"Bojna Čavoglave"
Single by Marko Perković
from the album Moli mala
ReleasedDecember 31, 1991 (1991-12-31)[1]
RecordedFall 1991
GenreFolk rock
Length3:24
LabelCroatia Records
Producer(s)Marko Perković

"Bojna Čavoglave" ("Čavoglave Battalion", commonly referred to as just Čavoglave[2][3][4]) is a nationalist folk rock song by the Croatian rock singer Marko Perković. The song was composed during the Croatian War of Independence, becoming a popular wartime song. It is also notorious for its use of fascist symbolism in its lyrics.

Production

Marko Perković joined the Croatian National Guard as a volunteer, and was given a Thompson submachine gun, thus giving him the name of Thompson. "Bojna Čavoglave" was the first song by Perković.[5]

The song was later republished by Perković's own band, Thompson.[6] The song was originally released on New Year's Eve 1991.[1]

The video for the song was filmed during the Croatian War of Independence. The song was made to commemorate the soldiers fighting against the Yugoslav People's Army in the town of Čavoglave, which is the birthplace of the singer, Perković.

Music video

The music video of "Bojna Čavoglave" was filmed at the frontline, close to the town of Čavoglave.[7]

Controversy

The first line of the song is "Za dom spremni", a fascist greeting used during the time of the Independent State of Croatia. This caused controversy due to the line being a fascist greeting. The High Misdemeanour Court of Croatia originally found the line to be a criminal offense, which risked a ban of the song,[8][9] but Thompson appealed the decision.[10] The same High Misdemeanour Court accepted his appeal, allowing Thompson to use the greeting in the song and in concerts.[6][11]

This controversy was further strengthened by the fact that Croatian association football fans were using the slogan and singing "Bojna Čavoglave" and "Moju Hercegovinu" at the 2023 UEFA Nations League final.[3] Some Croatian fans who were on a flight back to Zagreb from the 2022 FIFA World Cup hosted in Doha, Qatar, also started singing "Bojna Čavoglave" on the plane.[12] In a party in Zagreb after returning from the World Cup, players Dejan Lovren and Marcelo Brozović also sang the song, along with "Anica − Kninska kraljica".[13]

Lyrics

Croatian English translation

Za dom — spremni!

U Zagori na izvoru rijeke Čikole
𝄆 Stala braća da obrane naše domove! 𝄇
Stoji Hrvat do Hrvata, mi smo braća svi
𝄆 Nećete u Čavoglave dok smo živi mi! 𝄇
Puče thompson, kalašnjikov a i zbrojevka
𝄆 Baci bombu, goni bandu preko izvora 𝄇
Korak naprijed, puška gotovs’i uz pjesmu svi
𝄆 Za dom braćo, za slobodu, borimo se mi! 𝄇

Čujte srpski dobrovoljci, bando četnici
𝄆 Stići će vas naša ruka i u Srbiji! 𝄇
Stići će vas Božja pravda, to već svatko zna
𝄆 Sudit će vam bojovnici iz Čavoglava! 𝄇
Slušajte sad poruku od Svetog Ilije:
𝄆 Nećete u Čavoglave, niste ni prije! 𝄇
Oj Hrvati, braćo mila iz Čavoglava
𝄆 Hrvatska vam zaboravit neće nikada! 𝄇
𝄆 Neće nikada! 𝄇

Neće nikada!

For the homeland — ready!

In the hinterland, at the source of the Čikola River,
𝄆 We, our brothers, took up arms to defend our homes! 𝄇
A Croat stands by a Croat, we are all brothers,
𝄆 You will not go to Čavoglave while we are alive! 𝄇
Fire your Thompsons, Kalashnikovs, and Zbrojovkas!
𝄆 Toss the bomb, chase the bandit away, beyond the spring! 𝄇
Step forward, with your rifle ready, everyone sing the song:
𝄆 For our home, brothers, for our freedom, we are fighting! 𝄇

Listen, Serbian volunteers, you gang of Chetniks
𝄆 Our hand will reach you in Serbia too! 𝄇
God's justice will reach you, everyone already knows that:
𝄆 You will be judged by the warriors from Čavoglave! 𝄇
Now listen to the message from Saint Elijah:
𝄆 You won't go to Čavoglave, and you haven't before! 𝄇
Oh Croats, dear brothers from Čavoglave
𝄆 Croatia will never forget you! 𝄇
𝄆 It will never! 𝄇

It will never!

Cover

A Ukrainian version of the song exists, titled "Soldiers of Ukraine" (Ukrainian: Солдати з України), which uses different lyrics which are directed towards Russia instead of Yugoslavia, but uses the same melody. This version of the song was introduced during the Russian invasion of Ukraine.[14][4]

References

  1. 1 2 "Prije 29 godina prvi put emitirana Thompsonova Bojna Čavoglave" (in Croatian).
  2. ↑ "Čavoglave u Zagrebu - Marko Perković Tompson, lik i nedelo - Nedeljnik Vreme". www.vreme.com (in Serbian). 2008-06-04. Retrieved 2023-09-02.
  3. 1 2 "(VIDEO) Skandalozna atmosfera u Rotterdamu: Hrvati pjevaju "Čavoglave" i "Moju Hercegovinu"" (in Croatian).
  4. 1 2 "Video: Ukrajinci prepjevali Čavoglave: Nečete u Ukrajini dok smo živi mi". Index.hr.
  5. ↑ "'Čavoglave' – Pjesma koja je postala izraz otpora i odavno prešla granice Hrvatske" (in Croatian).
  6. 1 2 "Croatian court rules 'Thompson' song did not break law". BalkanInsight.
  7. ↑ "Trideset godina je prošlo: Pročitajte zanimljivu reportažu o Thompsonu i pjesmi 'Bojna Čavoglave'" (in Croatian).
  8. ↑ ""Ovo je važno: Visoki prekršajni sud prvi je put pravomoćno osudio povik Za dom spremni u Čavoglavama"" (in Croatian).
  9. ↑ "Thompson odgovorio što misli o zabranjivanju pjesme Bojna Čavoglave zbog pozdrava "Za dom spremni"" (in Croatian).
  10. ↑ "Ovo je važno: Visoki prekršajni sud prvi je put pravomoćno osudio povik Za dom spremni u Čavoglavama" (in Croatian).
  11. ↑ "THOMPSON SMIJE VIKATI 'ZA DOM SPREMNI' NA POČETKU PJESME 'BOJNA ČAVOGLAVE' Visoki prekršajni sud donio odluku koja je obvezujuća za sve suce tog suda". Jutarnji Premium (paid) (in Croatian).
  12. ↑ "Croatian players celebrate World Cup success with nationalist song".
  13. ↑ "Objavljena snimka iz kafića: Lovren i Brozović vikali 'Za dom spremni'" (in Croatian).
  14. ↑ "The Balkans and Russia, and Ukraine (part 2). Policies of individual countries in the region".
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