"Marjane, Marjane" (lit. "Marjan, Marjan") is a Croatian song from Dalmatia. The name refers to the Marjan hill which overlooks the largest city of Dalmatia, Split, and on which the main (large) city flag is raised. It originates from a folk song sung in the city during the late 1930s, which was first recorded by the poet Ivo Tijardović.[1] Its melody was also used for the Slovenian patriotic song Janez, kranjski Janez (John, John of Carniola).
During World War II the song (with somewhat expanded wording) became very popular among the Yugoslav Partisans. The original song was played on the radio of the Nazi-puppet Independent State of Croatia, the Croatian Radio (Hrvatski krugoval).[2] The original lyrics serve as the official festive song of the city of Split. The song, being traditional, does not have a strictly defined ending, so its ending has changed through time and ideologies. Numerous artists have recorded the song. Najbolji Hrvatski Tamburaši included it in their 1989 release Hrvatska pjesmarica.[3] Trio Gušt released a version with new lyrics in 2009.[4]
| Croatian | English translation | |
|---|---|---|
| Marjane, Marjane, Marjane, Marjane, Marjane, Marjane, ča barjak ne viješ, ča barjak ne viješ, ča barjak ne viješ, ča barjak ne viješ, milu trobojnicu. Milu trobojnicu, milu trobojnicu, | Marjan, Marjan, Marjan, Marjan, Marjan, Marjan, why don't you fly the flag, Why don't you fly the flag, why don't you fly the flag, Why don't you fly the flag, the dear tricolour. The dear tricolour, the dear tricolour, |
| Croatian | English translation | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Marjane, Marjane, Marjane, Marjane, Marjane, Marjane, ča barjak ne viješ, ča barjak ne viješ, ča barjak ne viješ, ča barjak ne viješ, milu trobojnicu? Na kojon se čita, na kojoj se čita | A na vrh barjaka, a na vrh barjaka A na vrh barjaka, zvizda petokraka! Tko se pod njim bije, tko se pod njim bije, | I još jedno slovo, i još jedno slovo, I još jedno slovo, ime Staljinovo! I još jedna bratska, i još jedna bratska I još jedna bratska, živila Hrvatska | Živila sloboda, živila sloboda, živila sloboda, Hrvatskog naroda! | Marjan, Marjan, Marjan, Marjan, Marjan, Marjan, why don't you fly the flag, Why don't you fly the flag, why don't you fly the flag, Why don't you fly the flag, the dear tricolour? On which is read, on which is read, | " And on top of the flag, and on top of the flag, Those who fight beneath it, those who fight beneath it, | And those who don't, and those who do not, And those who don't, better they not be! And another word, and another word, | And another fraternal [word], and another fraternal And another fraternal, long live Croatia! Long live the freedom, long live the freedom, |
In later versions, from the beginning of the Informbiro period until the Tito–Stalin split in 1948, the stanza with the reference to Stalin was no longer popular and became used less and less. It was revived in the 1970s nationalist version, with "Jesus" replacing "Stalin" in the wording. The first two stanzas of this version are featured in the Academy Award-nominated motion picture The Battle of Neretva.[5]
| Croatian | English translation | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Marjane, Marjane, Marjane, Marjane, Marjane, Marjane, ča barjak ne viješ, ča barjak ne viješ, ča barjak ne viješ, ča barjak ne viješ, milu trobojnicu. Milu trobojnicu, milu trobojnicu, Pod kojim su pali, pod kojim su pali, Tko se pod njim bije, tko se pod njim bije, I još jedno slovo, i još jedno slovo, | Živila sloboda, živila sloboda, živila sloboda, Hrvatskog naroda!. | Marjan, Marjan, Marjan, Marjan, Marjan, Marjan, why don't you fly the flag, Why don't you fly the flag, why don't you fly the flag, Why don't you fly the flag, the dear tricolour? The dear tricolour, the dear tricolour, Under which they fell, under which they fell, Those who fight beneath it, those who fight beneath it, And another word, and another word, Long live the freedom, long live the freedom, |
This is the version more widely known in post-1989 Croatia.[6] One of its first large scale performances was on May 30, 1990, by the Croatian singer Duško Lokin.[7] It is often sung by Torcida, the supporters of the Split football club, HNK Hajduk.[8]