Čudna Jada Od Mostara Grada - Bosnian Song
Vocals & arrangement by Farya Faraji. This is a Bosnian song of the Sevdalinka genre, a traditional style centred on love songs that express deep longing and painful love stories, hence the usage of the Turkish term "sevda," which is a word for love that is specifically ardous and painful.
My arrangement bridges modern and more traditional styles of Sevdalinka. Historically, the saz used to be its main instrument, and has now largely been replaced by the accordion. I used both in this arrangement to fuse both the modern and modern ancient sonorities of the genre.
Bosnian lyrics:
Čudna jada
Od Mostara grada
Sve od lani, pa evo do sada
Kako Biba od ljubavi strada
Bol boluje čelebića Biba
Bol boluje, nikom ne kazuje
Bol boluje, nikom ne kazuje
Kceri Bibo
Ti rumena ružo
Kaži majci šta te boli dušo
Kaži majci šta te boli dušo
ene boli i srce i glava
Jer moj Ahmo s' drugom razgovara
Jer moj Ahmo s' drugom razgovara
Kakav Ahmo
Voda ga odnjela
Zbog njega si Bibo oboljela
Zbog njega si mlada oboljela
Mila majko, nemoj Ahme kleti
Reko' me je na jesen uzeti
Reko' me je na jesen uzeti
English translation:
Strange pain from the city of Mostar
It’s already been a year now
Since Biba got hurt by love
Čelebić Biba is suffering from pain,
Suffering from pain, telling no one
Suffering from pain, telling no one
” Biba, my daughter, rosy rose,
dear, tell your mother where it hurts!
dear, tell your mother where it hurts!”
Both my heart and my head hurt
Cause my Ahmo is talking to another!
Cause my Ahmo is talking to another!”
“What Ahmo?! May the water carry him away,
because of him, you’ve fallen ill Biba!”
because of him, you’ve fallen ill so young!”
“Dear mother, don’t curse Ahmo,
He said he’d marry me in the fall!
He said he’d marry me in the fall!”