. Sounds like there’s material for more songs there 😁
Skolim
Reggaeton-flavoured Polo for a new generation. As of October 2025, his hit “Wyglądasz idealnie” has 246 million views on YouTube 😲
Are there any Disco Polo girl bands?
Yes! While Disco Polo is heavily male-dominated, there are several all-female groups:
Shazza, sometimes called “The first lady of Disco Polo”, had a string of hits in the 90s. A few examples are “Noc róży” (“The night of the rose”), “Baiao Bongo”, “Bierz co chcesz” (“Take what you want”).
Other examples are Top Girls, who’ve been around since 2016 and recently (September 2025) released a new single called “Lady”, and Topky, formed by two previous Top Girls members.
There are also bands with a mixed lineup of men and women, for example Piękni i Młodzi and Mejk.
Learn Polish with Disco Polo
So what can we learn from Disco Polo? Quite a lot, especially if we want to learn how to express that we like someone (at least if the goal is to chat them up) 😅
I wouldn’t say Disco Polo is necessarily easy though, at least not for beginners. Below I’ve collected a bunch of phrases I found interesting or fun – some basic, others more advanced.
You’ll find all the tracks mentioned below plus a few more in this YouTube playlist:
Love, flirting and physical attraction
Song: “Miłość w Zakopanem” by Sławomir
| Lyrics in Polish | English | Note |
| Rycerzem jestem ja, a Ty królową nocy | I am the knight, and you are the queen of the night | Well it’s not the worst chat-up line for people with a sense of humour. |
Song: “Ona tańczy dla mnie” by Weekend
| Lyrics in Polish | English | Note |
| Ja uwielbiam ją | I adore her | I adore him = [Ja] uwielbiam go |
| Ja pragnę jej | I desire her, I fancy her | I desire him = [Ja] pragnę go |
| Porwę ją | I’ll take her away [I’ll sweep her away] | I’ll take him away = Porwę go 🚨 Note that the literal meaning of the verb “porwać” is “to kidnap”. |
Song: “Jesteś zajebista” by Weekend
| Lyrics in Polish | English | Note |
| Jesteś zajebista | You’re awesome | 🚨 Uwaga! Zajebista is derived from the vulgar verb “jebać”, which literally means “to fuck”. While it’s commonly used among friends, it’s not a good idea to use this word in front of strangers, elderly people, or your boss! Zajebista is the feminine form. To use it about a man, you’d say “Jesteś zajebisty”. The related adverb is zajebiście. |
| Fajnie ruszasz się | You move nicely [“you’ve got nice moves”] | Parties are a common setting for Disco Polo hits and there are tons of references to dancing and moving bodies. |
Song: “Przez Twe Oczy Zielone” by Akcent
| Lyrics in Polish | English | Note |
| Odkąd zobaczyłem ciebie | Ever since I saw you | Women say “odkąd zobaczyłam ciebie” |
| Nie mogę jeść, nie mogę spać | I can’t eat, I can’t sleep | Learn more about the phrase “nie mogę spać” in this post |
| Jeden uśmiech twój wystarczy | One smile from you is enough | The standard word order is “Jeden twój uśmiech wystarczy” |
| I moje serce gubi rytm | And my heart skips a beat | |
| Przez twe oczy, te oczy zielone oszalałem | Your eyes, those green eyes, made me go crazy | Women say “Przez twe oczy, te oczy zielone oszalałam” |
“Pragnienie miłości” by Akcent
| Lyrics in Polish | English | Note |
| Chcę być twoją słodką mleczną czekoladką | I want to be your sweet milk chocolate | Yay plenty of humour in this track by Akcent! |
| Chcę pomadką być do twojej buzi | I want to be the lipstick on your lips [lit. “on your mouth”] | “Buzi” is a cute word for “mouth” but it also means “kiss”. The standard word order is “Chcę być pomadką do twojej buzi” |
| Chcę być gąbką która myje twoje ciało | I want to be the sponge that washes your body | |
| Chcę pierścionkiem być na twoim palcu | I want to be a ring on your finger | |
| Bądź mi wodą wtedy, gdy spragniony jestem | Be my water when I’m thirsty | Good to know: “spragniony” (and the feminine version “spragniona”) has a double meaning: 1) thirsty and 2) horny 😈 |
Song: “Wyglądasz idealnie” by Skolim
| Lyrics in Polish | English | Note |
| Bujaj się tak ładnie | You move so beautifully | Literally “you swing so beautifully” |
| Wyglądasz idealnie | You look perfect |
Song: “Najpiękniejsza dziewczyno” by Boys
| Lyrics in Polish | English | Note |
| Dla mnie nie ma już innej | For me, there’s nobody else | “Innej” indicates that there’s no other woman. To express the same sentence about a man, you could say “Dla mnie nie ma już innego”. |
Song: “Szampan i truskawki” by Stachursky
| Lyrics in Polish | English | Note |
| Wpadłaś mi w oko | You caught my eye | Literally “you fell into my eye”. Note that “wpadłaś” indicates that it’s about a girl. For a boy, it would be “wpadłeś mi w oko”. A similar expression is “wpada w ucho”, which literally means “[it] falls into [the] ear], and is used to describe catchy tunes that stick in your head. |
