He wrote the lyrics to “Na dobre i na złoe”, and caused a scandal in “Telerank” with the song. Every Pole knows his hits

The lyrics have become so embedded in the collective consciousness that many people, when reading the lyrics, probably sing them in their heads. Considering who wrote them and to whose music, this is not surprising. Strangely enough, the piece would not have been written if it weren’t for a certain perverse wife who played on the ambition of a famous composer.

“For better and for worse” began with his words

At exactly 4:30 p.m. on Sunday in November 1999, the first episode began, which officially holds the title of the longest-broadcast weekly series in the history of Polish television. In terms of broadcast length, it is second only to “Klan” among Polish productions, which is a so-called daily series (i.e. broadcast from Monday to Friday, although initially it was broadcast only from Monday to Wednesday) and appeared in the public schedule of Channel One a little earlier, on September 22 1997. Both series are scripted children of Ilona Łepkowska and at one time they had enormous viewership that television stations can only dream of today.

The first series of “Klan” were watched by an average of four million viewers, and in 2000 this number reached over seven million. Meanwhile, “For better and for worse” started with a bang – the first season attracted an average of 5.53 million viewers, which translated into 44.7 percent. share in the audience market. The next series had an average of 7.24 million (which is 54.2%), the third one jumped to 8.37 million viewers (61.85%), and the fourth attracted a record 8.7 million ( 62.2% share in the viewership market) – something difficult to imagine today. Based on this, it is easy to conclude that literally millions of people listened, at more or less regular intervals, to Anna Jurksztowicz singing a text that cannot be easily forgotten.

“I drew a staff and a few notes on a napkin and said it would be a hit”

Because although the song “Na dobre i na evil” was abandoned in June 2011 (I’m also shocked) after 449 episodes, many people are able to sing subsequent lines almost unconsciously. And this despite the fact that the song was played at the end of each episode, and not, as many might think, at its beginning. Anna Jurksztowicz herself spoke indirectly about the phenomenon of the song when she was caught by a Plejady.pl reporter: – TV series songs are always very well promoted and even though they are not played on the radio, everyone knows them. Many songs from TV series have become a permanent part of my repertoire. I’m shocked that after so many years people still sing with me not only “Ranczo” and “For better and for worse”, but above all “Mothers, wives and lovers”. It’s amazing! –

Krzesimir Dębski also shared a nice story about the creation of the song, which invariably reminds viewers of the fact that we are about to learn the further fate of the employees of the fictional hospital in Leśna Góra. Tresa Wysocka from prestoportal.pl at the beginning of 2023:

I have an anecdote. The wife of a songwriter friend of mine once said that my writing was too complicated and that my stuff would never appeal to a wide audience. It struck a chord with me, so I drew a staff and a few notes on a napkin and said that it would be a hit and that Jacek Skubikowski would write the lyrics. This is how the song ‘For good and bad’ was created. And it was a hit!

The catchy lyrics of the series song are the work of a very unique character. It was written by Jacek Skubikowski to the music of the renowned composer Krzesimir Dębski. It was he who wrote, among others: lyrics to such hits as “Always there, where you” by the band or “Dance of the Penguin on the Glass” by Lombard. His songs were also sung by Ewa Bem, Krystyna Prońko and Martyna Jakubowicz. In fact, it even caused a scandal among the parents of young viewers of “Teleranka”, who, unlike the little ones, heard an ambiguous message in the words of the song “Lizak”.

Lyrics that must be sung

Interestingly, Skubikowski was a self-taught musician. He was born on September 25, 1954 in Warsaw and studied law at the University of Warsaw, and also played music. He played the banjo and quickly began composing and writing lyrics. His passion for music also led him to London’s Media Music Services, where he trained as a sound engineer and producer. He started making music by playing with jazz bands – in 1975 he won an honorable mention at the “Złota Tarka” Traditional Jazz Competition. After obtaining his master’s degree, he played in various student groups – blues, country and folk. At some point, he joined the Free Group of Bukowina, where he listened carefully to Wojciech Bellon’s texts – then he came to the conclusion that the Polish text was extremely important, which he then incorporated into his compositions.

