Marjane, Marjane

Split City Harbor (Gradska luka) and the scenic Marjan hill, where the city flag is hoisted.
The flag on the Marjan hill

"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]

  1. ^ Ivan Ugrin (2002-07-16). "Naš je barjak hrvatski!". Slobodna Dalmacija (in Croatian). Retrieved 2012-10-15.
  2. ^ Jonjić, Tomislav (December 2008). "Jadranske teme u Hrvatskom narodu od travnja 1941. do rujna 1943". Journal of Contemporary History. 40 (3). Zagreb, Croatia: Croatian Institute of History: 911–932. ISSN 0590-9597. Retrieved 2012-10-16.
  3. ^ "Hrvatska pjesmarica - 1989 - Najbolji Hrvatski Tamburaši (Zlatni Dukati)". Diskografija.com. 2006-12-01. Retrieved 2012-10-15.
  4. ^ Trio Gušt oživio Marjane, Marjane... Archived 2012-03-02 at the Wayback Machine