''Oj Srbijo, mila mati'' ( sr-cyr, Ој Србијо, мила мати), translated "O Serbia, Dear Mother",
is a
Serbia
Serbia (, ; Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe, Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Bas ...
n patriotic song. It dates to the 19th century. Its first, longer version, ''Srbiji'' ("to Serbia") by poet Luka Sarić was published in 1860 in the literary magazine of ''Slovenka'' in
Novi Sad
Novi Sad ( sr-Cyrl, Нови Сад, ; hu, Újvidék, ; german: Neusatz; see below for other names) is the second largest city in Serbia and the capital of the autonomous province of Vojvodina. It is located in the southern portion of the Pan ...
. In 1891, a Czech migrant to Serbia, Vojtěch Šístek, a member of the Singing Association ''Branko'' in
Niš
Niš (; sr-Cyrl, Ниш, ; names in other languages) is the third largest city in Serbia and the administrative center of the Nišava District. It is located in southern part of Serbia. , the city proper has a population of 183,164, while ...
, composed the melody and the song quickly became very popular. A very long song, with seven stanza with eight lines each, it was shortened in 1909 by another member of the ''Branko'' association, Dragomir Brzak, to four stanza with four lines each. This version, with the name ''Oj Srbijo'' (O, Serbia) entered the school program prior to
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
. It was very popular during the
Balkan Wars
The Balkan Wars refers to a series of two conflicts that took place in the Balkan States in 1912 and 1913. In the First Balkan War, the four Balkan States of Greece, Serbia, Montenegro and Bulgaria declared war upon the Ottoman Empire and defe ...
and World War I, having entered the repertoire of the Royal Guard. It was the opening song in a 24 June 1917 concert of the Serbian Royal Guard in
Versaille. During
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, it was the unofficial anthem of the
Serbian puppet Council of Ministers. It has been theorized that the original writer, Luka Sarić, was a pseudonym, since no information has been found on him; it has been assumed that Prince
Mihailo Obrenović
Prince Mihailo Obrenović III of Serbia ( sr-Cyrl, Михаило Обреновић, Mihailo Obrenović; 16 September 1823 – 10 June 1868) was the ruling Principality of Serbia, Prince of Serbia from 1839 to 1842 and again from 1860 to 1868. ...
was the writer, his 1861 song ''Što se bore misli moje'' having the same rhythm.
Lyrics
1909 version
Original 1860 version
See also
*
Bože pravde
*
March on the Drina
*
Tamo daleko
References
Sources
*
*{{cite book, title=Ilustrovana velika srpska narodna lira najveća i najpotunija od sviju koje do danas sveta uglededashe, ca 1600 pesama davorja, junačkih, podoljubnih, ljubavnih, svatovskih, bačvanskih, banatskih, pozorišnih i slovenskih, url=https://books.google.com/books?id=w3xCAQAAMAAJ, year=1893, publisher=Izd. Srpske kljnhare i štamp
Serbian patriotic songs
Songs about Serbia