The Songs of the Protest

published on 11/11/09 10:11 AM

Photo: Radio Bulgaria

The Songs of the Protest

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“How many seasons should pass before we see sunshine in the eyes?”; “Isn’t it time for common sense to overcome!”; “One could wonder how we survived all these years!”; “The one that stole our bread should go to prison!” . . . These are excerpts from several songs that have become emblematic of the Blue protests that over flew into the streets and squares during the days following November 10, 1989 – the start of democratic changes in Bulgaria. It was a time bubbling with enthusiasm, optimism and hopes for change. Here is one of the most popular protest songs of those days – “Time is Ours”, composed by Boris Karadimchev with arrangement by Christian Boyajiev on lyrics by Alexander Petrov. The song is performed by a large joint formation of Bulgarian pop and rock stars.

If you ask nowadays the Bulgarians what they relate the start of the transition period with, many of them would for sure start humming some of these songs, popular in the rendition of people’s favorite bands. For example the “Diana Express” and the song “Tomorrow starts Today!” – music by Ilya Angelov on lyrics by Alexander Petrov again.

In the cold winter of 1990 musicians were all the time on the improvised stages and many of those songs were performed by large joint formations. However, in most of them we clearly discern the voices of Georgi Minchev, Bogdana Karadocheva, Vassil Naidenov, Margarita Hranova, Kiril Marichkov and many other favorite Bulgarian stars. Together with the well known names we heard in those days for the first time the husky voice of Vasko the Patch – the front man of the “Poduene Blues Band”.

“The memories I have of those days are very beautiful, Vasko the Patch recalls. We seemed to be living through our Bulgarian Woodstock fest, our music revolution. We used to sing in the squares – the Crickets, the FSB, Milena, the Control band and others. These bands were a pain in the neck for the communist system and I am happy to have been able to stand and sing with them before so many people. This placed our names in Bulgarian history. I will always remember those thousands of shining faces. They keep me warm to this day and give me hope and strength. Most of the people who used to gather in the squares in those days are no longer here in Bulgaria. They left shortly after that. I, myself am constantly considering the idea. I travel all the time but I always return home. Getting home seems to be the best part of every journey. But that keeps us on a permanent mission. The song “Communism is going away” ends with the words “but the fight continues”. I am a pacifist but still, I believe the fight goes on. And that makes our mission a lasting one. It is clear today that the values that sprang up during those first days are long standing principles – the rejection of unrealistic norms, the eternal idea of freedom . . . I think myself and the people who think like me- we are the lucky ones! We are neither economic nor political winners. We are genetic winners because we carry freedom in our heart and soul and we have been passing this idea to those who come after us” Vasko the Patch concludes.

We cannot play all the protest songs that have gone down as the symbols of Democratic changes in a single programme, but we couldn’t possibly go without “I am simply a human” – entirely authored by Kiril Marichkov and performed by his band – The Crickets.

And we will end this music edition featuring the songs of the democratic protest of 1989 the way most outdoor demonstrations and meetings used to end in the early 1990s – with a prayer. “Oh, Lord, give to Bulgaria a road, light and freedom!” goes another emblematic song – “Prayer for Bulgaria” on lyrics by wonderful poetess Miryana Basheva, music by Stefan Dimitrov. It is performed by Bogdana Karadocheva, Stefan Dimitrov and again a large formation of Bulgarian pop stars.

English version: Iva Letnikova

По публикацията работи: Albena Bezovska

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The Songs of the Protest

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