''Cannoneer Jabůrek'' ( cs, Kanonýr Jabůrek), published in 1884, is a

cantastoria (; also spelled , or ) comes from Italian for "story-singer" and is known by many other names around the world. It is a theatrical form where a performer tells or sings a story while gesturing to a series of images. These images can be painted ...

that mocks war propaganda that often made up stories about military heroism. It is one of the most popular parodies of ''kramářská píseň'', the Czech form of cantastoria. The song is a story of a valiant

cannoneer "Cannoneer" as a term for an artilleryman dates from the 16th century. the United States Army uses as titles for such a soldier: "13B" (thirteen bravo) M.O.S. (military occupational specialty code), a "cannon crewmember" or "cannoneer" for sho ...

Jabůrek who, as the song says, took part in the

Battle of Königgrätz The Battle of Königgrätz (or Sadowa) was the decisive battle of the Austro-Prussian War in which the Kingdom of Prussia defeated the Austrian Empire. It took place on 3 July 1866, near the Bohemian city of Hradec Králové (German: Königgrä ...

(1866). Even after the enemy's cannonballs tore off both his arms, he continued to load his cannon with bare feet, etc. When his head was torn off, it flew to the general and said: "Reporting, I cannot give a

salute A salute is usually a formal hand gesture or other action used to display respect in military situations. Salutes are primarily associated with the military and law enforcement, but many civilian organizations, such as Girl Guides, Boy Sco ...

." The song further says that for his valiance he was promoted into nobility to be named Edler von den Jabůrek, and that he had no head, no big deal, because there was plenty of headless nobility already. No real event is described in the song; however, at the times there were newspaper reports and legends describing various kinds of exaggerated heroism. The song about Jabůrek is sung in the book about

the good soldier Švejk ''The Good Soldier Švejk'' () is an unfinished satirical dark comedy novel by Czech writer Jaroslav Hašek, published in 1921–1923, about a good-humored, simple-minded, middle-aged man who pretends to be enthusiastic to serve Austria-Hungary i ...

. The brave cannoneer is in the center of the plot of a satirical radio play ''Jaburek'' by Austrian playwright Franz Hiesel.A search result for works of Franz Hiesel
/ref> There is a tavern ''U Kanonýra Jabůrka'' in Sadová, a place around which the battle was held. In 1968 recorded a single KRÁLOVÉ HRADECKÉ ZVONY / KANONÝR JABŮREK. In 1985 the Czech folk band recorded the song with

Supraphon Supraphon Music Publishing is a Czech record label, oriented mainly towards publishing classical music and popular music, with an emphasis on Czech and Slovak composers. History The Supraphon name was first registered as a trademark in 1932. T ...

in the LP album ''Tam u Královýho Hradce''.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kannoneer Jaburek 1884 songs Anti-war songs Czech songs Czech humour Songs about soldiers Songs about the military

See also

References