Sunday, August 12, 2007

Sarajevo ljubavi moja


Yesterday I saw an amazing film, Grbavica, winner of the Golden Bear (i.e., Best Picture) at the 2006 Berlin Film Festival, among other awards. The story takes place in Sarajevo, Bosnia-Herzegovina, where a single mother and child are trying to get by after the devastating Yugoslav wars of the 90s. It's a moving mixture of the mundane and the breathtaking, resulting in a heart wrenching tale that is certainly one of the better films I've seen of late.

The movie also closes with a beautiful song, "Sarajevo ljubavi moja" ("Sarajevo Love of Mine"), by Kemal Monteno. Here's a live acoustic version of it from YouTube:



Additionally, a studio cut (the version used for the film credits) choreographed to a slide show of Sarajevo photos:



The song alone is also available from Imeem:



And in case you want to see the lyrics:


Sarajevo ljubavi moja
Zajedno smo rasli grade ja i ti,
isto plavo nebo poklonilo nam stih,
ispod Trebevica sanjali smo sne,
ko ce brze rasti ko ce ljepsi biti.
Ti si bio velik a rodio se ja
s Igmana uz osmijeh slao si mi san
djecak koji raste zavolio te tad
ostao je ovde vezan za svoj grad.
Bilo gdje da krenem o tebi sanjam
putevi me svi tebi vode,
cekam s nekom ceznjom na svijetla tvoja
Sarajevo ljubavi moja,
Pjesme svoje imas i ja ih pjevam
zelim da ti kazem sta sanjam
radosti su moje i sreca tvoja
Sarajevo ljubavi moja.
Kada prodju zime i dodje lijepi maj
djevojke su ljepse ljubavi im daj
setaliste tamno uzdasima zri
neke oci plave neke rijeci njezne.
Sad je djecak covjek i zima pokri brijeg
park i kosa bijeli al otici ce snijeg
proljece i mladost ispunice tad
Sarajevo moje jedini moj grad.
Sarajevo, love of mine
We grew up together city, you and me
the same blue sky gave us rhymes
under Trebevic we dreamt dreams
who will grow faster who will be nicer
You were great, and I was born
From Igman with a smile you sent me my dreams
A boy growing up fell in love with you then
He stayed here, connected to his city
Wherever I turn, I dream of you
All roads lead me to you
I wait with some longing for your lights
Sarajevo love of mine
You have your songs, and I sing them
I want to tell you what I dream
The pleasures are mine and happiness yours
Sarajevo love of mine
When the cold passes and fine May comes
The girls are nicer, give them love
Walk the walkways with sighs in the dark
Some blue eyes, some tender words
Now the boy is a man and the winter covers the mounatin
The park and hair is grey, but the snow will go away
Spring and youth will then fill
my Sarajevo, my only city


Finally, if this has wet your appetite for all things Bosnian, you may want to check out the following blog, a great resource especially if you plan to travel there one day:

http://www.beyondsarajevo.com/

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