Hello everyone, 

As Lesley present idea about song contest Lesley, I want take time and present our traditional Bosnian folk music called Sevdalinka.

Sevdalinka  also known as Sevdah music, is a traditional genre of folk music originating in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Sevdalinka is an integral part of the Bosniak culture,but is also spread across the ex-Yugoslav region, including Croatia, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Serbia. The actual composers of many Sevdalinka songs are unknown because these are traditional folk songs. In 2024, sevdalinka was included on the UNESCO Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.
Sevdalinka songs are characterised by their slow or moderate tempo, elaborate structure, and intense, emotionally potent melodies. The singer will often impose a rhythm and tempo into the song, both of which can vary throughout the piece. Traditionally, Sevdalinkas are considered "women's songs", often addressing issues of longing and love, often unfulfilled and unrequited, some exploring women's physical desires for their loved ones, and some even having a range of comedic elements. However, there are Sevdah songs written and sung by men as well. Traditionally, they were performed without any instruments, hence their elaborate melodies. As with most old folk styles, what the sounds of the original melodies would have been like rests on conjecture, as their interpretations are now closely aligned, in part due to the historically increasing role of accompanying instruments, with the Western chromatic system (which stands in contrast to Oriental modes, which often use intervals smaller than a semitone). Modern interpretations of Sevdalinka songs are usually accompanied by a small orchestra featuring the accordion (as the most prominent instrument), the violin, the nylon-string guitar and/or other string instruments, such as the upright bass, the saz or šargija and occasionally the flute or clarinet, and the snare drum. In modern interpretations, an accordion or violin solo can almost always be heard between the verses.

Safet Isovic - Sehidski rastanak



The instrumental composition 'Nizamski rastanak' was composed by an unknown folk composer at the beginning of the 19th century. The elegiac melody, written for violin, according to scant information, saw off the warriors of the 'Nizam' into battle.
Although with a recognizable stamp of the Orient, it suffered a series of attempts to appropriate it by Serbian counterfeiting propaganda, and was passed off to the uninitiated as a 'Serbian song', which is of course nonsense.
Over the decades, there have been many attempts to turn this melody into a vocal song, but a valid text, as far as is known, has never been written.
Today, when Bosniaks are once again being sent off across Bosnia and Herzegovina, but now for the first time to fight for their own state, it is a good opportunity to actualize this usurped farewell with a suitable text and return it to the corpus, and to the corpuses to which it actually belongs in terms of its style and origin.
We dedicate this song, which we called 'Martyr Farewell', to all martyrs, in honor of their bravery and nobility. Let's always be aware of their heroic sacrifice, as well as the fact that nurturing one's own culture and tradition is one of the first barricades of freedom.

Lyrics:

EN:

Winter will not end,
Morning will not come,
Only takbir
Is heard through the night:
(Allah is the greatest!)

Long winter night,
Oh, mother, I shall leave,
The beloved land of my fathers
Calls me for help.

If, mom, I will not come back,
Don't you await for me in vain.
Pour one silent tear
And read the Fatihah,
May it be my farewell.

Oh, if only once more,
Before the Gates of Jannah,
On the wings of adhan
The scent of Ramadan
Would reach me from our čaršija (town)...

The intent is sacred;
The woe's oppression
Is a humility for us;
And the Bosnian spite is strong within our chests.

Long cold night.
I guess, I leave now,
Here, the beloved land of my fathers
Calls me for help.

Take a care of my sister, protect her,
So that, mother, one day
From under the dewed ground I will see,
How the daughters of my Bosnia
Give rise to the heroes of war.

Oh, if only once more the sevdah
Of Bosnia would besot me,
The old songs would wake me up,
And the muezzin would recite the prayer from the minaret
Of the White Mosque...

Oh, if only once more the sun
Of Bosnia would warm me,
The old songs would wake me up,
And the muezzin would recite the prayer from the minaret
Of the White Mosque...

BA:


Zima nikad proć'
Nikad sabah doć'
Samo tekbir čuje se kroz noć
Duga zimska noć
Majko moram poć'
Rodna gruda pradjedova
To me zove upomoć


Ako se majko ne vratim
Nemoj me za lud čekati
Pusti jednu suzu tihu
I prouči mi Fatihu
Nek me ona isprati


Samo još jednom da mi je
Ispred džennetske kapije
Da na krilima ezana
Stigne miris Ramazana
Iz naše čaršije
Samo još jednom da mi je
Ispred džennetske kapije
Da na krilima ezana
Stigne miris Ramazana
Iz naše čarišije


Nijjet veliki
Zulum dušmanski
Sabur nam i inat u nama
Sila bosanski
Duga hladna noć
Valja meni poć'
Rodna gruda pradjedova
Evo zove me upomoć


Čuvaj mi sestru pazi je
Jer majko jednom da mi je
Vidjeti iz zemlje rosne
Kako šćeri moje Bosne
Sad rađaju gazije


Samo još Bosne da mi je
Pa da me sevdah opije
Da me bude pjesme stare
I mujezin sa munare
Sa Bijele džamije
Samo još Bosne da mi je
Pa da me sunce ogrije
Da me bude pjesme stare
I mujezin sa munare
Sa Bijele džamije