NAPULJSKA GITARA - Crveni Koralji

So I dug up an old old song.  I like it.]

Crveni Koralji (Red Corals) are a rock and roll group from Zagreb.   First known as Crveni đavoli (Red devils)  or Crveni dječac (Red boys) ,  Crveni Koralji were the first band to sell over 100,000 records.  Back in the day there were not so many record players in all of Jugoslavia so that was quite an achievment.

Their heyday was the sixties and they still come out for nostalgic performances when they please.

Their singles are:
Rekla si: volimo se, ( PGP RTB 1963 .) 
Crvene ruže (Roses are red), Ja za ljubav dosad nisam znao (Things), sa Ivicom Šerfezijem (Jugoton 1964 .) 
Bez djevojke, Još uvijek se nadam, (Jugoton 1969 .) 
Their albums are:

Napuljska gitara, Maštanje, Zvjezdana noć, Dolazak - Andrlea, ( Jugoton, 1964 . EPY 3370) Peggy sue, Koliko dugo (Blowing in the Wind), Svadja, Noćas, sa Matt Collinsom (Jugoton 1964 .) 

Peggy sue, Koliko dugo (Blowing in the Wind), Svadja, Noćas, sa Matt Collinsom (Jugoton 1964 .) 

Najljepši san, dok je drugi ljubi (Then he kissed me), Ponoć je prošla, Rekla si: volimo se, (PGP RTB 1964 .) 

Zizi, Au revoir, Reci, reci, reci... (Dis, Dis, Dis ...) Too beautiful (Trop Beau), Zvonko Špišić (Records 196?) (Dis, dis, dis...), Suviše lijepo (Trop beau), sa Zvonkom Spišićom (Jugoton 196?) Zizi, Au revoir, Reci, reci, reci... (Dis, Dis, Dis ...) Too beautiful (Trop Beau), Zvonko Špišić (Records 196?) (Dis, dis, dis...), Suviše lijepo (Trop beau), sa Zvonkom Spišićom (Jugoton 196?) 

Otiđi od nje (You better move on), Perfidia (Dominiguez), Tema mladih ljubavnika (Young Lovers), Svega mi je dosta (It's all over now), (PGP RTB 1965 .) 

Volim je (And i love her), Sretne godine, Johnny guitar, Izgubljenoj ljubavi, (PGP RTB 1966.) 

Sam (What's they gonna do), Kad bih bio drvosječa (If I were a Carpenter), Bila si jedina, Ne želim više tu ljubav, (PGP RTB 1968., EP 50553) 

Moja gitara, Noćas sam sanjao, U jutro (Al matino), Otac je rekao (Simon says), (PGP RTB 1969.) 

The founding players were Miro Lukačić,Davorin Sarajlić,Rudolf Šimunec,Josip Badrić, and Boris Babarović. Through the years Jelenko Krupić, Mika Hižak, Vlado Kirby Bastajić, Boris Turina, Kreso Pavlic, Zeljko Marinac, Vlatko Medocki, and Marijan Mise have joined in as well. Ivica Šerfezi collaberated with them on Crvene Ruže and Matt Collins on Peggy Sue.

There aren't any words to NAPULJSKA GITARA but the sound hits me as sixties American and Teksikanski beach music so what you get in the video is a mix of California and Texas gulf beaches with some imagry that made me smile.  I hope it makes you smile too.

do sljedeći put, blagoslov - until next time, blessings,

Canovals a.k.a. Slavonac

24 veljača 2012

Odlučio sam slijediti Krista - Luka Balvan

I grew up hearing this song first as I have decided to follow Jesus" and much later as Odlučio sam slijediti Krista.

Later, when I was in graduate school some of the professors decried the song because of its "decisionalist" theology.  Their position was a puzzlement to me.   By the time my professors were squawking about it, this song was already deep in the catholic consciousness of Croatians.  The other matter that caused me some difficulty with my professor's opinions was a little matter in Holy Writ which I hold authoritative as being the Word of God without error.  

