"Oj, svijetla majska zoro" (Montenegrin Cyrillic: Ој, свијетла мајска зоро, IPA: [ˈoj sʋjêːtʎa mâjska zǒro]; lit. 'O Bright Dawn of May') is the national anthem of Montenegro adopted in 2004. Before its adoption, it was a popular folk song with many variations of its text. The oldest version dates back to the second half of the 19th century.[1][2]
| English: 'O Bright Dawn of May' | |
|---|---|
| Ој, свијетла мајска зоро | |
National anthem of Montenegro | |
| Lyrics | Edited by Sekula Drljević, 19th century |
| Music | Arranged by Žarko Mirković, 19th century |
| Adopted | 12 July 2004 (official) |
| Audio sample | |
U.S. Navy Band instrumental rendition in D minor | |
Lyrics
editMany verses are repeated in order to follow the rhythmic composition.
| Montenegrin[2] | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
- English translation
- 𝄆 O bright dawn of May blazes forth 𝄇
- 𝄆 Our mother Montenegro 𝄇
- 𝄆 We are the sons of your gravel 𝄇
- 𝄆 And guardians of your candour 𝄇
- We love you, your craggy highlands
- And your magnificent gorges
- Which never came to experience
- The chains of shameful slavery
- 𝄆 Our mother Montenegro 𝄇
- 𝄆 O bright dawn of May blazes forth 𝄇
- 𝄆 Our mother Montenegro 𝄇
- For the cause of our Lovćen
- Our unity gives us wings
- All proud and lauded shall we be
- Our dear homeland beloved
- Estuary of our waves
- That surges into the two seas
- 𝄆 Shall bear voice into the ocean
- That Montenegro is ageless 𝄇
- That Montenegro is ageless!
History
editOriginal version from the 19th century
editThe following is the oldest known version of the anthem, known as "O Bright Dawn of Bravery, Oi!" ("Oj, Junaštva Svjetla Zoro, oj!"). It was played in public for the first time in 1863 in the national theater in Belgrade. It was a component song of the "Battle of Grahovo or blood feud in Montenegro" (Бој на Грахову или крвна освета у Црној Гори) heroic play in three parts.[3] The play and the Montenegrin folk song was also played/sung in the National Theater again in 1870 and 1876.[4][5]
| Serbo-Croatian | English | |
|---|---|---|
| Cyrillic | Latin | |
Ој, јунаштва свјетла зоро, |
Oj, junaštva svjetla zoro, |
O bright dawn of bravery, |
World War II collaborationist version
editIn 1944, Sekula Drljević, a Montenegrin fascist collaborator, rearranged the lyrics of the Montenegrin patriotic song "Oj, svijetla majska zoro" to celebrate the creation of the Montenegrin puppet regime that had been established in July 1941.[6]
| Serbo-Croatian | English | |
|---|---|---|
| Latin | Cyrillic | |
Vječna naša Crna Goro, |
Вјечна наша Црна Горо, |
Our eternal Montenegro, |
World War II partisan version
edit
| Serbo-Croatian | |
|---|---|
| Latin | Cyrillic |
Oj svijetla majska zoro, |
Ој свијетла мајска зоро, |
Popular song
editThe song survived until today under various names as a popular Montenegrin folk song under the name "O Bright Dawn of May" ("Oj svijetla majska zoro"). This version of the song has been one of the several versions proposed in 1993 during the first discussion on the official state anthem, however, on which there was no consensus because of the disputed melodic value.[8]
| Serbo-Croatian | English | |
|---|---|---|
| Cyrillic | Latin | |
Ој свијетла мајска зоро, |
Oj svijetla majska zoro, |
O bright dawn of May blazes forth, |
Controversies
editAs the president of Montenegro, Filip Vujanović participated on several occasions public debates regarding the disputed parts of the national anthem, which was made official in 2004. On that occasion, the official text of the anthem also included two stanzas (third and fourth) sung by the Montenegrin fascist and war criminal Sekula Drljević.[9] Controversy over the disputed parts of the anthem in the following years led to open divisions among the citizens of Montenegro,[10] and Vujanović himself on various occasions publicly criticized the adoption of Drljevic's stanzas, from which he distanced himself, advocating changes to the official text of the anthem.[11][12] Vujanović repeatedly pointed out that the adoption of Drljevic's verses was not acceptable because their creator was a fascist or Nazi, and on the same occasion he warned of the danger of strengthening extreme Montenegrin nationalism and chauvinism.[13][14]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ Закон о државним симболима и дану државности Црне Горе (2004).
- ^ a b Црногорска химна настала је у Србији, да би из ње био избачен стих у ком се помиње српски род
- ^ Repertoire of the National Theatre in Belgrade 1868-1965, Sava V. Cvetkovic, Belgrade, 1966
- ^ Istorija srpskog pozorišta od srednjeg veka do modernog doba, Borivoje Stojković, 1979.
- ^ "Zadovoljni zbog neusvajanja himne :: Dnevni list Pobjeda". 2011-07-22. Archived from the original on 2011-07-22.
- ^ Kenneth Morrison (2009). Montenegro: A Modern History. Bloomsbury Academic. ISBN 9781845117108.
- ^ Listaj goro, cvjetaj cvijeće
- ^ "Oj svijetla majska zoro". PCNEN.
- ^ "Da li su stihovi crnogorske himne "Oj svijetla majska zoro" neonacistički i fašistički?". Radio Slobodna Evropa (in Serbo-Croatian). 13 December 2007. Retrieved 2021-06-12.
- ^ "Vujanović: Državna himna ne zbližava već odvaja ljude". vijesti.me (in Montenegrin). Retrieved 2021-06-12.
- ^ ""Смењују" Вујановића | Регион | Novosti.rs". 2019-06-26. Archived from the original on 2019-06-26. Retrieved 2021-06-12.
- ^ "ЦГ: Повратак правим симболима". NOVOSTI (in Serbian). Retrieved 2021-06-12.
- ^ "Вујановић: Нападају ме црногорски националисти". Politika Online. Retrieved 2021-06-12.
- ^ Janković, Srđan (4 November 2011). "Ima li crnogorskog nacionalizma u Crnoj Gori". Radio Slobodna Evropa (in Serbo-Croatian). Retrieved 2021-06-12.
External links
edit- A midi version of the anthem exists at the official websites of
- Himnuszok - A vocal version of the Anthem, featured in "Himnuszok" website.
- Oj, svijetla majska zoro - Audio of the Montenegro national anthem, with information and lyrics, from NationalAnthems.me (archive link)
- The Songs section of the Italian language website "NewMontenegro.eu" features two alternative versions of the anthem.
- nationalanthems.info - The sheet music and lyrics are featured in the "nationalanthems.info" site.