SARAJEVO, Bosnia-Herzegovina -- The opening lyrics couldn't beryllium plainer: “I americium from Bosnia; instrumentality maine to America.” But by rewriting its classical “USA,” the Bosnian set Dubioza Kolektiv has transformed a opus astir disillusionment with the American Dream into a viral anthem powering Bosnia-Herzegovina's ain World Cup dreams.
On the eve of Friday's lucifer betwixt Bosnia and Canada, members of the genre-bending stone radical met The Associated Press successful the Sarajevo vicinity wherever they filmed the caller euphony video for the accordion-heavy earworm, present titled “I Am From Bosnia, Take Me to America.” In little than 3 weeks, the video celebrating soccer's working-class roots has notched astir 2 cardinal views connected YouTube — connected apical of the 26 cardinal views the archetypal “USA,” released successful 2011, has amassed implicit the years.
“It’s an absorbing communicative however this opus got its 2nd and 3rd and 4th incarnation successful these 15 years,” muses Vedran Mujagić, bassist for the set that has woven governmental and societal causes into its identity. “It evolved from this satirical instrumentality connected migration and (the) American Dream and it was translated into (an) American shot imagination for the full nation.”
Bosnia-Herzegovina is making lone its 2nd quality astatine a World Cup, a extremity that erstwhile seemed improbable arsenic much accepted shot powers stood successful the mode of qualification. At the extremity of April, though, Bosnia's precocious extremity against Wales propelled the squad to a victorious punishment shootout, a feat it would replicate days aboriginal against Italy. The set members were amazed erstwhile fans unfurled a banner emblazoned with their lyrics, singing them arsenic a rallying cry.
“First, it was moving arsenic a joke, but what I similar the astir is the supporters benignant of loaded wholly caller meaning to the aged song, and this is the champion happening for the set oregon for the song: erstwhile radical instrumentality implicit and load caller meaning and past it becomes theirs,” keyboardist Brano Jakubović says. “It’s not ours anymore.”
The archetypal “USA” is arsenic up-tempo and catchy — it's hard not to rotation astir muttering, “I tin nary longer wait, instrumentality maine to United States / Take maine to Golden Gate, I volition assimilate” — but its protagonist's eagerness to fly slides rapidly to disenchantment with beingness extracurricular the Balkans.
The set decided to present an updated mentation of what Jakubović describes arsenic a “typical migrant song,” penning caller lyrics befitting a shot anthem. While “USA” is successful English, this mentation is mostly successful Bosnian — “so radical volition understand,” helium says — and mostly astir the sport. The connection power has done thing to lessen its planetary appeal, arsenic a speedy perusal of the YouTube comments suggests, though determination are immoderate jokes Jakubović acknowledges would beryllium inscrutable extracurricular Bosnia. (See: burek without cheese.)
Jakubović’s favourite caller enactment is simply a accidental to excise thing that has haunted the state since the 2014 World Cup: “And that extremity against Nigeria, that was ne'er offside.”
“So this is similar a large nationalist trauma successful Bosnia, truthful I utilized the opus and lyrics to benignant of merchandise this trauma,” helium says.
He's being wry there, but trauma has been a mainstay since Bosnia's independency amid the dissolution of Yugoslavia successful 1992. Interethnic warfare astir instantly broke out, starring to genocide. More than 30 years aft the Srebrenica massacre, heavy part betwixt Bosnian Serbs and Bosniak Muslims persist.
“Football successful this infinitesimal is overmuch much than conscionable a game, it's a anticipation and it’s precise fundamentally (a) governmental happening due to the fact that it brought each the radical from Bosnia together, which is usually not the case,” Jakubović says.
Bosnia's archetypal lucifer is successful Canada, but the squad volition so beryllium taken to America. Their basal campy is successful Sandy, Utah, and the different radical signifier matches — against Switzerland and Qatar — are successful the States. And, arsenic Mujagić points out, galore of the players were calved successful the U.S. oregon elsewhere successful the diaspora.
“They are children of those radical who went extracurricular successful hunt of a amended beingness oregon arsenic refugees oregon immoderate their communicative was. And they benignant of spot and perceive these lyrics and this opus wholly otherwise from us,” helium says.
Mujagić thinks the archetypal connection of “USA” endures arsenic Bosnians inactive emigrate. Once they leave, helium finds, “they brushwood this hostility of the locals, right-wingers, and they conscionable don’t privation them there.”
“So it’s this schizophrenic concern successful which you privation to spell there, but you someway cognize that you won’t person it bully connected the different broadside arsenic well,” helium concludes. “So successful that sense, this opus inactive works perfectly good arsenic it worked before.”
In St. Louis, location to a thriving Bosnian community, Admir Hodzic is 1 of the founders of the protagonist radical BH Loyals. The 40-year-old concern proprietor was calved successful Bosnia and has moved backmost and distant betwixt his homeland and the U.S., not dissimilar the protagonist of “USA.”
“I deliberation each Bosnian that lives present and understands however the strategy works and everything else, I deliberation they volition find the information successful that song, and that opus is honestly thing but the truth,” helium says. There are much opportunities successful the U.S. than elsewhere, helium says, but “it's a substance of biting your teeth and pulling done the worst times possible.”
He and his chap supporters are large fans of Dubioza Kolektiv and sing their anthem astatine matches and ticker parties. More often than not, though, it's the archetypal “USA.”
“It’s engraved successful their encephalon and their hearts,” helium says, “and nary substance what, they conscionable spell backmost to the aged lyrics, you know?”
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Sen reported from New York.
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AP World Cup coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/fifa-world-cup
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