"Ale jestem" was the Polish

Poland

Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...

 entry in the Eurovision Song Contest 1997

Eurovision Song Contest 1997

The Eurovision Song Contest 1997, was the 42nd Eurovision Song Contest and it was held at the Point Theatre Dublin, Ireland, on 3 May 1997. Boyzone member Ronan Keating and Carrie Crowley were the presenters of the show....

, performed in Polish

Polish language

Polish is a language of the Lechitic subgroup of West Slavic languages, used throughout Poland and by Polish minorities in other countries...

 by Anna Maria Jopek

Anna Maria Jopek

Anna Maria Jopek is a Polish musician and singer. She represented her country in the 1997 Eurovision Song Contest, with the song "Ale jestem" and finished 11th out of 25 participating acts; and in 2002, she collaborated on an album with jazz guitarist Pat Metheny...

.

The song is a moderately up-tempo number, with Jopek singing about her realisation that life is there to be lived. She sings that she is a number of different things, including "A spark, a gasp of wind" and "A boat stray among the reefs".

The song was performed twelfth on the night (following Germany

Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

's Bianca Shomburg

Bianca Shomburg

Bianca Shomburg is a German singer, best known for her participation in the 1997 Eurovision Song Contest....

 with "Zeit

Zeit (song)

"Zeit" was the German entry in the Eurovision Song Contest 1997, performed in German by Bianca Shomburg.The song was performed eleventh on the night, following Spain's Marcos Llunas with "Sin rencor" and preceding Poland's Anna Maria Jopek with "Ale jestem"...

" and preceding Estonia

Estonia

Estonia , officially the Republic of Estonia , is a state in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea, to the south by Latvia , and to the east by Lake Peipsi and the Russian Federation . Across the Baltic Sea lies...

's Maarja-Liis Ilus

Maarja-Liis Ilus

Maarja-Liis Ilus, sometimes better known by her performing name Maarja is a pop musician. Maarja has achieved some chart success in a number of countries across Europe and Asia...

 with "Keelatud maa

Keelatud maa

"Keelatud maa" was the Estonian entry in the Eurovision Song Contest 1997, performed in Estonian by Maarja....

"). At the close of voting, it had received 54 points, placing 11th in a field of 25.

It was succeeded as Polish representative

Poland in the Eurovision Song Contest

Although Poland did not become member of the European Broadcasting Union until 1993, the Eurovision Song Contest was often broadcast on Telewizja Polska , the Polish broadcaster - even if delayed....

 at the 1998 Contest

Eurovision Song Contest 1998

The Eurovision Song Contest 1998 was the 43rd Eurovision Song Contest and was held on 9 May 1998 at the National Indoor Arena in Birmingham, United Kingdom. The presenters were Terry Wogan and Ulrika Jonsson...

 by Sixteen

Sixteen (band)

Sixteen was a Polish band, which was founded in 1997 and disbanded in 2004. Renata Dąbkowska is its lead singer, and it represented Poland in the Eurovision Song Contest 1998.Their debut album "Lawa" was released in 1997....

 with "To takie proste

To takie proste

"To takie proste" was the Polish entry in the Eurovision Song Contest 1998, performed in Polish by Sixteen.The song is a moderately up-tempo number, sung from the point of view of a woman in a relationship which she recognises is not great, but which she admits is "the best that we can get".The...

".