N: Koju ćemo dedo?

S: Ej koju? Pa ćes se nasmijati.

N: Dobro! Neka bude malo smiješna.

S: Valahi smiješna će bit, i ono je istinito.

N: Which one [story] shall we [pick? hear?], grandpa?

S: Eh which? Then you’re going to laugh.

N: Good! Let it be a bit funny.

S: Well, funny it’ll be, but true as well.

MP: Jeli prićao [Sadik?] o Musi i Marku?

S [in affirmation]: E.

MP: Đe si čuo?

S [realizing he needs to be clearer but still trying to rely on the context]: Musu i Marka od onoga sam ćuo.

N [trying to help out]: U Mitrovici.

S [realizing he needs to complete the “citation” for Parry’s benefit]: U Mitrovicu od Sadika Bošnjaka.

MP: Did he [Sadik?] tell about Musa and Marko?

S [in affirmation]: Aye.

MP: Where did you hear [it from]?

S [realizing he needs to be clearer but still trying to rely on the context]: Musa and Marko I heard from that one.

N [trying to help out]: In Mitrovica.

S [realizing he needs to complete the “citation” for Parry’s benefit]: In Mitrovica from Sadik Bošnjak.

N: Dobro. Ti malo počini i odmori se [i smisli se31] malo, koju pjesmu.

S [interrupting the end of Nikola’s sentence]: Prati mi jedan ćaj tako ti sveca.

N [most likely pretending not to hear]: Što, što?

S: Jedan ćaj mi prati otud.

N [now definitely pretending]: Reci dobro, ja te nečujem.

S [louder]: Jedan ćaj mi prati.

N [playing silly, yet serious]: Zašto?

S: Da pijem brate.

N: Hotli popit rakiju?

S [resolutely]: Jok vala, fala, rakiju neću nikako.

N [playing ignorant]: Zašto ne?

S: Ja ne pijem nikad.

N: A Da ti uspe[m?] malo rakije u čaj, bili ti popijo? Zdravije ti je.

S [adamantly]: Bogami jok, nikako.

N: Zašto bolan nebijo?

S: Ja sam ostavijo rakiju sad.

N: E, dobro, ti počini malo sad.

S: A hoću da mislim sad, a ti . . . [Nikola here turns away from the microphone addressing someone else (Parry?). The singer now refers to whatever is happening (Nikola lighting a cigarette, or fire in the room?)]: Ne, ne to ti je pala žiška kad si naložijo . . . [Now returning to his earlier request]: Prati mi jedan ćaj.

N: All right. You rest a while and think a little, which song [you would like to sing].

S [interrupting the end of Nikola’s sentence]: Send me one tea, by your saint.

N [most likely pretending not to hear]: What, what?

S: One tea, send it for me from there [the coffee-house kitchen?].

N [now definitely pretending]: Say it well; I can’t hear you.

S [louder]: Send me one tea.

N [playing silly, yet serious]: Why?

S: To drink, of course.

N: How about some brandy?

S [resolutely]: No thanks, I don’t want any brandy.

N [playing ignorant]: Why not?

S: I never drink.

N: And if they [I?] pour a bit of brandy in your tea, would you drink it? It’s healthier for you.

S [adamantly]: By God, no, no way.

N: Why, might you not be ill?

S: I have given up brandy now.

N: Eh, all right, now you rest a while.

S: And I will think now [about which song to sing next], and you . . . [Nikola here turns away from the microphone addressing someone else (Parry?). Then the singer refers to whatever is happening (Nikola lighting a cigarette, or the fire in the room?)]: No, no, but a spark fell when you lit up . . . [Now returning to his earlier request]: Send me one tea.

N: E hajde sad lijepo Salja, od kraja do konca, ali, ako puštiš koji stih, nećemo ti platit ništa.

S [anxiously]: A da nemogu dok se neodmorim, bogme, ono [the song] je dugaćko. Teke po jedan mah da stanem da se odmorim.

N: Dobro, dobro, kada budeš umorit se, a ti odmori

S [interrupting the end of Nikola’s sentence above]: A onako da brojim hoću.

