I have told my buddy Ken that there are certain songs that I want played at my wake after I pass away, and this is one of them. I was raised in a Polish-American household, and my father would constantly play polka music when he was home. That man could play with the AM radio dial and find a polka station in the middle of nowhere while we were driving in the car.
As a kid, I got tired of polka music, but this song always remained in my heart. During the 1970s, Detroit had a Saturday night horror movie host called The Ghoul on Channel 50 that used this song as his introduction. I still have to pull it up on YouTube every so often when I need a good smile.
Frankie Yankovic was like the Elvis Presley of polka music, especially in the Midwest. He was of Solvene descent and grew up in Cleveland. His polka band The Yanks were extremely popular with the first-and second-generation Polonia people from the late 1940s until his death in 1998. There wasn’t a Polish, Slovene, or Bohemian immigrant family that didn’t have at least one Frankie Yankovic record. He had a number of hits, including, “I’ve Got a Wife at Home,” “Blue Skirt Waltz,” “Just Because,” and this one. He was dubbed “America’s Polka King” in 1948 during a battle of the polka bands in Milwaukee. His music appealed to the masses, especially in cities that had a high Eastern European immigrant populations such as Cleveland, Detroit, Buffalo, Chicago, and Milwaukee. Weird Al Yankovic, although not related, paid many tributes to him in his performances.
For anyone not familiar, kiszka is Polish blood sausage, originally made with animal intestine, blood, ground meat and barley. You either love it or hate it. My parents loved it, and I hated it. I still cannot stand the smell of it being cooked, let alone the taste. Which is what makes this song so special. The singer values it so much that he is willing to give up szynka (ham), kielbasa, and pierogi for his kiszka. Fortunately, Jasu (“John” in Polish) finds the kiszka and brings it back.
From the drum beat and baritone sax introduction, one can tell that this is a happy song. Polkas have that great 2/4 beat for dancing, but this song is a bit faster than normal polkas. With that fast tempo, all of the musicians are at their peak. Then when Frankie sings that first line of “Someone stole the kiszka,” you cannot help but laugh, because who in their right minds would want to steal blood sausage?
This is a definite party song. If the J. Geils Band were a polka band, they would have recorded this song. Even non-Polonia people love to hear this classic. It has all the makings of a fun song – the fast tempo, the playful saxophone, and the hilarious lyrics. My mother told me that this song was a favorite of my grandfather, and I can understand why. It is a slight humorous slam at our Polonia background, but also makes us proud to be Polonia.
If you ever need a good smile, put this song on. It’s two minutes of pure fun!
Chew on it and comment.
Luegra 