Born in the city of Skopje, Macedonia, burried in Skopje, Macedonia, built her career in Serbia, and sang in Serbian and in Gypsy. A singer I was heavily listening to while I was a kid, since my grandmother listened to her a lot. I am not generally fond of Gypsy music, but this particular always brings me to some kind of ecstasy. Probably the best Gypsy music in the World, raw, genuine, and straightforward. The kind of music that makes you drunk and breaking glasses. I will also try to bring lyrics translations (because I enjoy trying translating lyrics ).


(Džerimo Tavern was a real place in the Serbian city of Niš.)

Tell me, Tavern Džerimo (1982)

Tell me, Tavern Džerimo
Tell me, distant cobblestones
Where has my darling disappeared
Who took my heart

The old bridge is napping
The whole town is sleeping
And me, I, young, can't have sleep
Because of two unfaithful eyes

Tell me, Tavern Džerimo
Tell me, distant cobblestones
Where is my darling awaiting the dawn
While my heart is aching

To twist as a belt (1982)

Danka has lost golden belt
Golden belt, silk scarf

Who took me, mommy, golden belt
Golden belt, silk scarf

As a belt, God make him twist
Around me, let him twist

There comes a lad, hears heavy curses
Hears heavy curses, winks with his eye

Come on, Danka, forget the belt
Golden belt, silk scarf

It's better I twist my gentle arm
My gentle arm around your waist

As a belt, God make me twist
Around you, I shall twist

Oh, my song (1982)

Since I was born, the dance has guided me
The song is my life and I owe everything to it
Oh, my song, oh, my dance
The best days of my life

Let the winds carry long hair
Let bare feet tread on the dews
Let my arms embrace the dawns
Let my eyes burn with the fire

When the lips kiss, then the nights are lost
My heart begins dancing, the song makes it playful
Oh, my song, oh, my dance
The best days of my life

Let the winds carry long hair
Let bare feet tread on the dews
Let my arms embrace the dawns
Let my eyes burn with the fire

With the song I travel, with the dance I go crazy
And the days are passing by, the years are going away
Oh, my song, oh, my dance
The best days of my life

Let the winds carry long hair
Let bare feet tread on the dews
Let my arms embrace the dawns
Let my eyes burn with the fire

Sunen Romalen (1982)

This one is in Gypsy, so I can't translate the lyrics, but the title should say "Listen, Gypsies".

The best Sunen Romalen you will ever hear.

Quote from: milos on June 11, 2025, 10:22:38 AM

To twist as a belt (1982)

Danka has lost golden belt
Golden belt, silk scarf

Who took me, mommy, golden belt
Golden belt, silk scarf

As a belt, God make him twist
Around me, let him twist

There comes a lad, hears heavy curses
Hears heavy curses, winks with his eye

Come on, Danka, forget the belt
Golden belt, silk scarf

It's better I twist my gentle arm
My gentle arm around your waist

As a belt, God make me twist
Around you, I shall twist

Those are nice. Lots of brass in one i saw. I went down a Slavic folk rabbit hole a while back. Here is a link.
Most are Polish. I like Percival, Percival Schuttenbach (added metal), Zniwa, and Ottava Yo.


https://www.reddit.com/r/folk/comments/1crfwyx/some_slavic_folk_music_i_found/

Alina Gingertail has a small Slavic playlist from video games.

Here is one in some dialect of Croation. Naranca as arranged by Elvis Stanic. Here she plays Bayan, Irish bouzuiki, vargan, svirel, djembe, tamborine.
https://youtu.be/XZ5GDzdmKnM?list=PLWuGFckoU4TwrEWE8XX97zsilI5NdY_Bu

Quote from: patentlymn on June 11, 2025, 11:33:04 AMThose are nice. Lots of brass in one i saw. I went down a Slavic folk rabbit hole a while back. Here is a link.
Most are Polish. I like Percival, Percival Schuttenbach (added metal), Zniwa, and Ottava Yo.


https://www.reddit.com/r/folk/comments/1crfwyx/some_slavic_folk_music_i_found/

Alina Gingertail has a small Slavic playlist from video games.

Here is one in some dialect of Croation. Naranca as arranged by Elvis Stanic. Here she plays Bayan, Irish bouzuiki, vargan, svirel, djembe, tamborine.
https://youtu.be/XZ5GDzdmKnM?list=PLWuGFckoU4TwrEWE8XX97zsilI5NdY_Bu

Cute. Since you know the names of the instruments, you are probably deeply into that kind of stuff. We have few similar music groups in Serbia as well. I was into that kind of ethno music like a decade ago. I appreciate their efforts. But, those are reconstructions of traditional music, that is a difference. While a singer like Usnija Redžepova comes from a 100% genuine living uninterrupted musical tradition. She, who came from a mixed Gypsy and Turkish ethnic background, born in Macedonia, lived and worked in Serbia, she was a part of the authentic Gypsy, Turkish, Macedonian, Serbian folklore, she was a real deal.

