Gorom pjeva mladi Radivoje – Gorica, Janj, BiH

Rista Vojinović – Lead voice/prvi glas
Rajka Vojinović, Petar Žiža, Kacper Siejkowski – Bass/bas

Janj is a geographical, historical, and cultural area of the western part of Central Bosnia (Bosnia and Herzegovina). It is located between the Vrbas River, the Pliva River, and the Vitorog Mountain. The name of the area comes from the small but beautiful river Janj, the tributary of Pliva. It is inhabited primarily by the Orthodox Serbs.
The uniqueness of the Janj area lies in its strong roots in tradition. Many aspects of the culture including folk costumes, craft, music, or traditional working methods (such as working with draft horses and cutting grass with a scythe to provide food for animals) are still cultivated and constitute the common identity of the Janjani. What particularly enchanted us was the unique singing with a very powerful, deep emission.

“Gorom pjeva mladi Radivoje” is a traditional shepherd song typical for the whole Dinaric area. The main topics of the songs are nature, everyday life, and interaction with other members of the village community.

Lyrics (ENG)
Young Radivoje was singing on a mountain
He was singing on a mountain and the mountain answered back
A highlander girl asked him:
"Are you married, young Radivoje?"
"I'm not, and I don't want to get married
Hajduci don't need wives
Once they need a wife, they kidnap one"

Lyrics (SR)
Gorom, gorom pjeva mladi Radivoje
Gorom, gorom pjeva, gora odgovara
Pita- pitala ga iz gore djevojka
Jesi l', jesi l' ženjen, mladi Radivoje?
Nisam, nisam ženjen, ženiti se neću
Ajdu, ajducima žene ne trebaju
Kad trebaju, oni otimaju

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About us – Balkan Polyphony is a field research project that collects traditional music from the Balkan area. We are not interested in any ideologies, we don’t take sides in any historical conflicts. What interests us is traditional culture and its musical intricacies.