Ciganska je tuga pregolema

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"Ciganska je tuga pregolema"
Song by Narodna
English titleA Gypsy's Grief is too Great
Released1940's
GenreContemporary

"Ciganska je tuga pregolema" (Serbian Cyrillic: "Циганска је туга преголема", lit. "A Gypsy's Grief is too Great") is a folk song of unknown origin. Its earliest documented appearance on recorded media was for the soundtrack to the 1968 film Biće skoro propast sveta. It would also appear in the 1972 reissue of the Italian album Il Canzoniere Internazionale Dei Ribelli. An adapted version would appear in Veselin Grujić's debut album, Dobro jutro, moj Srbine.

Music and lyrics

While its author remains unknown a vague timeline of events can be made from the song. The second verse is a direct reference to Operation Retribution in April of 1941. These supposed original lyrics mention of the deportation to the Marinkova Bara ghetto happened as early as October.[1] "In the morning around four/They knocked on every Gypsy's door" happened on the 29th, though there were mass arrests of Gypsies prior to the 29th. The arrival and subsequent liquidation of Gypsies in the Banjica camp happened as early as September.[2] The mention of a "hot machine" refers to the crematoriums and was likely phrased as such for lyrical flow. The last stanza of the fifth verse indicates some sort of liberation of the camp, though Banjica wasn't liberated until 4 October 1944.[3] This is contrary to the line "The Gypsies were also called to fight" as Gypsies had been accepted into Partisan units as early as 1941.[4] The last verse is indicative of the song being made post-war, though these verses could have also just been made to boost morale.

Lyrics

Lyrics:

Ciganska je tuga pregolema
Niko nezna šta se njima sprema
Ili logor ili šuma gusta,
Ostaće nam cigana mala pusta.

U aprilu a sedmoga dana
Pošlo Hitler mnogo aeroplana
Da razruši Beograd na Savi
Jer tog dana i rat nam objavi.

A u jutro oko 4 sata
Svakom cigi lupaju na vrata
Sve ih redom jadne potovari
Otera ih Marinkovoj Bari.

A iz Bari na Banjicu u stu
Ostaviše cigonji pustu
Streljaše ih sve po desetinu
A svu malu deću u vruću mašinu.

Ko je hteo glavu da izvuče
Mora ga je karabin da stuče
Sve se tako potiše cigani
Dok stigoše mladi partizani.

Kad stigoše mladi partizani
I cigane u borbu su zvali
Da u borbi zajedno ratuju
Da slobodu kao braća skuju.

Tad je bilo a sada se peva
Ostaće nam u sećanju za cela vremena.

Lyrics (English):

A Gypsy's grief is too great
No one knows what awaits a Gypsy
Is it the camp or dense forest?
The Gypsy quarter will be left deserted.
 
On the seventh day of April,
Hitler sent many airplanes
to destroy Belgrade on the Sava
As on that day, he declared a war on us.
 
In the morning, around four
They knocked on every Gypsy's door,
They took them all away, the poor fellows,
And they drove them to Marinkova Bara
 
And from Bara to Banjica by the hundreds,
The Gypsy camps were left empty.
They shot them by the dozens,
And all the little children went into the "hot machine"
 
Those who wanted to raise their heads
Were knocked down with a rifle,
Such was the suffering of Gypsies,
until the young Partisans arrived.
 
When the young Partisans arrived
The Gypsies were also called to fight,
to fight together in the battle,
to forge the freedom like brothers.
 
So was it then, and now this song is sung,
It will remain in our memory forever.

"Ciganska je tuga pregolema"
Song by Narodna
from the album Ciganski pesme iz filma „Biće skoro propast sveta“
English titleA Gypsy's Grief is too Great
GenreRomani
Length3:23
LabelPGP RTB

Ciganski pesme iz filma „Biće skoro propast sveta“

1969 version (Biće skoro propast sveta)

While the 1968 film has nothing to do with World War 2, it contains an abridged version arranged by Vojislav Kostić and the film's director Aleksandar Petrović. Although brief this version is unique compared to the original as it mentions both Jews and Gypsies being targeted. The holocaust theming is toned down greatly, however. While the melody remains the same, its style is more akin to Romani music.