Heartbreak
Song: “Pragnienie miłości” by Akcent
| Lyrics in Polish | English |
| Co mam zrobić, żebyś bardziej mnie kochała? | What can I do to make you love me more? |
Song: “Jesteś szalona” by Boys
| Lyrics in Polish | English |
| Gdy odchodzisz, wszystko burzy się | When you leave, everything falls apart |
Song: “Los przekorny” by Akcent
| Lyrics in Polish | English | Note |
| Zostawiła cię dziewczyna, jest ci źle | Your girl left you, you feel bad | For “Your boy[friend] left you”, you could say “Zostawił cię chłopak”. |
| Los chce ze mną grać w pokera | Fate wants to play poker with me | |
| Raz mi daje, raz zabiera | It sometimes gives, sometimes takes away | Literally, “raz” means “once”. You can read more about “raz” in this post. |
Song: “Tak już bez ciebie” by Piękni i Młodzi
| Lyrics in Polish | English |
| Tak już bez ciebie | This is how it is without you |
| Nie szukaj winy | Don’t look for blame |
| Czas zaleczy to co złe | Time will heal what’s wrong [i.e time heals all wounds] |
| Tak ranisz mnie, uciec chcę, by nie bolało | You hurt me so much, I want to run away so it doesn’t hurt |
“Noc Róży” by Shazza
| Lyrics in Polish | English |
| Noc róży, cierń burzy | The night of the rose, the storm of the thorn |
| Rani mnie | It hurts me |
| Bez końca, bez słońca | Without an end, without the sun |
| Krzyk i gniew! | Scream and anger! |
Parties and drinking
Song: “Miłość w Zakopanem” by Sławomir
| Lyrics in Polish | English | Note |
| Bawiłem grubo się | I was partying hard | The standard word order is “Bawiłem się grubo”. “Bawiłem” is the form said by men, while women say “Bawiłam”. “Grubo” is an intensifier derived from the noun “gruby”, which means fat. |
| Polewamy się szampanem | We pour champagne on each other | |
| Wypijemy syćkie drinki aż do dna | We’ll drink all the drinks to the last drop | “Syćkie” may be a local variation of “wszystkie”. “Do dna” literally means “to the bottom” and can be used in the sense “bottoms up”. |
Song: “Tańcz tańcz tańcz” by Long & Junior
| Lyrics in Polish | English |
| Tańcz, tańcz, tańcz kiedy inni tańczą | Dance, dance, dance when others are dancing |
| I pij, pij, pij drinka z pomarańczą | And drink, drink, drink a drink with orange [an orange cocktail] |
| I skacz, skacz, skacz kiedy inni skaczą | And jump, jump, jump when others are jumping |
| I baw się, baw, niech wszyscy się patrzą | And have fun, have fun, let everyone look |
Song: “Miód malina” by Mig
| Lyrics in Polish | English | Note |
| Uderzam na imprezę | I’m heading to a party | Literally “I’m hitting a party” |
| Miód malina | Wonderful | Literally “raspberry honey”, but can be used in the sense of wonderful, delightful, delicious |
| Na balet przyszedł czas | It’s time for a party | Balet = ballet, but in this context it refers to a party |
| Super imprezka, lans | [It’s a] great little party, a blast | “Imprezka” is the diminutive of “impreza”, implying that it’s not a huge event |
Is Disco Polo sexist?
Short answer: Sometimes. Longer answer: Many Disco Polo hits are based around macho guys eying up pretty girls, so it’s hardly surprising that it has a reputation for being misogynistic. There’s a fine line between pouring praise on beautiful women and reducing them to sex objects.
Having said that, there’s a lot of variation – Disco Polo spans everything from the sweet and innocent through the silly and comical to the laddish and crude.
Disco Polo today
In 2025, Disco Polo is still going strong.
The popular annual mainstream festival “Roztańczony Narodowy” invites a bunch of Polo acts every year. In the most recent edition (September 2025), acts like Akcent, Piękni i Młodzi, Sławomir, and Boys all took to the disco stage.
New and old Polo songs keep racking up millions of views on YouTube. At the time of writing, Skolim’s “Wyglądasz idealnie” (2022) is approaching 250 million views.
And last but not least, what would a Polish wedding be without “Przez Twe Oczy Zielone”?
Disco Polo playlists
You’ll find all the songs mentioned in this post plus a few more in these playlists:
Other Disco Polo songs
Which big Disco Polo acts did I miss? Please share your tips in the comments, especially if you can recommend any that taught you new words and phrases!
Sources
Learn more about Disco Polo:
- Disco Reflections: What exactly is Disco Polo? (Culture.pl blog article)
- Disco Polo – trash or the new K-pop? (Wild East blog article, 2021)
- The return of Disco Polo (Notes from Poland blog article, 2020)
- Top 10 Disco Polo songs on YouTube (in Polish, Onet Muzyka article, 2017)
- Biopic about Zenek Martyniuk (in Polish, available online with Polish subtitles)
- Boys – Ekstraklasa (in Polish, documentary available on YouTube)
- All lyrics quoted above are from tekstowo.pl.
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