Vlaho Paljetak

Vlaho Paljetak (1893-1944) was the greatest Croatian pre WWII chanson composer and singer. He was born on August 7, 1893 in Dubrovnik in the Austro-Hungarian Empire which is now a part of modern Croatia. Vlaho was educated in Arbanasi, near Zadar, and worked as a teacher in Hvar and Vis. He studied singing and violin and was a self-taught guitarist. For a time he was a member of a small orchestra in Split which was run by Jakov Gotovac and Ivo Tijardovic. From 1919 he worked as a prompter in the Zagreb National Theatre. During the 1920's, 1930's and 1940's he recorded about 60 songs and chansons. By the early 1940's he was already seriously ill, and died after an unsuccessful operation, on October 2, 1944 in Zagreb. His last performance was on September 28, 1944 at a Zagreb radio show.

Here are two famous "Evergreens" of this remarkable author:

ADIO MARE

ja bijah tamo
gdje šumi plavo more
tamo gdje zlato viđah svoje
bio sam sretan
a nisam ni znao

adio mare
adio moja mare

nikad više neću proć
preko straduna
niti te pratit do tvog portuna
ni gledat oči kako se žare

adio mare
adio moja mare

(portun = glavni ulaz u kuću,
dolazi od portala)

O, MARIJANA

Jedne divne, tihe majske noći
Ti si rekla da ćeš doći na prvi rendezvous
Noć je oko mene svud je tama
A Marijana spava sama
I ne zna da sam tu
A ja pod palmom sjedim sam
I oči sklapa san i tužan čekam
Davno žuđen dan

O Marijana, slatka, mala Marijana
Ja ću te čekati, dok svane dan
O Marijana, slatka mala Marijana
Ja ću te čekati, jer ti ćeš doć

Baštom opet cvate majsko cvijeće
A ja drhtim sav od sreće
Jer čekam samo nju
Ponoć davno, davno već je prošla
A Marijana nije došla na prvi rendezvous