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.
kwestia odwagi
Jacek Kaczmarski Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Odłożyć dumną broń odmowy
Buntu rozpaczy szybką szablę
Hełm który od posłuchu chronił
Pióropusz pieśni narodowych
Ostrogi krzywd nienaprawionych
Zdjąć puklerz niewzruszonych zasad
Którego wzór po ciężkich czasach
Winien być w duszy odciśnięty
Zamknąć z poczuciem że na zawsze
Arsenał środków ostatecznych
Proch samopalny cierpień lonty
Do argumentów wszystkosiecznych
To wcale nie jest takie łatwe
Zwinąć ostatnich redut mapę
Bo kwestią wielkiej jest odwagi
W lustrze obojętnego światła
Zobaczyć się bezbronnym nagim
Istotą w istot rojowisku
Otwartą ręką przyjąć zakład
O zawsze bezlitosną przyszłość
Nie wierząc w sens zbiorowej wiary
Nie gardzić rasą jej wyznawców
Codziennie skromne kłaść ofiary
W chramie bóstw ograbionych z blasku
Być swoim własnym Światowidem
Cudzych nie wyśmiewając bożyszcz
Zdobywać współwyznawców wstydem
Z prób nieporadnych bycia świadkiem
Bo przecież trwa noc długich noży
Choć dziennym się maskuje światłem
Samotną nie pyszń się niemocą
Nie szukaj zbroi w arsenałach
Żyj tak byś zawsze wiedział po co
Bezcenny Ci Kapitel Ciała
The lyrics to Jacek Kaczmarski's song "Kwestia Odwagi" (A Matter of Courage) describe the difficulty of letting go of one's weapons of defiance and despair. The song speaks of a proud refusal to surrender and a swift sword of rebellion, symbolized by a helmet that once offered protection. It also talks about the feathered crest of national songs, representing the wounds that have not been healed.
The lyrics continue with the idea of putting aside the unyielding shield of principles, the carved faces of saints that serve as a model after difficult times. It speaks of closing the map of the last strongholds, knowing that the arsenal of ultimate means, the automatic ammunition of suffering and the arguments of all-knowing have to be abandoned.
The song emphasizes that it is not easy to see oneself defenseless and vulnerable in the indifferent light of the mirror, to become one with the swarming masses. It calls for embracing a future that is always merciless, without believing in the meaning of collective faith or despising the race of its believers. Instead, it encourages offering humble sacrifices in the temple of gods stripped of their glory.
The lyrics also express the importance of being one's own deity, not mocking others' idols, and gaining fellow believers through the shame of clumsy attempts to bear witness. It acknowledges that the night of the long knives persists, despite the world disguising it with daylight.
Line by Line Meaning
To wcale nie jest takie łatwe
It's not easy at all
Odłożyć dumną broń odmowy
To put aside the proud weapon of refusal
Buntu rozpaczy szybką szablę
The rebellion of despair, a quick sword
Hełm który od posłuchu chronił
The helmet that protected from listening
Pióropusz pieśni narodowych
The plume of national songs
Ostrogi krzywd nienaprawionych
Spurs of unhealed injuries
Zdjąć puklerz niewzruszonych zasad
To remove the shield of unshaken principles
Rzeźbiony w płaskie twarze Świętych
Carved in the flat faces of Saints
Którego wzór po ciężkich czasach
Whose pattern, after hard times
Winien być w duszy odciśnięty
Should be imprinted in the soul
Zamknąć z poczuciem że na zawsze
To close with the feeling that forever
Arsenał środków ostatecznych
Arsenal of ultimate means
Proch samopalny cierpień lonty
Gunpowder of suffering, fuses
Do argumentów wszystkosiecznych
For all-encompassing arguments
To wcale nie jest takie łatwe
It's not easy at all
Zwinąć ostatnich redut mapę
To fold the map of the last strongholds
Bo kwestią wielkiej jest odwagi
Because it's a matter of great courage
W lustrze obojętnego światła
In the mirror of indifferent light
Zobaczyć się bezbronnym nagim
To see oneself defenseless and naked
Istotą w istot rojowisku
As an essence in a swarm of beings
Otwartą ręką przyjąć zakład
To accept the challenge with an open hand
O zawsze bezlitosną przyszłość
About the always merciless future
Nie wierząc w sens zbiorowej wiary
Not believing in the sense of collective faith
Nie gardzić rasą jej wyznawców
Not despising the race of its followers
Codziennie skromne kłaść ofiary
Every day humbly offering sacrifices
W chramie bóstw ograbionych z blasku
In the temple of gods stripped of their brilliance
Być swoim własnym Światowidem
To be one's own Światowid
Cudzych nie wyśmiewając bożyszcz
Without mocking the idols of others
Zdobywać współwyznawców wstydem
To gain co-worshipers with shame
Z prób nieporadnych bycia świadkiem
From clumsy attempts to be a witness
Bo przecież trwa noc długich noży
Because the night of long knives still lasts
Choć dziennym się maskuje światłem
Although it disguises itself with daylight
Samotną nie pyszń się niemocą
Don't boast about your loneliness and powerlessness
Nie szukaj zbroi w arsenałach
Don't seek armor in arsenals
Żyj tak byś zawsze wiedział po co
Live in a way that you always know why
Bezcenny Ci Kapitel Ciała
The priceless chapter of Body to you
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
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