N [feigning seriousness in a “schoolteacher” manner]: Jes, jes, jes, samo svako slovo ako nebudeš kazat, tačno, ja je znam cijelu. . . .

S [interrupts again]: Ja vala. . . .

N: Ako nebudeš kazat tačno [Salih here interjects, defensively]: Oooh, nećemo ti platit ništa. [Exclaiming, as though to cut the interruptions from the singer and stress his seriousness]: Salja!

S [continues, slightly dejected and defensive at the start, but gaining confidence]: Oh, ja ne znam kako koji peva, a ja kako je pevam, belji ostavit neću.

N [interrupting the end of Salih’s sentence above]: E dobro! E hajde, bicmilah!

S [with a small laugh of approval, amused by Nikola’s “Islamic” exclamation]: Bicmilja i Bože pomozi.

N [instructively]: Samo čisto, jasno, glasno da pjevaš.

S [calmed, in affirmation]: A da.

N: Eh, come on now, Salja, nicely, from the beginning to the end, but if you miss a verse, we are not going to pay you anything.

S [anxiously]: Eh, I can’t until I rest first, by God, it [the song] is too long. But if I stop at one point to rest a little.

N: Yes, yes, yes, but if you don’t say every letter, exactly, [Salih here interjects, defensively]: Ooo, I know it [the song] whole. . . .

S [interrupting the end of Nikola’s sentence above]: And I’ll recount like that.

N [feigning seriousness in a “schoolteacher” manner]: All right, all right, when you get tired, you take a rest.

S [interrupts again]: Well, yes. . . .

N: If you don’t say [it] exactly, we are not going to pay you anything. [Exclaiming, as though to cut the interruptions from the singer and stress his seriousness]: Salja!

S [continues, slightly dejected and defensive at the start, but gaining confidence]: Oh, I don’t know how others sing it, but the way I sing it, I [won’t]51 leave out anything, of course.

N [interrupting the end of Salih’s sentence above]: All right, then! Eh, come on, bismillah!

S [with a small laugh of approval, amused by Nikola’s “Islamic” exclamation]: Bismillah and with God’s help.

N [instructively]: Only sing neatly, clearly, loudly.

S [calmed, in affirmation]: Well, yes.

N: Ja mislim da je Mostar najviši grad u Bosni.

S: Jok ima višije. Sarajevo je više.

N [mildly incredulous]: Više od njega!

S [in confirmation]: E.

N: I think Mostar is the biggest town in Bosnia.

S: Nope, there are bigger ones. Sarajevo is bigger.

N [mildly incredulous]: Bigger than [Mostar]?

S [in confirmation]: Yeah.

N: Đe? U džehenemu, jeli?

S [pronouncing slowly for emphasis]: U đenet!

N: A kako je u džehenemu?

S: A u đehnem sačuva Bože!

N: Where [is all that]? In hell, isn’t it?

S [pronouncing slowly for emphasis]: In heaven!

N: And how is it in hell?

S: But in hell, God keep [us from there]!

MP: E kad ti umriješ?

S [longingly]: Ej ako bogda tu da me povedu!

N: U džehenem jeli?

S [emphatically]: Nedaj Bože [Nikola and Parry chuckle].

N [through laughter]: Đe bi ti volijo? U dženet ili u džehenem?

S [laughing along]: Ej, ja bi volijo u đenet . . . [makes a hopeful sound and then coughs]: dekiku no ovamo hiljadu godina.

MP: And when you die?

S [longingly]: Eh, may God grant that they take me there!

N: To hell, you mean?

S [emphatically]: God forbid [Nikola and Parry chuckle].

N [through laughter]: Where would you like to go, to heaven or to hell?

S [laughing along]: Eh, I would like to [go to] heaven . . . [makes a hopeful sound and then coughs]: [and spend] a minute [there] rather than [be] here for a thousand years.

N: I onda kad se umre, onda se ide u džehenem jeli?

S: Ne, neko u đenem, neko u đenet. Tu nema sem dva, dva puta.

N: Dva puta?

S: Nejma! Treće nejma!

N [laughing while hinting at a known saying]: A sad ako zna đadu dobro je! [Both chuckle.] A ko nezna đadu, ode u Kaniđu jeli?

