Marek Grechuta was an outstanding singer, composer, painter, but above all, a poet and lyricist. Recognized as the most important representative of Polish sung poetry, he was able to describe reality in a romantic, colorful and absolutely unique way and make listeners reflect. He is the author of the lyrics to one of the most popular songs in the history of pop music – “Days we don’t know”.
Marek Grechuta was sick almost all his life. The disease revealed itself after breaking up with her high school sweetheart
Grechuta popularized Mickiewicz’s poems and fragments of Wyspiański’s “The Wedding”. He was not afraid of generational barriers, in an interview with Iwona Brzostek on Radio Three he said: – In my opinion, the student audience is the best, the hottest, the most sensitive. In 2003, the song “Kraków” appeared on the album “The Best Of” by the Myslovitz group, performed by Artur Rojek’s band together with Grechuta and the Anawa formation.
Grechuta was the child of divorcees, which affected his love life. The musician has been trying to look for love with the opposite sex since high school. He thought that romantic love would soothe his pain and fill his gaps. In high school, he met Halina Marmurowska and fell madly in love with her.
In the book “Moments We Don’t Know. The Story of Marek Grechuta” the woman mentions that Grechuta was extremely successful, but the artist was interested in his soul mate, with whom he could share every passion. “He liked to play four-handed with me, or he on the piano and I on the violin – I graduated from music school. We enjoyed walks, bridge, kayaking, trips – especially the longer, 20-kilometer ones to Zwierzyniec. There were also dances: at home to the music of 1950s or in a club – in the courthouse,” Marmurowska recalled. “He had a partner, a friend in me. He wouldn’t be interested in a frivolous girl,” she added.
Their relationship fell apart when it was time to choose a college. Grechuta went to study architecture in Krakow, she chose medicine in Lublin. The musician took the breakup very badly. “After we broke up, he hung my photos on clotheslines at home. They took up half the room. I was speechless. It was then that Grechuta’s bipolar disorder was first revealed, which was to haunt him for the rest of his life,” we read in the artist’s biography.
His friends stopped recognizing him. “I knew it was bad for Marek if he said things like that”
Grechuta met his wife, Danuta, in 1868. He spent the rest of his life with her. The woman stayed with the artist for 26 years, but it was not easy. Bipolar disorder was manifested by cyclical mood changes, transitions from euphoria to depression. It could also cause dangerous behavior. “He drew incredible strength that gave him hope of returning to normality from his wife, he could always count on her help. And in fact, no one except Danusia could withstand his fears and difficult periods,” Magda Umer said about Grechuta’s marriage.
Due to his illness and the medications he often took, Grechuta also behaved unconventionally on stage. When he started forgetting lyrics or stopping the concert suddenly, rumors began to spread. People accused Grechuta of alcohol abuse, but there was no truth in the rumors. As psychiatrist Michał Hapon explains in an interview with Medonet, it would be better for the singer if he gave up the performances that cost him so much. Grechuta’s friend, Dorota Pomykała, was quoted by Onet and said: – Marek once said that he couldn’t imagine a day when he wouldn’t be able to sing. He did not add how paralyzed he was by the fear that such a day might come soon.
The artist’s condition worsened after his son disappeared in 1999. Łukasz found himself eight months after the broadcast of the special program “Whoever saw, whoever knows” with Grechuta, but two years of worrying about his son took a toll on the singer’s health. Grechuta’s friends were terrified of his condition. “I didn’t know anything about his illness until some disturbing phrases appeared in the conversation. He said, ‘You know, I have a son.’ ‘Yes, I’ve heard.’ ‘But he has a square head.’ I was speechless. For a serious man whom I respect sympathy. ‘How so?’ – I ask. ‘When he was sleeping, I sat down by the bed and looked at him, and his head was square.’ He said it with the greatest seriousness. The blood drained to my feet. I knew it was bad for Marek if he said such things,” recalled Bogusław Kaczyński in the book. “Moments we don’t know. The story of Marek Grechuta” by Marta Sztokfisz.
Marek Grechuta died suddenly on the night of October 9, 2006 as a result of circulatory failure. He was buried at the Rakowicki Cemetery in Kraków in the Avenue of Merit.
Source: Gazeta
Bruce is a talented author and journalist with a passion for entertainment . He currently works as a writer at the 247 News Agency, where he has established himself as a respected voice in the industry.
