"Jedna si jedina" ("You Are the One and Only") was the

national anthem A national anthem is a patriotic musical composition symbolizing and evoking eulogies of the history and traditions of a country or nation. The majority of national anthems are marches or hymns in style. American, Central Asian, and European n ...

Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sh, / , ), abbreviated BiH () or B&H, sometimes called Bosnia–Herzegovina and often known informally as Bosnia, is a country at the crossroads of south and southeast Europe, located in the Balkans. Bosnia and H ...

between 1992 and 1998.

History

The music was taken from the old Bosnian folk song "S one strane Plive" ("On the far bank of the Pliva river" or "On the other side of the Pliva river"), which was reportedly inspired by the Turkish song "Sivastopol Marşı". The lyrics were written by Bosnian singer

Dino Merlin Edin Dervišhalidović (; born 12 September 1962), known professionally as Dino Merlin (), is a Bosnian singer-songwriter, musician, and record producer. Born in Sarajevo, he was the founder and leader of Merlin, which eventually became one of ...

; that version is featured on his 1993 album, ''

Moja Bogda Sna ''Moja bogda sna'' is the first solo album of the Bosnian singer Dino Merlin Edin Dervišhalidović (; born 12 September 1962), known professionally as Dino Merlin (), is a Bosnian singer-songwriter, musician, and record producer. Born in S ...

''. It was adopted in November 1992, several months after independence in March 1992. Political leaders of dominant

Bosnian Serb The Serbs of Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sr-Cyrl, Срби у Босни и Херцеговини, Srbi u Bosni i Hercegovini) are one of the three constitutive nations (state-forming nations) of the country, predominantly residing in the politi ...

and

Bosnian Croat The Croats of Bosnia and Herzegovina (), often referred to as Bosnian Croats () or Herzegovinian Croats () are the third most populous ethnic groups in Bosnia and Herzegovina, ethnic group in the country after Bosniaks and Serbs of Bosnia and H ...

nationalist parties objected to it, and thus a new composition, the "

Intermezzo In music, an intermezzo (, , plural form: intermezzi), in the most general sense, is a composition which fits between other musical or dramatic entities, such as acts of a play or movements of a larger musical work. In music history, the term ha ...

", was approved and adopted by the United Nations as the country's national anthem in 1999.

Legacy

"Jedna si jedina" is still considered to be the ''de facto'' national anthem of Bosnia and Herzegovina by many

Bosniaks The Bosniaks ( bs, Bošnjaci, Cyrillic: Бошњаци, ; , ) are a South Slavic ethnic group native to the Southeast European historical region of Bosnia, which is today part of Bosnia and Herzegovina, who share a common Bosnian ancestry ...

; many Bosniaks still sing this song during performances of the Bosnian national anthem, as they believe that it should still be current as the present national anthem of Bosnia and Herzegovina does not have any official lyrics.

Lyrics

On most occasions, only the first verse followed by the chorus were performed.

Official lyrics

Alternate lyrics

References