S [laughing in recognition and quoting the full rhyme]: Ooo! A da! “A ko nezna đadu, on ode u Kajniđu gradu.”

N: And then when one dies, one goes to hell, doesn’t he?

S: No, some [go] to hell, some to heaven. There are but two, two ways there.

N: Two ways?

S: There isn’t. There isn’t a third.

N [laughing while hinting at a known saying]: Well now, whoever knows the road, good [for him]! [Both chuckle.] And who doesn’t know the road, off he goes to Kaniđa!

S [laughing in recognition and quoting the full rhyme]: Oooh! But of course! “Who doesn’t know the road [down], he ends up in Kajniđa town!”

S [recites]: Neko viće jao mene majko, Neko kuku prifatime druže!

N [through laughter]: Jesili ti koji put reko: “Kuku majko!”

S [emphatically]: Nikad! [Through laughter, but adamant]: Nijesam zakukao tako mi vere!

N: A kako, kad je jedan stari mene iz Hercegovine meni pričo, da te ćerao kad si ratovao tamo neđe s Crnogorcima? Da te pušijo preko nekoga polja.

S [through laughter, but firmly denying]: Au, tako mi Boga laže! [Someone interjects with laughter, most likely Parry.] Auh, nije tako mi Boga ni video. . . .

S [recites]: Someone cries: “Woe to me, my mother,” / Someone: “Alas, comrade, catch me!”

N [through laughter]: Have you ever said: “Alas, mother!”

S [emphatically]: Never! [Through laughter, but adamant]: By my faith, I have never wept!

N: How is that, since one old man from Herzegovina told me that he chased you when you warred somewhere there with the Montenegrins? That he smoked you [made your feet smoke from running? / blew you off?] over some field?

S: [through laughter, but firmly denying]: Huh, by God, he lies! [Someone interjects with laughter, most likely Parry.] Huh, by God, he didn’t even see. . . .

N [suspiciously]: Aha! A da nije to Sveti Đurđe udrijo tu sabljom pa otvorijo vodu?

S [interrupts with dismissive laughter]: Kakav Đurđe i krmak? On je gotovo puka žedan. [Nikola (and Parry?) laughs at the singer’s passionate dismissal.] Oni, oni nije drugome ništa dao. No ažda ih je opkoljila jadom. . . .

N [suspiciously]: Ha! And could it be that it was St. George who hit there with his saber and opened a well?

S [interrupts with dismissive laughter]: Which George and a swine? He nearly burst of thirst! [Nikola (and Parry?) laughs at the singer’s passionate dismissal.] He, he gave nothing to another. But the dragon besieged them with suffering. . . .

MP: Glasnije. Prićaj glasnije.

N: Glasnije pričaj stari!

S: Glasnije . . .

N [now softer, jokingly]: Da se čuje, ja sam malo gluh ja ne čujem.

MP [justifying the outburst]: Kad ja ne čujem dobro odavlen. . . . [Presumably he is close by.]

S: Znam, znam.

MP: Louder, speak louder!

N: Speak louder, old man!

S: Louder . . .

N [now softer, jokingly]: So that it can be heard, I am a little deaf, I can’t hear.

MP [justifying the outburst]: When I can’t hear well from here. . . . [Presumably he is close by.]

S: I know, I know.

N: A zašto si prestao sada?

S: Bogami ne mogu.

N: Kako ne moreš?

. . .

S: Odavno prićam ođe.

N: Što ima, dva sahata još nema . . .

MP [interjects]: Ni dva sata nema!

N: . . . da si došao.

S: Bogami . . .

N: I dva si puta počivao!

S: Pa jes no hej duša jedna, nemore, nemore da je konj.

N [complimenting and chiding all at once]: Da ja imam pričat koliko ti ja bi pričao deset dana, ne bi nikada prestao.

N: And why have you stopped now?

S: By God, I can’t.

N: How come you can’t?

. . .

S: I’ve been talking here for ages.

N: What is there, there’s not yet two hours . . .

MP [interjects]: Not even two hours!

N: . . . since you came.

S: By God . . .

N: And twice you rested!

