Kceri moja Aliji
Popular in much of former Yugoslavia, this traditional song is said to be Turkish in origin. It’s one of several songs in which the daughter says she doesn’t want to marry any of the village worthies that her father proposes – oh no, she wants to marry a bekrija, a bad boy who likes to party. The song is often performed with a man singing the father’s lyrics, a woman singing the daughter’s lyrics, and both singing the chorus.
Kceri moja Aliji
Kceri moja Aliji lyrics
Usnija Redzepova, 1988 (similar to chart above:
Nenad Jovanovic, 1975 (less similar to chart above):
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Dobrolushko horo
A lively pravo horo instrumental dance tune from the region of Thrace in Bulgaria, recorded by the Prvomaiskata Grupa (May 1 Group). This 2-page chart is based on a transcription by Stewart Mennin and Stuart Brotman.
Dobrolusko horo
Also, here’s an audio recording.
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Phirava daje
Phirava daje is a Rom song heard in Bulgaria, Macedonia and Kosovo that tells a charming love story. We learned it from Carol Silverman at balkanalia!, the dance and music camp held near Portland every summer. We play it with a Bo Diddley beat, to which people often do the dance cocek.
(Ph = hard p + h, not f. Kh = hard k + h, not Scots loch.)
Phirava daje
Our source recording isn’t online, but here’s a version sung by Safet Ibrahimi with a slightly different break:
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