Lyrics

Lyrics:

Ciganska je tuga pregolema
Ciganska je tuga pregolema
Aj, niko ne zna što se Cigi sprema
Ili logor ili šuma gusta
Aj, ostade im sva Čubura pusta

Sastali se Cigani i Jevreji,
Aj, pa divane kako da se brane

Ustaj Cigo iz kreveta svoga
Aj, ustaj Cigo iz kreveta svoga
Aj, ustaj, Cigo, tri ti boga tvoga
Jooj!

Lyrics (English):

[TBA]

"Циганска је туга преголема"
Song by Веселин Грујић Веса
from the album Добро јутро, мој Србине
English titleA Gypsy's Grief is too Great
Released1992 (1992)
GenreNovokompovana
Length4:55
LabelPGP RTB
Producer(s)Бранко Маринковић-Лалић

Dobro jutro, moj Srbine

1992 version (Dobro jutro, moj Srbine)

This version serves as the last track of the album and shares similarities in composition with the version heard in Biće skoro propast sveta. Both versions were coincidentally published by the same company. While not an exact copy of the original version, it retains its holocaust theming. Any references to Nazi occupation is replaced with Ustaša. For example, "One morning, around four,/They [Nazis] knocked on every Gypsy's door" is changed to "One morning, at seven o' clock/The Ustashe knocked on the door". The lines that follow, "Wake up Gypsy, you don't belong here/Come to the camp where the mallet beats" is a reference to Gypsies being sent to labor camps.[5] Instead of Jews and Gypsies being targeted as heard in the 1969 version, it is replaced with Serbian and Gypsy children crying as men were usually the target of these programs.[2][3] Any mention of Partisans are omitted and instead has a bleak ending, with the Ustashe refusing to give bread to them.

It is one of few albums made during the Yugoslav wars to reference the genocide of Gypsies.

Lyrics

Lyrics:

Ciganska je tuga pregolema
Aj, niko ne zna šta se cigi sprema
Da li logor ili šuma gusta
Aj, ostaće nam sva Čubura pusta
 
Jedno jutro oko sedam sati
Aj zakucaše ustaše na vrati
Ustaj cigo tu ti mesto nije
Aj već u logor gde se maljem bije
 
Aj čekaj malo da upalim sveću
Aj da izljubim svoju sitnu decu
Čekaj malo da upalim lampu
Aj da izljubim i oca i majku

Kad ujutro kamioni jure
Aj i odoše pravo za Čubure
Dadoše im lopate i krampe
Aj sami sebi da kopaju rake

U Zagrebu na Jelačića placu
Aj srpska deca i ciganska plaču
Deca plaču a majke kukaju
Leba ištu ustaše ne daju

Aj, leba ištu ustaše ne daju

Lyrics (English):

A Gypsy's grief is too great
No one knows what awaits a Gypsy
Is it the camp or dense forest?
Alas, all of Čubura will remain empty

One morning, around seven o'clock,
The Ustashe knocked on the door,
"Wake up Gypsy, you don't belong here
Come to the camp where the mallet beats"

"Wait a second, I need to light a candle,
and to kiss my little kids
Wait a second, I need to turn on the lamp,
to kiss my mother and father"

When trucks arrive in the morning,
and go directly to Čubura,
they gave them shovels and pickaxes,
to dig trenches for themselves

In Zagreb, on Ban Jelačić Square
Serbian and Gypsy kids are crying
Kids are crying and mothers are weeping
They ask for bread, but the Ustashe won't give it to them

Alas, they ask for bread, but the Ustashe won't give it to them

References

  1. Biljana Ristic. "On This Day: Nazi bombing of Belgrade". SBS Serbian. 6 April 2019. Retrieved 29 April 2024.
  2. 2.0 2.1 Milovan Pisari (2014). The Suffering of the Roma in Serbia During the Holocaust. Centar za primenjenu istoriju. Retrieved 29 April 2024.
  3. 3.0 3.1 Nemanja Mitrović. "Drugi svetski rat, zločini i Banjički logor: Nacistička kuća smrti za političke neprijatelje". BBC. 4 October 2021. Retrieved 29 April 2024.
  4. Danijel Vojak (December 2020). "Roma Resistance in Serbia, Slovenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro and Macedonia during World War II". Re-thinking Roma Resistance Throughout History: Recounting Stories of Strength and Bravery. European Roma Institute for Arts and Culture. ISBN 978-3-9822573-0-3 p. 51
  5. Ivana Nikolic. "Serbia’s Forgotten Role in the Roma Holocaust". BalkanInsight. 17 December 2018. Retrieved 29 April 2024.