Liberal Arts Blog — Bosnia “Kad Ja Podjoh Na Bembasu”
Liberal Arts Blog — Thursday is Joy of Music Day
Today’s Topic — Keys to the Hearts of Seven Billion People XXIV — Bosnia “Kad Ja Podjoh Na Bembasu”
The unofficial anthem of Sarajevo, the capital of Bosnia, is “Kad Ja Podjoh Na Bembasu,” A traditional, melancholic folk song tells the story of lost love. It took on a whole new meaning when the city was under siege from April 5, 1992 to February 29, 1996, the longest siege of any capital city in modern times. I learned the song from a Bosnian tourist at Minute Man National Park in Concord who identified it as his country’s most beloved song. Whenever I greet a Bosnian tourist, I welcome them with this song. In fact, whenever I meet a Bosnian anywhere, I sing this song to them. The most memorable moment was in an elevator in a hotel in Venice which is less than 300 miles away from Sarajevo by air — to the northwest, across the Adriatic. It’s the tears that made the moment unforgettable. Experts — please chime in. Correct, elaborate, elucidate.
Nedžad Salković — Kad ja pođoh na Bembašu
LYRICS AND TRANSLATION — first verses
1. Kad Ja podjoh na Bembasu (When I went to Bembasa)
2. Na Bembasu na vodu (To Bembasa by the river)
3. Ja Povedhoh bijelo janje (I took a white lamb with me)
NB “Bijelo janje sa sobom (A white lamb with me)
MUSIC — an example of “Sevdelinka” (slow, sad, passionate folk songs)
A BEAUTIFUL, MOUNTAINOUS COUNTRY
1. Bosnia is surrounded to the north and west by Croatia. Serbia is to the east and Montenegro to the southeast.
2. The ethnic split is about 51% Muslim, 31% Eastern Orthodox, and 15% Catholic.
3, The wars of the 1990s led to a decline in population of roughly 600,000 between 1991 and 2013.
Nedžad Salković — Kad ja pođoh na Bembašu lyrics + English translation
Music of Bosnia and Herzegovina
Zehra Deović — Kad ja pođoh na Bentbašu
APPENDIX: Keys to the Hearts of Seven Billion People — Past Posts in This Series
This is the list of songs with which, before Covid, I used to greet tourists from around the world at the North Bridge in Concord or wherever I else I happened to meet them — eg. waiting in line at grocery stores, pharmacies, banks, or the Department of Motor Vehicles.
4/9/20 — Nkosi — South African National Anthem
4/16/20 — Sweet Mother — unofficial national Anthem of Nigeria
4/23/20 — Jambo — the Swahili equivalent — Tanzania, Kenya, Rwanda, Uganda
4/30/20 — Sakura — Japan — the cherry blossom song
5/7/20 — Arirang — Korea (North and South)
5/14/20 — Chuang Tian — China — Li Bai — Gong Linna
5/21/20 — Ode to Joy — German — Beethoven/Schiller
5/28/20 — La Marseillaise — French — France plus many more french-speaking nations
6/4/20 — Volare — Italian — Domenico Modugno
6/11/20 — Arrorro and Cielito Lindo — Spanish speakers
6/18/20 — La Garota de Ipanema — Brazil and other Portuguese speakers
6/22/20 — Gayatri Mantra — Hindus
7/2/20 — Pokarekare Ana — Maori — New Zealand
7/9/20 — Aseda Yede Ma Onyame — Ghana
7/16/20 — “Al Fatihah” — most sacred Islamic prayer (Arabic)
7/23/20 — “Tavaszi Szel” — Hungarian Folk Song
7/30/20 — “Modeh Ani” — the Jewish Waking Up Prayer
8/6/20 — “Stolat, Stolat” — Polish Birthday Song
8/20/20 — “Lang Zal Ze Leven” — Dutch Birthday Song
8/27/20 — “Oh Danny Boy” — Ireland
9/3/20 — “Mul Mantra” — most sacred Sikh prayer
9/10/20 — “Warwindar Friska” — Swedish song of spring
9/17/20 — “Desteapta-te Romane!” — Romanian national anthem
9/24/20 — “Kad Ja Podjoh Na Bembasu” — Bosnian folk song of lost love
I feel strongly that the core humanities curriculum of every school in the world should consist of the most beloved songs of the world’s peoples. Music unites. The opportunity cost of any other texts is infinite. Why not give every 18 year old the keys to hearts of seven billion people? I am not sure this is the perfect list. But I have spent 10 years testing the hypothesis. And the results are not scientific but they are pretty convincing. Proposals welcome.
