BiH national anthem gets lyrics after years of waiting

23/02/2009

After nearly ten years of debate, Bosnia and Herzegovina's national anthem has lyrics.

By Ema Kovac for Southeast European Times in Sarajevo -- 23/02/09

One of the key criteria was that all BiH citizens could identify with the lyrics. [Getty Images]

The commission for selecting the lyrics of the national anthem of Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) presented the winning entry -- chosen unanimously by its 11 members -- on Friday (February 20th) at a press conference in Sarajevo.

The lyrics now await ratification by the BiH council of ministers and parliament.

"Jedna si jedina" ("The one and only") was the anthem from 1992 to 1998. The music came from an old Bosnian folk song. Bosnian musician Edin Dervishalidovic penned the words.

The Croat and Serb populations of BiH, however, always associated the song with the Bosniak community, dooming it as an instrument for fostering national unity.

In 1998, the office of the high representative in BiH launched an open competition for a new anthem. The BiH House of Representatives chose "Intermezzo", by Dusan Sestic, a composer and violin professor from Banja Luka, in February 1999.

However, the anthem bill died in the BiH House of Peoples, falling victim to a protracted debate about lyrics. In June 1999, an exasperated Carlos Westendorp, the BiH high representative at the time, established "Intermezzo" as the anthem -- albeit with only a melody.

The BiH council of ministers decided in March 2008 to put an end to this situation and allocated a 15,600-euro reward for the best lyrics. The competition attracted 339 entries.

One of the key criteria was that all BiH citizens could identify with the lyrics. The winning entry represents a fusion of the proposals of the two finalists: Sestic, composer of the anthem's music, and Benjamin Isovic, a Sarajevo musician.

The verses focus on examples of the country's natural beauty and on its communities' common future, mentioning "Motherland Bosnia", the "blue skies of Herzegovina" and "proud Krajina" in succession. "Mi idemo u buducnost zajedno" ("We are going towards the future together") is the last line.

The internet portal Sarajevo-x polled its users on the quality of the lyrics. By Monday, 1,060 people had replied: 32% said excellent, 42% average and 26% poor.