Kitka & Svetlana Spajić: Ode to Milman Parry

Created by Svetlana Spajić in the "ojkalica" song form of the Dalmatian Serbs from Bukovica region. Lyrics by Milovan Vojićić from Nevesinje, Herzogovina, in honor of Milman Parry (1902-1935), the trailblazing American scholar of epic poetry and oral tradition.
"Dear God, praise to Thee for all! What I shall sing is the straight truth. In one thousand, nine hundred and thirty three, a gray falcon flew from the beautiful land of America. That was not a gray falcon, but Professor Milman Parry, the glorious!
His path leads him across the ocean. The ship carries him, the glorious Saturnia, constructed of fierce steel. Nothing can bar its path, but over the sea it drives away the waves, as a falcon drives away doves. Swiftly he flew over the ocean, he flew to the Adriatic sea, my gray falcon.
Welcome Professor Milman! Safely may you cross the deep blue sea! Our history will speak of you, and remember you for many ages. You are a man of good qualities. Wisdom and uprightness adorn you. You have become enamored of our songs, and because of them, you have set out hither, to our heroic Fatherland."
Lead vocals: Svetlana Spajić and Shira Cion
Performed January 28, 2012 at CounterPULSE, San Francisco
Video by Rapt Productions