There it is in Joshua 15:

Međutim, ako vam se ne sviđa služiti Jahvi, onda danas izaberite kome ćete služiti: možda bogovima kojima su služili vaši oci s onu stranu Rijeke ili bogovima Amorejaca  u čijoj zemlji sada prebivate. Ja i moj dom služit ćemo Jahvi."

na engleskom:

"But if serving the LORD seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD."

So, there it is:  "izaberite."  On english that is "choose."  "Ja i moj dom služit ćemo Jahvi." "I and my house to serve we will to the Lord."  You want good engleski, you put on on good engleski or go read for your self on english.  I want to show you literal construction which is very close to original language how it says this.

Then we look at Luki 9:57 "Dok su išli putem, neki čovjek reče Isusu:  'Slijedit ću te kamo god ti pošao!'"

We Slavs have an advantage you know.  Holy Writ was put on "old" slavonic long before on  other languages.  Our translations are old, almost as old as the greek for the old testament.  The point of my saying this is to assure you that the translators were close to the old understandings of these texts and so they are very very accurate.  Latin or Slavonic? Take the Slavonic every time.  Even the Pope in Rome long long time before Vatican II said we Croats can have our liturgy and our Scripture in our very own language.  English or Slavonic? Slavonic every time.  Even the translators for King James took very close look at the Slavonic before they put their translation into print.

I suppose this may place me at odds with certain of my professors and with part of the church. Oh well.  Along with Martin Luther "“Unless I am proved wrong by Scripture or by evident reason, then I am a prisoner in conscience to the word of God. I cannot retract and I will not retract.  To go against conscience is neither right nor safe. Here I stand. I can do no other.”   Ja i moj dom služit ćemo Jahvi.

"Choose."  "I and my house to serve we will ..."  In old Slav's thinking I cannot tell the  difference between this and "Odlučio sam slijediti Krista."  Never mind.  If there is some difference it does not matter, jer odlučio sam slijediti Krista and that's that. If you want come with me, then, here is the path ... Ja i moj dom služit ćemo Jahvi.

Supposedly some fellow named S. Sundar Singh  wrote "I have decided to follow Jesus" and put it to an old Hindustani melody.  Maybe that was my professor's real objection to the song.  The Hindustani melody.  Someday someone please be explaining to them about the group who came down from Bohemia to Saxony and who are the people called the "Saxon immigration."  How on earth did they decide to be German?  Sigh.  You can paint the duck white but he is still not a  pelikan.  The song is in the public domain.  Luka Balvan sings it for us.  Balvan graciously makes all his music available for all the people.  I think this song is good meditation for Ash Wednesday and for all of korizma.

Tekst:
odlučio sam slijediti Krista,odlučio sam slijediti Krista,
odlučio sam slijediti Krista, neću se vratit nikada.
Da niko neće, ja idem za njim. Neću se vratit nikada.
Krist je preda mnom, a svijet je za mnom. Neću se vratit nikada.
Uzmite sav svijet, dajte mi Krista. Neću se vratit nikada.


As it comes to us from Singh:
I have decided to follow Jesus;I have decided to follow Jesus;
No turning back, no turning back.
Though I may wonder, I still will follow;
No turning back, no turning back.
The world behind me, the cross before me;
no turning back, no turning back.
Though none go with me, still I will follow;
No turning back, no turning back.

do sljedeći put, blagoslov - until next time, blessings,

Canovals a.k.a. Slavonac


24 veljača 2012

  

TOPOĽČIANSKE PIVO

Alright.  Here's the story.  Near Hrad Topol'cianske was a pivovar, a brewery.  They made beer there. They sang about it.  This is the song they sang.  They closed the pivovar.  There is now no more beer from Topol'čianski.