There is another authentic Serbian singer who I admire, Staniša Stošić (Vranje 1945 - Belgrade 2008), he is most famous for traditional songs from the Serbian southeastern town of Vranje, not a Gypsy music for this topic, but it got similar mixed Serbian and Oriental vibes. I will post some of his songs as soon as I translate the lyrics.

Quote from: milos on Today at 04:46:31 AMCute. Since you know the names of the instruments, you are probably deeply into that kind of stuff. We have few similar music groups in Serbia as well. I was into that kind of ethno music like a decade ago. I appreciate their efforts. But, those are reconstructions of traditional music, that is a difference. While a singer like Usnija Redžepova comes from a 100% genuine living uninterrupted musical tradition. She, who came from a mixed Gypsy and Turkish ethnic background, born in Macedonia, lived and worked in Serbia, she was a part of the authentic Gypsy, Turkish, Macedonian, Serbian folklore, she was a real deal.

There is another authentic Serbian singer who I admire, Staniša Stošić (Vranje 1945 - Belgrade 2008), he is most famous for traditional songs from the Serbian southeastern town of Vranje, not a Gypsy music for this topic, but it got similar mixed Serbian and Oriental vibes. I will post some of his songs as soon as I translate the lyrics.

I believe some of the instruments Alina and others play are reconstructions or improvements based on drawings or remnants found in a bog.  e.g. she plays a 3 string gudok and a 4 string  instrument that could be called a bass rebec or a gudok-viola. I have learned that gusli, psaltery, zither are kinda the same but different.

There is another small ethnic musical group Light in Babylon that caught on and toured Europe. She is Iranian but born in Tel Aviv and lives in Istanbul. She sings and plays djembe while he plays some kind of hammered dulcimer.
https://youtu.be/aKJvbTEnp0I

Alina Permina aka Alina Gingertail was cute now pretty. I think she was a computer network technician who picked up her domra after a lapse. She led me to lots of Slavic Folk
https://youtu.be/aEadQcDQT08?list=PLVmg3ofLiKGoew6Oc4wg9vULZU6c1Dxkf

This one is about a famous Gypsy singer Koštana from the town of Vranje. Serbian writer Borisav Bora Stanković wrote a drama about her and a man called Mitke (1900). There is an anecdote, when she approached Bora, demanding he pays her for using her name in his writing. He refused, saying: "If I pay each Koštana and each Mitke for using their names, I will go broke."

I don't know if this kind of music is appealing to the general public, probably not, but this is 100% organic non-GMO straight from the orchard.


Koštana (1982)

Koštana, Koštana,
Poor Gypsy,
Mitke, a drinker,
She made drunk with her song

Once upon a time she lived
In a sunny town, poor Koštana
The whole town sang with her
She warmed many hearts with her song

Koštana, Koštana,
Poor Gypsy,
Mitke, a drinker,
She made drunk with her song

One man sat alone
For days and nights he didn't sleep
Koštana made him drunk with her song
The old pilgrim, Mitke a drinker

Koštana, Koštana,
Poor Gypsy,
Mitke, a drinker,
She made drunk with her song

Years pass, oblivion does not come yet
Sing, dear Koštana, to me one more night
Sing a song when youth passes
And a pity for youth that the heart gets over it

Koštana, Koštana,
Poor Gypsy,
Mitke, a drinker,
She made drunk with her song

When Pulp Fiction was released in 1994, people in Serbia was outraged because Quentin Tarantino stole our "Girl from Vranje" song. That is because Dick Dale's "Miserlou" (1962) was not known here. But this is the Serbian version of "Miserlou". The original was about an Egyptian girl, this one is about a Serbian girl from Vranje. I don't know where the tune came from, but most likely from Greece or Turkey, and not from Dick Dale, since it is a traditional Egyptian tune.


Lela from Vranje (1982)

A girl from Vranje loved me
My youth stayed with her
It's neither Sofka nor Koštana
But the prettiest Lela, Jelena

Empty, empty, everything is empty for me
No, my Jelena is gone
Come back, come back, Lela, Jelena
You took away my youth

Who knows where my girl from Vranje is
The fairest one of all, beautiful Jelena
I would give anything to find out
Who stole my Lela

Empty, empty, everything is empty for me
No, my Jelena is gone
Come back, come back, Lela, Jelena
You took away my youth

So you see, the fairest one of all is not the Snow White anyways, so what the fuss.

And now, when he's finally found his girl from Vranje, he now drinks even more.


Because of you, my beauty (1982)

Why are you waking me up at dawn
Pretty girl from Vranje
Let me get some sleep
To heal hangover

Because of you, my beauty
I am only happy when I sleep
When you wake me up at dawn
I want to kill the bright day

My mother always begged me
Swore me with her milk

Leave, my son, the taverns
And pretty girls from Vranje

The tavern took my mind
The girl from Vranje took my heart

Because of you, my beauty
I am only happy when I sleep
When you wake me up at dawn
I want to kill the bright day