One Homeland: For those far away in body but so close in heart and spirit

(Photo: Zaprešić Boys)

The new single of popular Croatian group Zaprešić Boys”Jedna domovina” (One Homeland) is primarily a song dedicated to the Croatian diaspora, but also a reminder to all Croats, in these difficult times, how the Croatian state was created.

To remember, they do not forget and appreciate the sacrifice of those who fought for this beautiful country we have today because there is only one homeland. 

But let’s go back to the song itself and where did the idea to write a song dedicated to those who are far away in body but very close in heart and spirit to their homeland and the homeland their ancestors come from.

In the years before the pandemic, the guys from the group travelled “half the world”. During their performances, they met and socialised with numerous Croatian communities around the world. From all these tours they brought one wonderful life experience and numerous lifelong acquaintances.

(Photo: Zaprešić Boys)

And that is exactly what motivated them to dedicate one of their songs to these people, with a big heart. And so the new single “Jedna domovina” was “born”, a song about the last moments of a man who lived in a foreign country and whose last, great, desire is to see his homeland once again and metaphorically wants to convey that this “black cloud” – as a symbol of the last moments in life – leads to her.

The video for the song “Jedna domovina” has a special story and gives extra weight to the whole project. Namely, the guys from the band joined forces with members of the Meeting G2 Association, which is located in Zagreb and has been connecting the homeland and expatriate Croatia for 7 years.

At the end of their virtual conference MG2.7 held at the end of November 2021, the new Zaprešić Boys song dedicated to the diaspora had its premiere.

(Photo: Zaprešić Boys)

After the catastrophic earthquakes, numerous Croatian associations around the world gathered in a global initiative called One Croatia, of which Meeting G2 is one of the members. Numerous members of the Initiative decided to help the band, so they selflessly raised funds to enable better production of the video. 

Croats from all over the world actively participated in the video itself, sending in video greetings from their countries to their homeland and they were used within the video. In this way, Croats from Windsor, New York, La Plate, Asuncion, Sydney, Perth, Vienna and many other cities came forward.

(Photo: Zaprešić Boys)

The video for the song “Jedna domovina” was made by Nevio Smajić and Mario Borščak. The song itself is signed by Ante Pecotić as the author of the music, Bojan Šalamon-Shalla signs the production and arrangement and the lyrics is by Marko Novosel.

Check out the video below.