So that's the end of the story.  No!!! Not even close to the end of the story.  To get to the end of the story, we have to find the front of the story.   "Don't you mean that you have to find the beginning of the story?  What's the matter for you?  Don't you even speak English?"   Alright.  Have it your way.  You find the beginning.  I'm going to the front.  You can come with me or not.  Your choice it is.

To find the front, we must first learn something about the Vezérlő Fejedelem.  After all, if you want to go  to the front of the line, you must first find who is first in line.  He is called the Fejedelem, the Prince.  As you know of course, the word "Prince" means simply "the First."  As it turns out, the Fejedelem in our story is the son of Rákóczi Ferenc and Jelena Zrinska.  Jelena Zrinksa was the daughter of Petar Zrinski with whose neck the empire had had some interest.  Jelena Zrinska was a neice of the Nikola Zrinski whose poetry placed the exploits of his ancestor Nikola Šubić Zrinski at Szigetvár against Suleiman the Magnificent into the hearts of every Croat in the all the world for all time.  "U boj! u boj!  ... Za dom! Spremne!" 

The family lived at this time near Mukacheve around which the borders of the Ukrajna have been drawn since the Second World War - you know- there in Mala Polska.  Look at the map, you can find it.  During the battle of Trenčín, whose environs are visible from the ramparts of the  Topol'čianski  Rákóczi Ferenc's horse stumbled and he was knocked unconscious.  His soldiers presumed his death and fled the field, ending the "Kurac" rebellion.  As a result, the Hussites in Czech and Slovakia were at a fatal military disadvantage as were  the Lutherans in Hungary  and in Croatia, all of whom had supported the notion that the purpose of the state was to protect the people rather than the people to serve the state. 

Oh, did I mention in here anywhere that all this began with the emperor suspending the constitution of the empire? Oh. Perhaps I should have. 

Had Rákóczi's horse not stumbled, the chances are that Central Europe might have been mostly  Protestant thereafter.   One of the Croats who rode rode with Rákóczi from the Topol'čianski that day was my ancestor.  Was he one of those who fled in panic?  I would like to think not, but I don't know.
 

My ancestors on my father's side began arriving in America shortly after all this, during the period when the Hapsburg government was interested in the necks of almost every member of the family.  Oh.

Topol'čianski Hrad was one of the strong points held by Rákóczi.  It lays astride an ancient roadway leading from Krakova in the north to Bjelovar and on south to Tirana.  It was the roadway by which many Bijelohrvati  moved south over a period of time into that which is modern Croatia.  It was the roadway by which merchandise, ideas, and the news traveled for many centuries.  Those ancient travelers left their mark.  Their path can be easily traced with the help of Google maps.  At Bjelovar the road intersects with the ancient highway to Osijek, Novosad, and points east all the way to China.  This was the ancient "Silk Road" which European  mariners spent so much effort to replace with a more secure water highway with which the Ottoman's and others could not interfere.

There's more to the story.  Important but little known history whispers through the breezes on the battlements of hrad Topol'čianski. If I have to, I will tell some of that history later.  Freddy, you know who you are Freddy. I am going to give you a days to respond before I go public with what I dug up in the castle courtyard.  I would much rather you told the story, but if I have to I will.  You do not wish me to do that. 

Just a few miles  north of Hrad Topol'čianski is the pass where the Germans massed just prior to their invasion of Poland.  Auschwitz lays just a few miles further, just off the old road to Krakova.

So why is an old Croat featuring a song called TOPOĽČIANSKE PIVO?  Topolčianski is in Slovakia isn't it? Yup.  It sure is.  Hrad Topol'cianski was our castle.  It was one of my family's castles.  It was a Croatian Castle on a highway connecting Croatians in the north with Croatians in the south.  The once mighty stari hrad is now a crumbling oddity.  The once major highway across Europe is not even passable by automobile all the way up to the castle.  The castle is crumbling.  The Croats are gone as are others, all long gone, and now, so is the beer.  Placem.

do sljedeći put, blagoslov - until next time, blessings,

Canovals a.k.a. Slavonac
 24 veljača  2012