S: Well, yes, but hey, there’s only one soul [I have], it can’t, it couldn’t if it were a horse.

N [complimenting and chiding all at once]: If I had as much to tell as you, I would talk for ten days; I would never stop.

S [halting mid-recitation]: Iju!

MP [barely audible]: Što ti kažeš?

S [to Parry, through a quick painful laugh]: . . . Zohar mi ovde, nešto me zabolje.

N: Što ti je bilo?

S: Đe prićam . . .

N: Nemoj ti prekinut sad. Pričaj naprijed.

S: Ne mogu, đe pričam . . .

MP: Eh mi ćemo poćinut, poćivati malo. Dobro je za kafu.

S: Da poćinem.

MP: Da.

S: Sam da malo se odmorim.

N: Samo nemoj zaboravit, đe si osto.

S: Jok.

S [halting mid-recitation]: Ouch!

MP [barely audible]: What do you say?

S [to Parry, through a quick painful laugh]: . . . [I feel pain] here, something started to hurt . . .

N: What is it with you?

S: Where I speak . . .

N: Don’t you stop now. Go on.

S: I can’t, where I talk . . .

MP: Eh, we’ll rest, rest a little. It’s a good [time] for coffee.

S: For me to rest.

MP: Yes.

S: Just to rest a little.

N: Just don’t forget where you’re at.

S: I won’t.

S: E pa oni tako pjevaju

MP: Tako pjevaju?

S: E.

MP [argumentatively]: Ali je li dobro da tako pjevaju?

N [clarifying]: Jeli to istina valja čut?

MP: Jeli bila istina? Ako nije bila istina zašto se pjeva?

S [adamant]: E pa, on da nije istina, nebi ga on pevao.

. . .

S [on Parry’s suggestion to include all this subsequent reasoning in his song]: E oni ne kazuju da je imao koji oruža, da se digao na njega da učini huđum, niko.

N [teasingly]: Sigurno si ti preskočijo.

S [emphatically, imitating Nikola’s contesting tone]: Nijesam.

N: E dobro!

MP [interjects passionately]: Mislim da loši pjevač kaže samo da je, Haljil, odsjekao pedeset glava, tako, ali da dobar pjevač bi rekao tačno.

S [not following]: Ha!

MP [explaining]: Kako je bilo, zašto je mogo da k, o, osjeć [laughs at own stammering], osječe toliko glava.

S: Well, they sing it like that.

MP: They sing it like that?

S: Yes.

MP [argumentatively]: But is it good that they sing it like that?

N [clarifying]: Is that the truth? It should be heard?

MP: Was that the truth? If it wasn’t the truth, why is it sung [like that]?

S [adamant]: Well, he . . . if it wasn’t true, he [the singer from whom he learned the song?] wouldn’t have sung it.

. . .

S [on Parry’s suggestion to include all this subsequent reasoning in his song]: Well, they don’t say if anyone had weapons . . . that he got up to attack him, no one . . .

N [teasingly]: You have skipped [something] for sure.

S [emphatically, imitating Nikola’s contesting tone]: I haven’t.

N: Well, OK.

MP [interjects passionately]: I think that a bad singer only says that Halil cut off fifty heads, like that, but a good singer would tell it correctly . . .

S [not following]: Ha?!

MP [explaining]: . . . as it was, how come he was able to, c-, c-, cut [laughs at own stammering], cut off that many heads.

N: Kako to? Ti si rekao da ćeš pjevat pravoslavnu pjesmu, da ćeš pričat a ti si već sada da su turci pobjedili. Kako to Bogati?

S [through laughter]: Bogami, ja onako mi dade uz riječ, a neznam . . . [All chuckle].

MP: Rekao si da će bit pravoslavna pjesma.

N [repeating Parry’s remark louder]: Rekao si da će bit pravoslavna pjesma.

S: Vala pravoslavna jes, ama teke, ja zar zanosim na turski, a oni ovo pevaju.

. . .

N: A znaš li ti koju drugu srpsku pjesmu?

S: A pa ima.

N: Ma đe srbin pobijedio turčina? Znaš li?

S: Vala, pa znam to nekoliko.

