The Roma Anthem - Djelem Djelem

"Đelem, Đelem" (I went I went), is a song composed by Žarko Jovanović, often used as the anthem of the Romani people.

There are many, many great and cool pieces of music that hail from the Balkans.

It's extremely difficult for me to say which are my favourites, or in fact which ones are better than the others.

In the future I will be featuring some of these tracks/songs/tunes that I would like to introduce you to.

The first is Djelem Djelem, which loosely translated means, "I went I went".

There are many versions of the song that you can find. The song is sung across the Western Balkans a lot.

It's in many artistes repertoires.

This version is from the late Esma Redjepova the queen of Gyspy Music.

A little more historical details courtesy of wikipedia:

"Đelem, Đelem"  (I went I went), is a song composed by Žarko Jovanović, often used as the anthem of the Romani people. The title has been adapted in many countries by local Roma to match their native orthography and spoken dialect of the Romani language.

After experiencing firsthand the incarceration of Roma during the Porajmos (the Romani Holocaust of World War II), Jovanović later composed the lyrics of Đelem, Đelem and set them to a traditional melody in 1949.

The song was first adopted by delegates of the first World Romani Congress held in 1971.

Lyrics Translation:
I went, I went on long roads I met happy Roma O Roma, where do you come from, With tents happy on the road? O Roma, O Romani youths! I once had a great family, The Black Legion murdered them.
Come with me, Roma from all the world. For the Roma, roads have opened. Now is the time, rise up Roma now, We will rise high if we act. O Roma, O Romani youths! Open, God, White doors So I can see where are my people. Come back to tour the roads And walk with happy Roma. O Roma, O Romani youths! Up, Romani people! Now is the time. Come with me, Roma from all the world. Dark face and dark eyes, I want them like dark grapes. O Roma, O Romani youths!