"Vyznanie" (in English transcribed as "Why (Must I Always Fail)?", respectively also known as "Declaration") is a song by the female singer

Marika Gombitová Marika Gombitová (; born 12 September 1956) is a Slovak singer-songwriter and musician. Once a member of Modus, Gombitová started to gain early acclaim as a former female vocalist of the group. Nevertheless, she gradually developed her publi ...

released on

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in 1979. The composition written by Janko Lehotský, in common with Kamil Peteraj, is referred to as her masterpiece receiving several awards. Including the Silver award at the Bratislavská lýra '79 in the contest of the Czechoslovak songwriters. At the 4th Intervision Song Festival contest in

Sopot Sopot is a seaside resort city in Pomerelia on the southern coast of the Baltic Sea in northern Poland, with a population of approximately 40,000. It is located in Pomeranian Voivodeship, and has the status of the county, being the smallest city ...

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...

the following year, the song won the first prize for the Best Performance in the category representing record companies. Most recently, the single was voted by the TV audience as ''Hit storočia'' ( en, Hit of the Century) in Slovakia, followed by the tribute program ''Vyznanie pre Mariku'' ( en, A Confession for Marika) broadcast by Slovak Television on December 23, 2007. Originally, the song was released on the singer's debut album '' Dievča do dažďa'', being available on numerous compilations in addition. An international version was recorded under title "Why?" (the English translation of the title would mean "Declaration", however), and released on her export album '' Rainy Day Girl'' (1981). B-side of the single "Malý veľký vlak" was later issued on the Modus self-titled album ('' Modus'').

Official versions

# "Vyznanie" - Studio version, original 1979 # "Why?" (aka "Declaration") - Studio version, international, 1980

Credits and personnel

lead vocal The lead vocalist in popular music is typically the member of a group or band whose voice is the most prominent melody in a performance where multiple voices may be heard. The lead singer sets their voice against the accompaniment parts of the ...

* Janko Lehotský -

music Music is generally defined as the art of arranging sound to create some combination of form, harmony, melody, rhythm or otherwise expressive content. Exact definitions of music vary considerably around the world, though it is an aspect ...

* Kamil Peteraj -

lyrics Lyrics are words that make up a song, usually consisting of verses and choruses. The writer of lyrics is a lyricist. The words to an extended musical composition such as an opera are, however, usually known as a "libretto" and their writer, a ...

* Ján Lauko - producer * Milan Vašica - producer *

copyright A copyright is a type of intellectual property that gives its owner the exclusive right to copy, distribute, adapt, display, and perform a creative work, usually for a limited time. The creative work may be in a literary, artistic, education ...

Awards

Bratislavská lýra

''Bratislavská lýra'' ( en, Bratislava Lyre) was an annual festival of popular songs in former

Czechoslovakia , rue, Чеськословеньско, , yi, טשעכאסלאוואקיי, , common_name = Czechoslovakia , life_span = 1918–19391945–1992 , p1 = Austria-Hungary , image_p1 ...

, established in 1966 in

Bratislava Bratislava (, also ; ; german: Preßburg/Pressburg ; hu, Pozsony) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Slovakia. Officially, the population of the city is about 475,000; however, it is estimated to be more than 660,000 — approxim ...

. Two competitions were held; the category of Czechoslovak songwriters and the international contest. Winners were awarded by a golden, silver and/or bronze Lyre (depending on a position). Special prizes included Audience Choice, Journalists Choice, and Lifetime Achievement award. Gombitová won seven awards in total - three golden lyres (1977–78), one of silver (1979) and bronze (1980), plus an Audience Choice award (1977).

Intervision

Intervision Song Contest The Intervision Song Contest (ISC) was an international song contest for artists from countries of the former Soviet Union and members of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation. It was previously the " Eastern Bloc equivalent to the Eurovision ...

(ISC), originally known as

Sopot International Song Festival The Sopot International Song Festival or Sopot Festival (later called ''Sopot Music Festival Grand Prix'', ''Sopot Top of the Top Festival'' from 2012–13 and ''Polsat Sopot Festival'' in 2014) is an annual international song contest held in So ...

(Sopot ISF), was organized by the

International Radio and Television Organisation The International Radio and Television Organisation (official name in French: Organisation Internationale de Radiodiffusion et de Télévision or OIRT (before 1960 International Broadcasting Organization (IBO), official name in French: ''Orga ...

, an

Eastern Eastern may refer to: Transportation *China Eastern Airlines, a current Chinese airline based in Shanghai *Eastern Air, former name of Zambia Skyways *Eastern Air Lines, a defunct American airline that operated from 1926 to 1991 *Eastern Air Li ...

network of radio and television broadcasting companies. Unlike its equivalent, the

Eurovision The Eurovision Song Contest (), sometimes abbreviated to ESC and often known simply as Eurovision, is an international songwriting competition organised annually by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), featuring participants representing pr ...

