Kaczmarski was considered by many to be the voice of the anti-communist Solidarity movement in the 1980s, for his commitment to a free Poland, independent of Soviet rule. His songs criticized the ruling regime and appealed to the tradition of patriotic resistance within Poles. He remains best known for his protest songs on social and political subjects ("Mury" (Walls), "Obława" (Wolf hunt)). However, he was more a poet than a political singer, and his texts have not lost their meaning with the demise of the Soviet union and its communist block.
He made his debut in 1977 at the Student Song Festival, where he was awarded first prize for his work "Obława" (Wolf hunt) based on song "Охота на волков" by Vladimir Vysotsky. In 1980 he won Second prize at the Opole Song Festival for "Epitafium dla Włodzimierza Wysockiego" (Epitaph for Vladimir Vysotsky).
Kaczmarski chose to emigrate after the imposition of the martial law in Poland in 1981, and would not be allowed to return until 1990. From 1982 he was an editor and journalist with Radio Free Europe, with his own radio program, A Quarter with Jacek Kaczmarski.
After his return to Poland (following the Round Table negotiations that brought and end to communist rule) he toured the country with his friend and artist Zbigniew Łapiński. The tour was recorded and released as Live, and it achieved Gold album status in 2001. His other albums included "Mury" (Walls), "Nasza klasa" (Our class), "Raj" (Paradise), "Muzeum" (Museum), "Pochwała łotrostwa" (Praising the Rascals), "Wojna postu z karnawałem" (The War between Carnival and Lent). However, Kaczmarski was soon disillusioned by the developments in Poland after 1989 and would eventually emigrate to Australia.
Kaczmarski was known not only for his politically motivated lyrics but also for his characteristically dynamic — even aggressive — classical guitar playing, and expressive performance style. His deep knowledge of not only the history of Poland but also Classical literature resulted in a wide variety of insightful connections between cultures and eras via song (for example "Powtórka z Odysei," recalling Homer's Odyssey or "Lalka," a masterful strike at the heart of a riveting Polish novel). He often performed before contrastingly different audiences: groups of friends in their homes, campus venues, and large concert halls in Poland, the rest of Europe and America.
Kaczmarski in the late 1990s was diagnosed with cancer of the larynx (attributed to his heavy smoking). He could not afford the costs of the treatment and in response a nationwide fundraising campaign was organized. However, Jacek Kaczmarski, out of fear of irrevocably losing his voice, did not agree to standard cancer therapy and resorted instead to alternatives such as vilcacora and sangre de drago, among other "natural" remedies.
He died in a hospital in Gdańsk 2004.
Litania
Jacek Kaczmarski Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Beznadziejną ich drogą podążamy - na przekór
Czasem słabsi od kurzu wstrzymujemy wichury
I stawiamy pomniki zapomnianej kultury
Czasem twardsi od skały i jak skała nieczuli
Omijamy spojrzeniem wyrywany bruk ulic
Wszechstronniejsi od mędrców myśl chowamy na potem
Bardziej godni od królów z ziemi grząskiej od potu
Ślepym siłom historii wciąż skaczemy do oczu
Lecz mądrzejsi od wodzów, z twarzą nisko spuszczoną
Podajemy im co dzień przerdzewiałe strzemiona
Śmiertelniejsi od kwiatów podnosimy się łanem
Kiedy kosa już w ruchu, a pokosy sprzedane
Sprawiedliwsi od sędziów w trybunale wysokim
Z wyuczonym spokojem przyjmujemy wyroki
Bezwzględniejsi od katów, wreszcie wielcy i sami
Na szafotach gadamy odciętymi głowami.
The lyrics of Jacek Kaczmarski's song Litania talk about the human experience and how it evolves over time. The first stanza speaks about how we mature as we grow older but still follow the same hopeless path as our ancestors did, despite the obstacles that come our way. Sometimes we are weaker than dust, yet we try to withstand strong winds, and sometimes we are as strong as rocks, yet we choose to ignore the pain on the streets. We are capable of thinking more than just what is necessary, yet we often disregard our true potential and instead disguise ignorance as beauty.
