Up Too Late: An Endless Search for Mr.Right & Other Important Things in Life

Kosova's New Anthem

Sunday, March 29, 2009

If there was one singer I'd love to have coffee with, it would be Eliza Hoxha. Her most recent project, the song "Himni Im," is a testament to what good lyrics do despite shoddy music. For those of you non-Albanian speakers wondering what the song is about, I translated it below. Kosova doesn't have an anthem yet, perhaps reason why this song is so fitting and I enjoy it so much more (it's titled "My Hymn").

Eliza Hoxha - Himni Im (My Hymn)

Brenga, qe shpirtin ma shterngoj, / Worry, which tightened my soul,
sa zemra i lendoj, / it hurt so many souls,
sa njerez i vetmoj, / it left so many people lonely,
ishte endrra qe sot jetoj, / it was the dream that I live today
nje emocion qe s'dua kurre te me leshoj. / A feeling that I don't want to lose.

Prandaj, / So
larg shikimin ti drejto, / Direct your outlook forward
prapa mos shiko, / don't look back
ne ardhmeri beso. / believe in the future.

Te kaluaren mos e harro, / Don't forget the past
gjithmone kujto, / always remember
kush ishe dhe nga do shkosh. / who you were and where you'll go.

Nje enderr kisha dikur, / I once had a dream
endrren sonte e jetoj, / I now live that dream
shtetin tim e jetesoj, / I rejoice in my state
ne vete besoj. (2X) / I believe in myself.

Shqiponje, shkrihem ne kaltersi. / An eagle, melting in blue

Fluturoj e lire dhe nuk kam frike / I fly free, and I am not afraid
perpara cfare me pret, / of what is ahead of me.
Jo, me vuajtjen s'dua ta njoh, / No, I do not wish to feel suffering anymore,
Por kurre s'do ti harroj / but I will never forget
ata qe s'jane sot me ne kete dite ta gezojne. / those who are not here to celebrate this day with us.
---
Jetoj ne jeten time... / I live my life...

Labels: eliza hoxha, favourite music, Kosova, videos

Have you seen...2100 Kosovars?

Wednesday, May 23, 2007

I was writing Adam a brief e-mail tonight, as I have to get up early tomorrow, plus I had no major news to talk to him about, so I was listening to some new songs I had found online a few days ago, on an albanian mp3 website.

Qesar, aside from Miranda B., was on MSN , which I have been desperately avoiding, as I find it eats up hours of my time and frankly, I never have been a huge fan of it. As Qesar tried to get words out of me [i was antisocial tonight...slightly worrisome], I decided I should send him some of the songs I was listening to, among which was my favourite, Eliza Hoxha's Për ata që s'janë [For those who are no more] .

After sending the file to Qesar and hearing his comments on the song, I thought I'd listen again to the song that Hoxha dedicated to the 2100 missing brothers, fathers, husbands from the war of '98-'99. After listening to it, I thought about the families of these individuals [mostly men, few women] from the Kosovo war, and I couldn't help but feel down and deeply sad about the fact that eight years after the war, the families of the missing don't even know how their dear ones were killed.

It may be better that they don't know how their family members were murdered, but deep down, everyone missing a brother, father or a husband will want to know what happened to their dearest, no matter how brutal the reality and the truth may be. It's slightly ironic that I need to listen to a song to remember that five of my cousins are still missing from the war.

Below are the lyrics for Për ata që s'janë in Albanian and English. The song can be downloaded here, courtesy of ShkupiMusic.

Për ata që s'janë, Performed by Eliza Hoxha

Sa letra shkrova
pa adresë ku t'i dergoj
sa shum i kaluam
sa shum malle dhe lot që s'pushojnë,
i gjallë a i vdekur,
asgjë më unë nuk di,
por brenda meje ti,
ende frymon cdo ditë,

Dhe rrëfen një nënë,
rrëfen dhe një grua, një femi,
o, sa shum po lutem,
edhe unë po lutëm tani,
për ata që s'janë,
të humbur diku në pafund,
rrëfen edhe kjo këngë,
pa forcë të bëjë më shum,

Asgjë nuk kërkoj,
ky antkh më leshoj,
jam lodhur në pritje,
por s'mund të heq dorë,
veq vendin ta di,
se ku prehesh ti,
kur dhëmbja nuk do të më pushoj
në fund dhe unë do ndjehëm e lirë,

Asgjë s'ka kuptim,
as kjo pritje qe më shkatërroj,
dhembjën s'e ndalojnë
as këto vargje që i këndoj,
gjithnjë rrëfuzoj të mendoj
se ti më nuk je,
e si unë të besoj,
kur peng i kësaj ndjenje kam mbet.

Te gjitha m'i morre,
nga vetja ime ti
e unë tani pres,
të paktën veq dicka nga ti,
e humbur në jetë
me shpresën se do vish
bashkë me shum të tjerë
unë ende besoj vërtet.
--
Te gjithëve sa shum na mungojnë

[Loose translation...anyone notice a better translation of an expression, please let me know]

For Those Who Are No More

The many letters I wrote,
No address where I could send them,
So much sorrow,
So much sorrow we went through, and the tears that know not of rest,
Alive or dead,
I don’t know anything anymore,
But inside me,
You breathe every day.

And one mother recounts,
And a wife, a child too
Oh, how much I pray,
I pray now, too for those who aren’t,
[those who are] lost somewhere in the abyss,
This song recounts, as well,
No strength in it to do anything.

I seek nothing,
This anxiety left me,
I am tired in waiting,
But I can’t give up,
Only if I’d known your whereabouts,
Where you rest,
When my pain will pause,
In the end I will feel free, too.

Nothing has a meaning,
Not even this waiting that destroyed me,
Not even these verses that I am singing
Can stop the pain,
Still I refuse to think
That you are no more,
And how can I believe [this],
When I am left as a victim of this feeling.

You took everything I had,
From my own self,
And I wait now,
At least for something from you,
Lost in life,
With the hope that you will come,
Along with many others,
I still truly believe
--
We all miss them...so much.

Labels: albanian, eliza hoxha, home, human rights, Kosova, Kosovo, sad

My Favourite Songs: Part 1 - Albanian

Thursday, January 11, 2007

I was thinking of writing about meeting another of the entertaining teachers I work with, but I decided I should write about something more fun instead.

I have been listening to more Albanian music in Canada than I would have cared to listen if I had been in Kosovo. I would have probably been obsessed with trance, hip-hop and r&b, genres which seems to be keywords for party music back home.

Funny how life works... Below are some of the Albanian songs I've been listening to quite a bit in the last few months... Keep in mind these are not typical American / British pop rhythms, though a few may remind you of it. Most of the songs have a Balkan turbo folk feel to it, with traditional instruments like qifteli, flute and violin mixed into it.

Enjoy :)