30th anniversary of iconic Croatian song ‘Moja domovina’ to be marked with documentary film

by croatiaweek
September 15, 2021
in Entertainment

(Press)

ZAGREB, 15 September 2021 – 30 years ago today, on 15 September 1991, one of the most played and emotion-stirring Croatian songs was first broadcast on television.

‘Moja domovina’ (“My Homeland”) was originally recorded in 1991 as a charity single by “Croatian Band Aid” (Hrvatski Band Aid) and tonight on HRT, where the song was first broadcast, a documentary film titled ‘Moja domovina, 11.000 dana poslije’ ‘My Homeland, 11,000 days later’ will be shown to mark the 30th anniversary.

The megagroup of singers who made up Croatian Band Aid to sing the song, consisted of stars of the time like Doris Dragović, Oliver Dragojević, Jasna Zlokić, Danijela Martinović, Sanja Doležal, Meri Cetinić, Dino Dvornik, Aki Rahimovski, Matko Jelavić, Emilija Kokić, Severina, Arsen Dedić, Zorica Kondža, Boris Novković, Jasmin Stavros, Ivo Amulić, Vlado Kalember, Krunoslav Slabinac, Ivo Robić, Gabi Novak, Tereza Kesovija, Tajči, Josipa Lisac, Zvonko Špišić, Dragutin Mlinarec, Đuka Čaić, Zdravko Škender, Ivica Šerfezi, Ljupka Dimitrovska, Dalibor Brun, Milo Hrnić, Mišo Kovač, Davor Gobac, Stanko Šarić, Zdenka Vučković, Jura Stublić, Mladen Bodalec, and Ljiljana Nikolovska.

The authors of music and lyrics were Zrinko Tutić and Rajko Dujmić. The song was arranged by Nikša Bratoš while the music solos were composed by Damir Lipošek, Vedran Božić and Husein Hasanefendić.

The song was released in the initial stages of the Croatian War of Independence.

“As I was driving along the highway I had traveled from Banja Luka from the sea to Zagreb in mid-August, I saw a column of tanks and planes flying over in a sweeping flight. That image was a trigger for me, but the song was born in me even before when I listened to news of war attacks, devastation, killed and exiled people. I finally wrote ‘Moja domovina’,” Tutić explains.

Renowned music manager Vladimir Mihaljek Miha recalls: “The guys agreed and said it could be sung by twenty people. I told them, “Twenty? No chance! This song has such power that it must be sung by at least 150 people!” And then I started calling Oliver Dragojević, Teresa, Jasna Zlokić, Stavros, Mišo Kovač, Vlado Kalember, Zvonko Špišić, Ivo Robić, Severina, Davor Gopac. We wanted this song to be sung by musicians of all genres and all generations to show that we all think the same.”

The song was first aired on television on September 15, 1991 when, on the day of the first aerial alert in Zagreb, it aired on the main evening news. After 30 years, the song’s popularity hasn’t diminished.

The documentary film airs on HRT 1 tonight starting at 20:12.

Lyrics

Croatian

Svakog dana mislim na tebe

Slušam vijesti, brojim korake

Nemir je u srcima, a ljubav u nama

Ima samo jedna istina

Svaka zvijezda sija za tebe

Kamen puca, pjesma putuje

Tisuću generacija noćas ne spava

Cijeli svijet je sada sa nama… Sa nama!

Moja domovina, moja domovina,