The second stanza continues to question the human experience and the choices we make. We claim to be more worthy than kings, yet we are stuck on this earth laboring with sweat on our skin. We blindly follow history's power without questioning its true intentions. We are wiser than leaders, yet we give them the same weapons they used thousands of years ago. We believe we are immortal, but in reality, we are simply just a field of flowers that can be cut down with a swipe of a scythe. We think we are more just than judges, but we are still helpless when it comes to accepting judgment. And finally, we confront the idea of being great warriors, but at the end of the day, we are merely just talking heads with severed necks.
Overall, Litania is a deep and thought-provoking song that questions the human experience and the flaws that come with it. It highlights how we often repeat the same mistakes as our ancestors and how we underestimate our true potential as human beings.
Line by Line Meaning
Od swych ojców dojrzalsi, kiedy byli w tym wieku
We think we're more mature than our fathers were at our age
Beznadziejną ich drogą podążamy - na przekór
We're following their hopeless path, against all odds
Czasem słabsi od kurzu wstrzymujemy wichury
Sometimes we're weaker than dust, yet we hold back the storms
I stawiamy pomniki zapomnianej kultury
And we erect monuments to a forgotten culture
Czasem twardsi od skały i jak skała nieczuli
Sometimes we're harder than rock, and as insensitive as it is
Omijamy spojrzeniem wyrywany bruk ulic
We ignore the torn up paving stones with our eyes
Wszechstronniejsi od mędrców myśl chowamy na potem
We're more versatile than the wise, but we store our thoughts for later
Nazywamy mus - łaska i światłością - ciemnotę
We call delusions grace and light, and true enlightenment - darkness
Bardziej godni od królów z ziemi grząskiej od potu
We're more deserving than kings, despite being muddy and sweaty
Ślepym siłom historii wciąż skaczemy do oczu
Blindly, we jump into the eye of the historical storm
Lecz mądrzejsi od wodzów, z twarzą nisko spuszczoną
But we're wiser than leaders, with our faces pulled low
Podajemy im co dzień przerdzewiałe strzemiona
We offer them daily our rusted stirrups
Śmiertelniejsi od kwiatów podnosimy się łanem
More mortal than flowers, we rise in the fields
Kiedy kosa już w ruchu, a pokosy sprzedane
When the scythe is already in motion, and the harvest sold
Sprawiedliwsi od sędziów w trybunale wysokim
More just than judges in the high court
Z wyuczonym spokojem przyjmujemy wyroki
With learned calmness, we accept sentences
Bezwzględniejsi od katów, wreszcie wielcy i sami
More ruthless than executioners, finally great and alone
Na szafotach gadamy odciętymi głowami.
Talking with our severed heads on the scaffold.
Contributed by Colin J. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Adrian Polit
Legendarna piosęka 🙂🙂
Ewa Cybruch
modle sie za ciebie i spiewam to co ty spiewales czyli PRAWDE
Grazyna
Za umarłych się nie modli , BOG JEST BOGIEM ZYWYCH , więc MODLMY SIE , dostaliśmy tyle ZYCIA ,aby wybrać, gdzie chcemy spędzić WIECZNOSC. I POZNAC STWORCE ZBAWCE .
Lynn
Bardzo nam Ciebie brak. I bardzo za Toba tesknimy.
michal indica
tego nie ma co komentować-samo się obroni , a czy pisał długopisem,piórem czy węglem to szczeguł-on tym żył (chyba)
Mirosław Grzeżułkowski
Jacku bo tęsknie po Tobie
Milena Szu.
kunszt i mistrzostwo...
porter122
polska mowa bardzo trudna
Przemysław Magiera
Mógłby ktoś zinterpretować?
Michał Zakrzewski
Ale może długopisem pisał....