"March on the Drina"
Song
Released1915
Songwriter(s)Stanislav Binički
Audio sample

The "March on (or to) the Drina" (Serbian Cyrillic: Марш на Дрину, romanized: Marš na Drinu, pronounced [mârʃ na drǐːnu]) is a Serbian patriotic march which was composed to commemorate the Serbian victory in Battle of Cer during World War I and came to be seen as a symbol of Serbian resistance and victory in the World War I. Along with the other World War I song, Tamo daleko, it became a powerful symbol of Serbian culture and national identity and remains popular amongst Serbs in the Balkans and the diaspora.[1][2]

History

World War I

A large stone monument topped by an eagle.
The Cer Memorial Ossuary dedicated to the Serbian soldiers killed in the battle
Stanislav Binički's original hand-written score

The Drina river served as the boundary between Bosnia and Serbia, and by the outbreak of World War I, Bosnia had been under the control of Austria-Hungary for more than three decades.[3] River is an important symbol of Serbian national identity, as there is a historic desire of Serbs in the Serbia to unite with brethren living in Bosnia.[3] The Serbian defeat of Austro-Hungarian forces at the Battle of Cer in August 1914 was the first Allied victory over the Central Powers during World War I.[4][5]

Stanislav Binički composed what became known as "March on the Drina" shortly after the Battle of Cer. Binički dedicated it to his favourite commander in the Serbian Army, Col. Milivoje Stojanović, who had fought during the Battle of Cer, but was killed later in the Battle of Kolubara. His composition was initially titled "March to Victory". The song experienced widespread popularity during and after the war.[6][7]

Socialist Yugoslavia

The song was popular in Socialist Yugoslavia after World War II. It was released as a single and other formats on the Zagreb-based Yugoton label.[8] The recording by Ansambl Urošević was awarded Zlatna Ploča ("Gold Record") for their single release on Yugoton. Song was played at the presentation ceremony for the Nobel Prize in Literature when Serbian writer Ivo Andrić was named a Nobel laureate in 1961.[9]

The Avala Film studio released a war film in 1964, titled March on the Drina, that featured the march in a historical dramatization of the 1914 Battle of Cer and based on the march which featured the tune.[10]

Contemporary period

In 1992, song received a plurality of popular vote on referendum for the new national anthem of Serbia, but was never officially adopted.[11] That same year, the Socialist Party of Serbia used the song as the soundtrack for an important promotional spot prior to the 1992 Serbian general elections.[12]

In 2013, the song was at the centre of a controversy after it was performed by a Serbian choir entertaining the United Nations General Assembly. Vuk Jeremić, the President of the United Nations General Assembly, Ban Ki-moon, the Secretary-General of the United Nations, and other United Nations officials gave the song a standing ovation.[13] Bosniak organizations responded to the performance by demanding that Jeremić be removed from his position as President of the United Nations General Assembly.[14] Jeremić stated that "we Serbs are very proud of it [the song] and wanted to share it with the world".[13] He went on to say that "regrettable attempts at twisting the meaning of our musical gift offered to the world last Monday are deeply offensive to the Serbian people". The United Nations later apologized for the ovation and Ban Ki-moon expressed regret that some were offended by the song.[14]

Lyrics

Serbian lyrics to the song were written in 1964 in Socialist Yugoslavia by poet and journalist Miloje Popović to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Battle of Cer.[15] Only four verses of Miloje Popovic's 1964 poem were recorded in 1966 by vocalist Ljubivoje Vidosavljević and the Narodni Orkestar "Carevac".

Serbian Serbian Latin English

У бој, крените јунаци сви
Крен'те и не жал'те живот свој
Цер да чује строј, Цер нек види бој
А река Дрина славу, храброст
И јуначку руку оца, сина!

Пој, пој Дрино, водо хладна ти
Памти, причај кад су падали
Памти храбри строј
Који је пун огња, силне снаге
Протерао туђина са реке наше драге!

Пој, пој Дрино, причај роду ми
Како смо се храбро борили
Певао је строј, војев'о се бој
Крај хладне воде
Крв је текла
Крв је лила
Дрином због слободе!

U boj, krenite junaci svi
Kren'te i ne žal'te život svoj
Cer da čuje stroj, Cer nek vidi boj
A reka Drina slavu, hrabrost
I junačku ruku oca, sina!

Poj, poj Drino, vodo hladna ti
Pamti, pričaj kad su padali
Pamti hrabri stroj
Koji je pun ognja, silne snage
Proterao tuđina sa reke naše drage!

Poj, poj Drino, pričaj rodu mi
Kako smo se hrabro borili
Pevao je stroj, vojev'o se boj
Kraj hladne vode
Krv je tekla
Krv je lila
Drinom zbog slobode!'

To battle, go forth you heroes,
Go on and don't regret your lives
May Cer hear the front, may Cer see the battle
and river Drina glory, courage
And heroic hand of father and son!

Sing, sing, Drina – of cold water,
Remember, and tell of the ones that fell
Remember the brave front,
Which full of fire, mighty force
Expelled the foreigner from our dear river!

Sing, sing, Drina, tell the generations,
How we bravely fought
The front sang, the battle was fought
Near cold water
Blood was flowing,
Blood was streaming
By the Drina for freedom!

International hit

The composition became an international hit and a staple of world music. Swedish composer Felix Stahl obtained the rights to the song which he published and promoted. Danish guitarist Jørgen Ingmann had a number one hit on the Danish pop singles chart in 1963 in a version arranged for solo electric guitar on the Swedish Metronome Records label.[16][17] His recording was also released in West Germany, where it reached No. 5, in the UK, in France, and in the U.S. on ATCO Records, 6277. Patti Page, The Shadows, Chet Atkins, Frankie Yankovic, Horst Wende, and James Last also recorded the song.

There were many different lyrics set to the music in several languages, English, German, and Italian. English lyrics were added in 1964 by American songwriter Vaughn Horton for a recording by Patti Page under the title "Drina (Little Soldier Boy)". German lyrics were added by Walter Rothenburg in 1964 and Bert Olden in 1976. Italian lyrics were added in 1964 by Daniele Pace for the recording by Marie Laforêt.

Popular international versions

See also

Notes

  1. ^ Hudson 2007, p. 166.
  2. ^ Cohen 1998, p. 129.
  3. ^ a b Hudson 2007, p. 165.
  4. ^ Pavlowitch 2002, p. 94.
  5. ^ Mitrović 2007, p. 104.
  6. ^ Samson 2013, p. 337.
  7. ^ Strimple 2005, p. 182.
  8. ^ Discogs.com.
  9. ^ Anon. 2014.
  10. ^ Goulding 2002, p. 78.
  11. ^ "Svi naši referendumi". Novi Sad: Radio-televizija Vojvodine. 2008-03-06.
  12. ^ Thompson 1999, p. 74.
  13. ^ a b Clemens 2013, p. 56.
  14. ^ a b Seattle Times & 17 January 2013.
  15. ^ Slamnig 2013.
  16. ^ Danish Top 20 Chart. Archived 2013-12-19 at the Wayback Machine
  17. ^ The single was No. 1 for 2 weeks in Denmark., Billboard, February 22, 1964, p. 35.
  18. ^ Second Hand Songs: Drina March.
  19. ^ Hits of the World Chart, Billboard, 1964.
  20. ^ 45cat.com.
  21. ^ discogs.com.

Sources

External links

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