(ESC), Intervision often changed formulas to pick a winner, running different competitions at the same time. The festival was held at

Forest Opera The Forest Opera ( pl, Opera Leśna, german: Waldoper) is an open-air amphitheatre located in Sopot, Poland, with a capacity of 5047 seats, the orchestra pit can contain up to 110 musicians. History Built in 1909 (when the location was part of G ...

, and Gombitová won one award (1980).

Diskoslavík

''Diskoslavík'' ( en, DiscoNightingale) was an attempt in behalf of major

Czechoslovak Czechoslovak may refer to: *A demonym or adjective pertaining to Czechoslovakia (1918–93) **First Czechoslovak Republic (1918–38) **Second Czechoslovak Republic (1938–39) **Third Czechoslovak Republic (1948–60) **Fourth Czechoslovak Repub ...

disc jockey A disc jockey, more commonly abbreviated as DJ, is a person who plays recorded music for an audience. Types of DJs include Radio personality, radio DJs (who host programs on music radio stations), club DJs (who work at a nightclub or music f ...

s to award artists for best acts also on the

disco music Disco is a genre of dance music and a subculture that emerged in the 1970s from the United States' urban nightlife scene. Its sound is typified by four-on-the-floor beats, syncopated basslines, string sections, brass and horns, electric piano ...

field. The award was voted by DJs on fifty major

discoteque A nightclub (music club, discothèque, disco club, or simply club) is an entertainment venue during nighttime comprising a dance floor, lightshow, and a stage for live music or a disc jockey (DJ) who plays recorded music. Nightclubs gener ...

s. Gombitová appeared in the 88's volume, reaching the highest score as the 3rd Most Favorite Female Singer and the 5th Best Singer of All-time. "Vyznanie" itself reached at number six.

Hit storočia

The ''Hit storočia'' ( en, Hit of the Century) was a national TV competition organized by

Slovenská televízia Slovenská televízia (; "Slovak Television"; STV) was a state-owned public television organisation in Slovakia. It was created in 1991 as the Slovak part of the former Czechoslovak Television and was headquartered in Bratislava. It was funded f ...

. Within its three-month run (beginning April 20, 2007), the viewers voted live the most popular Slovak songs from the 1930s to 1990s. Overall, nine songs were picked to compete in the final evening. Gombitová competed in the show with three songs, winning it with a song written by Janko Lehotský and Kamil Peteraj from 1979. ;Notes *^A The First Prize in the category representing record companies shared Gombitová with Nikolai Gnatiuk ("Dance on a Drum") from

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

. Grand Prix '80 award won

Marion Marion may refer to: People *Marion (given name) *Marion (surname) *Marion Silva Fernandes, Brazilian footballer known simply as "Marion" *Marion (singer), Filipino singer-songwriter and pianist Marion Aunor (born 1992) Places Antarctica * Mari ...

("Where Is the Love?") from

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. *^B The title won scoring 30.4% votes in total. The rest Top 3 positions featured "V slovenských dolinách" by Karol Duchoň (at #2), and "Voda čo ma drží nad vodou" by Jožo Ráž.

Cover versions

*1999:

Lucie Bílá Lucie Bílá (born April 7, 1966 as ''Hana Zaňáková'') is a Czech pop singer. According to her label, EMI Czech Republic, the singer has sold over one million albums. She won the Czech musical award, Český slavík 13 times, the highest ...

*2007:

Sisa Sklovská Sisa Sklovská (born 13 October 1965) is a Slovak singer. She studied at Academy of Performing Arts in Bratislava (VŠMU) and subsequently joined the Slovak National Theatre, where she performed for five years as a soloist. Sklovská was among th ...

*2008:

Monika Absolonová Monika Absolonová (born 27 September 1976) is a Czech singer and actress. She released her first album, ''Monika'', in 1993. In 2002, she performed the title role in the famous Czech musical, Kleopatra, at Prague's Broadway Theatre. Absolonová ...

(with substantial lyrics, written by Marek Vrba.) *2009:

Dominika Stará Dominika Stará (born 13 August 1993) is a Slovak pop singer who competed in the first season of the ''Česko Slovenská Superstar ''SuperStar'' (previously known as ''Česko Slovenská SuperStar'') is a joint Czech- Slovak version of the Id ...

*2009: Ivana Poláčková *2010:

Dara Rolins Dara Rolins (born 7 December 1972) is a Slovak recording artist and entrepreneur. Her music career began at the age of nine, after being cast in the television musical ''Zázračný autobus'' (1981). The early role established a formula for he ...

References

;General * * * ;Specific {{DEFAULTSORT:Vyznanie 1979 songs 1979 singles Marika Gombitová songs Songs written by Ján Lehotský Songs written by Kamil Peteraj Slovak-language songs English-language Slovak songs