Lidija
This song was a hit for Serbian singer Branka Sovrlic in 1990. It has also been recorded by the Yuri Yunakov Ensemble in New York with vocalist Carol Silverman, who sings slightly different lyrics. We learned the song from her, but the chart below uses Branka Sovrlic’s lyrics (note that the second line of the chorus uses different words after each verse). We play it as a cocek.
Lidija
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7EsyEk0S5u8
(The video won’t embed, for some reason)
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Cerno more
This communist-era comic song by Todor Kolev, the late Bulgarian actor, comedian and singer, is about a guy who takes a slacker job so he can hang out by the beach at the Black Sea and avoid his wife. We play it as a kjucek.
Caveat: This is one of the few songs in this collection where the transcription is different from the original recording. The transcription is based on a version of the song that we learned from Mary Sherhart in Seattle. It uses a different instrumental break (the original break just repeats part of the vocal melody) and a slightly shortened version of the verse.
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The original recording, with Todor Kolev on violin and vocals. (I think he also plays the musical blade of grass heard at one point.)
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Usti, usti baba
A Macedonian Rom song in cocek rhythm, sung by Esma Redzepova and Usnija Jasarova. “Get up, father, the drums are beating, they’re coming for my sister!”
Read MoreDraganin cocek
A fun little brass band dance instrumental. Add a vamp at the beginning if you like.
Read MoreCudna jada od Mostara grada
A Bosnian sevdalinka song about the tribulations of young love. We play this for listening, not for a particular dance, though the first video shows a line of women doing a simple kolo.
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