“Your Pain Is Better Than Mine” (Twój Ból Jest Większy Niż Mój) by Kazik (ft. Wojtek Jabłoński)
To cut right to the chase, “Your Pain Is Better Than Mine” is a song which is critical of Jarosław Kaczyński, who at the time of its release is the political leader of Poland. And even though he is never actually namedropped in the lyrics, such is obvious if you know the sentimental and more importantly historical backdrop of the events leading up to this track’s release.
First of all Poland, as with virtually every nation on Earth, put social-distancing measures in place in the name of minimizing the proliferation of the coronavirus. And the Land of Fields has been quite-serious in enforcing them. For instance, during Easter weekend alone thousands of people were ticketed for violating quarantine laws.
Now to put this song in its proper historical context, 10 years ago Poland suffered a major tragedy which is commonly referred to as the Smolensk air disaster. Ninety-six people died when the plane involved in that event crashed, most notable amongst them being the President of Poland at the time, Lech Kaczyński. Now you may have noticed that he and the current leader of the country have the same last name. This is because they were brothers. In fact they were identical twin brothers.
So understandably, the 10year anniversary of the Smolensk air disaster would logically be a major event for Poland, attracting masses of people, if not for the 2020 pandemic. But ultimately, social-distancing laws did not prevent Jarosław Kaczyński and others from having an illegal social gathering to commemorate the event. This did not go unnoticed by the Polish public. For while they were being thoroughly restricted as noted above, their leader was publicly breaking the selfsame rules.
Moreover, it had also been noted that on that same day of the anniversary, Jarosław Kaczyński visited the grave of his mother. Now the problem with that is the cemetery had been closed, apparently as further enforcement of the pandemic-related laws. In fact one of Kaczyński’s political rivals noted that she went to the selfsame cemetery on that day to also pay respects to her mom, who died in the same plane crash as Kaczyński’s brother and was turned away from actually visiting her grave. So it is pretty clear that a double-standard exists in Poland in which the leader of the country can circumvent laws – and not be afraid to let the world know so – while others cannot.
Well Kazik is one of the individuals who’s not having it. So basically, in this song he is harping on the aforementioned cemetery event. And what he is saying is that all because Kaczyński is the leader of the country does not mean that his “pain is better” than everyone else’s. In other words, his feelings of loss of his loved ones should not be considered greater, by law, than that of others who have suffered similar losses. And ultimately this is not a song about paying tribute to the dead. Rather the whole idea being put forth, as stated earlier, is that a double standard exists in Poland.
Conclusion
So in a way, we can say that Kazik is serving as the voice of the people. This is obvious considering, as will be expounded on in the trivia section, that this song went to number one in Poland. And whereas the singer is apparently furious, his words are not ones of anger. Rather he is imploring Jarosław Kaczyński to empathize. And at the heart of his argument is that just as he feels for his departed loved one, others also feel the same about theirs. Or stated otherwise, all people, despite their standing in life, are fundamentally equal.
Facts about “Your Pain Is Better Than Mine”
This song has proven to be extremely controversial – even making international headlines in the process – and not due to its content. Rather shortly after reaching number one on the popular Trojka (i.e. Radio Program 3) chart, the song, as well as all references to it, were completely scrubbed from their website and radio station.
The official explanation at the time of its removal was that those who placed it at the top of the chart did not follow proper protocol in doing so. But this action irked many individuals, even some from Kaczyński’s own Law and Justice party, as an overt act of censorship.
Moreover as of 19 May 2020, the host of the Trojka’s chart show for a good 35 years, Marek Niedźwiecki, resigned from his job due to this controversy, as well as a couple of DJs associated with the show. Additionally the journalist who was responsible for tallying the votes in relation to charting the song was suspended by the Editor-in-Chief of Radio Program 3 for refusing to sign a document stating that the tally was manipulated.
“Your Pain Is Better Than Mine” was written and co-produced by Kazik Staszewski. And the other co-producer is Wojciech Jabłoński.
This song was officially released on the 8th of May 2020. And it is featured on Kazik’s album entitled “Zaraza” (tr. “Plague”).