When he started cooperation with the Lombard band, he had already performed numerous recitals and compositions, including: for Krystyna Prońko and Martyna Jakubowicz. It turned out that he became the author or co-creator of most of the songs from the debut album “Śmierć discotece!” from 1983. “Penguin Dance on Glass” and “Dear TV Lady” are his music and lyrics, while “One Shiver” and “Death to the Disco” are the music itself. Lombard also owes him, among other things, texts for “State of Readiness” and “Kryształowa”. Skubikowski created no less catchy and memorable lyrics for Lady Pank – suffice it to say that his pen produced such hits as “Always there, where you are”, “Same people” and “Like a needle”.

“Lollipop” or a scandal in “Teleranek”

Jacek Skubikowski was a truly versatile artist and did not shy away from writing lyrics for children’s songs. He cooperated with, among others, with Majka Jeżowska. He is the author of the lyrics to such important songs as “Color of the Heart” and “Dreams Come True” (!!!). He has also written compositions with such charming titles as “The Yellow Frog Eats Żur”, “Everyone Collects Treasures” and “Zebra In A Coat On The Asphalt”. He also contributed to songs such as “Pa, pa Papugo!” (sung by Ryszard Rynkowski), “Czarny Kocur Nasza” and “Czerwone-Stop! Zielone-Hop!”. However charming these songs may be, they will not cover the scandal caused by the lyrics to the song “Lizak”, which was broadcast on TVP in the “Teleranek” program.

Children had no negative associations with the text, but adult listeners felt alarmed by the lines: “It’s dark in the cinema, it’s dark, no one is watching, no one is hearing, take it to your mouth, an ordinary lollipop, not a stick. After all, there is no there’s nothing wrong with that, grab it with both hands and suck it, suck it hard. You can understand why this song is also titled “To your mouth” and “Take it to your mouth”. The host of “Teleranek”, the late Tadeusz Broś, “We broadcast it in the program and suddenly it becomes a scandal. It is true that it never went beyond the walls of television. Children associated this song only with a lollipop. For adults, it was ambiguous. There was a stir. We stopped broadcasting it. “. This unfortunate adventure did not end his adventure with children’s music. Later, for example, together with Krzesimir Dębski, he created the very memorable single “Rzeka św”.

A cruel diagnosis

In 2006, Skubiszewski heard from doctors that they had detected a small nodule on his vocal cords. Initially, no complications were expected, Jenak’s disease progressed quickly. The author wrote for “Fakt” how drastically his life changed because of the cancer – because he could no longer speak. “I treated the news that it might be cancer as a doctor’s mistake. I just wanted the syrup! It was a year ago. I was hoarse, had a cold, but was full of plans and strength. I quit smoking 12 years ago and led a hygienic lifestyle. In I was planning to defend my doctoral thesis in copyright law and make new recordings with Jan Borysewicz. Unfortunately, the diagnosis was confirmed, but reassurance quickly came – it was just a tiny nodule on the vocal cord, so radiotherapy, 35 radiation sessions and that was it. Unfortunately, it was resumed, so this time surgery. My vocal cord was removed, then another one, and finally my entire larynx. I’m mute. I breathe through a tube. I eat through a tube leading through my nose to my stomach. I’m 17 kilos thinner and I wonder if that’s still me? – he described. All of Poland watched with growing sadness as the artist slowly faded away.

However, the alarming progression of the disease did not make Skubiszewski give up. As long as he could, he worked as the president of the Association of Performing Artists and communicated with the world through a speech synthesizer. A few months before his death, he managed to defend his doctorate in the settlement of copyright on the Internet. He last appeared on stage at his name-day surprise concert on February 6, 2007. The event was organized at the Fabryka Trzciny in Warsaw, chaired by Maciej Januszku and Majka Jeżowska, the artist’s friends. On June 13, at the age of only 53, Jacek Skubikowski died in hospital – he was accompanied by his loved ones until the very end.