Whose Is This Song?

Whose Is This Song? is a film in which a woman named Adela Peeva who travels to various countries to ask about a song she knows from her Bulgarian childhood. To her, the song is Bulgarian, but to others, it’s Serbian, Greek, Albanian, Turkish, Macedonian, or Bosnian. Throughout Eastern Europe it seems that this song has made it from place to place and altered it’s history and origins along the way. This showed me that though countries may be different and vary in culture, their music can be universal. Music can be adapted and weaved into a new history. Perhaps this has to do with how in Eastern Europe music has similarities between cultures and way the music sounds, the instruments, singers, languages, etc. Eastern Europeans also seem to be very, very possessive of their music, lots of nationalism in connection to songs.

            The song varies in lyrics from country to country. Sometimes it’s about a girl, other times not. Through out the film different people sang it depending on country. Some were men, such as a film director, others were women, even professional singers. It seemed to be for the basic class of people or maybe for all. Different people, different occupations, different genders, all knew this song. However, I will mention that these people were up in age. I think it must be more of an older traditional song, something that is less what the younger generations listen to—the difference between classical and current. The song was sometimes even connected to religion or connected to the rejection of an opposing religion.

            Once again, the song is about identity, nationalism, pride and possession. A popular song is sacred. Everyone wants to think their country wrote the song, inspired the song, first sang the song. Not so much “want” but utterly believes. They are certain that this song is their song. Only one man thought otherwise, but this was because his mother was Macedonian and he connected the song to her rather than his own country. It’s a matter of pride and identity. It is so strong that at one point Peeva was threatened to be knocked out for suggesting to one nationality of people that the song belong to another nationality. Another time she was threatened to be stoned or hanged.

            However, regardless of what these people believe, no one can say for sure where the song began, what country created it. The cycle of the song from place to place proves that these Eastern European countries are more connected and similar than they would like to think. Enemies are more like cousins.

            I think that in terms of the United States that our anthem, the “Star-Spangled Banner” would be the song of our identity and something Americans hold to their heart as theirs and no one else’s. Personally, I don’t feel strongly about it, because I think it sugarcoats the history of the USA which is not the heroic country it makes itself out to be and overall I’m not very patriotic. This being said it was interesting to see people care so much about a song and be so patriotic. In my opinion, it was to the point where it was discriminatory and extreme.