The honor of having a whole Turkish town singing your song

To be able to capture Fethiye, in all its glory, magic, people and even a cat is an experience one never forgets.

To be lucky to be able to present one of our dearest songs through the smiling faces of this charming little town’s unique crowd is an honor we couldn’t even hope for.

But here it is, live, the video for ‘Pendolira’.

It’s a part of our new album, ‘IV’, the one celebrating the world’s colors, and this one is gold.

We love it. So did the people in the video, coming from Turkey, Argentina, Great Britain, Russia, South African Republic, Australia and Macedonia. We love them too.

And thank you, Cem Bariscan, for the photography.

The dialect in which the song is written is slowly falling into obscurity, but we made sure it’s never forgotten, much like the people in our lives that spoke it.

Elena wrote the music, and Sibo wrote the lyrics. Below, you’ll find both the original Macedonian lyrics and the translation to English.

Македонски:

Пендолира

И небуто, кут да е доле, опули го, со белите дулбени
А зем’нта, кут да е ж’лта пендолира, со срма извезена
Севдалија да сум, да се стора’ босиљо, на вашите појаси
Мирис да растурам, полевајте ме с’роса, не ми зе’јте душата

И небуто, кут да е блиско до зем’нта, со чупите кукушки
Уб’о носат фустаните, оро шират, на ветеро’ шиблика
Севдалија да сум, да се стора’ босиљо, на вашите појаси
Мирис да растурам, полевајте ме с’роса, не ми зе’јте душата

А навечер, си заспуват кукушанки, во свила и коприна
Месечин’та на Сл’нцето е прелика, oд сенка фустан крои
А небуто црно, грозје лисичина, со чапрази сребрени
Наутро со роса, а навечер со с’лзи, полевајте ви мене
Полевајте ви мене,
не ми зе’јте душата…

English:

Look at the sky, it’s like it had been taken down, with a white headscarf,
And the ground, like a golden coin knitted with silver lace,
I want to be amorous, I want to turn to a basil bundle and live on your belts,
And I’ll smell wonderful, please bathe me in dew, don’t take my soul

And the heaven, it’s like it is close to the ground, with the girls from Kukush,
They wear golden gowns, and they dance on lashes of wind I want to be amorous,
I want to turn to a basil bundle and live on your belts,
And I’ll smell wonderful, please bathe me in dew, don’t take my soul

Before midnight, girls from Kukush fall asleep in silk and satin
The Moon resembles the Sun, and from the shadow sews a dress
And the sky is dark, like purple grape, with silver buckles
Please, bathe me in dew at dawn, and with tears at dusk
Please water me,
don’t take my soul…

The details:

Recorded, mix & mastering at: Enterprise Studio, Skopje, Macedonia.
Music producer: Valentino Skenderovski.
Musicians:
Elena Baklava – vocals,
Dejan Teodosievski – cello,
Gogo Klincarov – tambura,
Valentino Skenderovski – programming & accordion
Thanks to Sean, Ivica and DeSonanz team.

Pendolira on Spotify