The song "New Year's Day" by U2 was written and released in 1983 on the album called "War". The lyrics of the song were inspired by the hard political situation in Poland and dedicated to the Polish freedom fighters from the Solidarity (Pol. Solidarność) movement led by Lech Walesa. Interestingly, after the song was recorded, Poland announced the abolishing of the martial law, coincidentally, on New Year's Day, 1983.
The clip, which can be watched at:
www.youtube.com/user/eutube?blend=1&ob=5#p/search/0/vvYtDeUaRuk,
was produced in 2009 by the European Commission Representation in Poland to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the Fall of the Iron Curtain from a Polish perspective. It is about a Polish girl called Marta who was born on the 4th of June 1989, i.e. exactly on the day of the first half-free elections in the Central-East Europe which took place in Poland and paved the way for the democratic change in this part of Europe.
A mix of scenes show key events for Poland, such as the Solidarity movement with its leader Lech Walesa, Polish Round Table Talks, and the integration with NATO and the EU.
The patriotic atmosphere of the song is especially conspicuous at concerts, like the famous one in Chorzów (southern Poland) in 2009. The video footage from the concert can be seen at: www.youtube.com/watch?v=Um86sXNJeyo.