N: E hajde jednu da mi kažeš, koju? Koju to hoćeš?

S: A da ope će platit Srbin najzadnje.

N: How’s that? You said you were going to sing an Orthodox song, that you are going to tell, but you now [made it so] that the Turks won!
How’s that, by God?

S [through laughter]: By God, that’s how the words came to me, and I don’t know . . . [All chuckle].

MP: You said it was going to be an Orthodox song.

N [repeating Parry’s remark louder]: You said it was going to be an Orthodox song.

S: Well it is Orthodox, but I lean towards the Turkish [point of view?], and they sing this.

. . .

N: But do you know some other Serbian song?

S: Ah, well there are some.

N: But where a Serb won against a Turk? Do you know [any]?

S: Well, I know a few.

N: Eh, come on, tell me one! Which? Which one do you want?

S: Well, yes, but the Serb will pay in the end again.

S: Kako ime . . . gazdi?

N: Milman.

S: Milman?

N: Jes!

S: Tebe Nikola.

N: Jes.

S [referring to Lord operating the phonograph from another room]: Onoga neka.

N: Što, što si reko.

S: Onog, onoga nećemo dofatit, znaš, no samo vas dvojicu.

MP: Dobro! Kako hoćeš. [Laughter, mostly Nikola’s.]

N: Ajde Salja da čujemo!

S [quietly, to himself]: E da vidim u koji dan smo poćelji . . . u ponedeljak. . . .

N: Ma lijepo ko za gusle znaš.

S [quietly]: A da vala. . . .

N: Počeli smo radit ovđe u poneđeljak, a danas je subota.

S [pensively]: Jes . . . demek radilji smo cijo dan do, do noći.

N: Jes.

S [more confidently]: U svaki dan cijo dan do noći, radilji smo . . .

N: Jes.

S: I tako, [Parry interrupts] . . . i tako smo pjesmu. . . .

MP: Glasnije!

S: A?

N: Glasnije pričaj!

S: Glasnije ću pričat, teke sad dok . . . [Recitation follows after a pause of seven seconds].

S: What is the name . . . of the boss?

N: Milman.

S: Milman?

N: Yes.

S: Yours is Nikola.

N: Yes.

S: [referring to Lord operating the phonograph from the next room]: That one, let him be.

N: What, what did you say?

S: The other, the other one, we won’t put him in [the song], you know, but only you two.

MP: All right, as you please. [Laughter, mostly Nikola’s.]

N: C’mon, Salja, let’s hear it!

S: [quietly, to himself]: Well, let me see, what day did we start . . . on Monday. . . .

N: But nicely, as though for the gusle, you know.

S [quietly]: Ah, yes, of course. . . .

N: We started working here on Monday, and today is Saturday.

S [pensively]: Yes . . . indeed, we worked the whole day till night.

N. Yes.

S [more confidently]: Every day, the whole day until the night we worked. . . .

N: Yes.

S: And so, [Parry interrupts] . . . and so we did the song. . . .

MP: Louder!

S: Huh?

N: Speak louder!

S: I will speak louder, but now while . . . [Recitation follows after a pause of seven seconds]

N [fighting his own and general laughter]: Pričaj još Bogati jebem!

S [himself laughing]: Ma neda mi smijeh.

[Salih continues, and at times also enacts his story, interrupted only by common laughter. . . .]

N [coughing and laughing along with the others]: Jeli to istina bila čiča?

S: Istina istinska, ovo ti pričam.

N [laughing and swearing approvingly]: I nije išo po drugu jeli?

S [fighting his own laughter]: Bože saćuvaj! [Parry here contributes an inaudible but obviously jolly remark] . . . Tako mi Boga . . . ne znam. . . .

N [interjecting, through laughter]: Ajde Bogavam da čujemo ovu ploču šta je bilo? [All burst out laughing.]

S: Haj Bogami . . . Ovo nema niđe ni u Auropu.

N [fighting his own and general laughter]: Tell more, for fuck’s sake!

S [himself laughing]: The laughter is not letting me.

[Salih continues, and at times also enacts his story, interrupted only by common laughter. . . .]

N [coughing and laughing along with the others]: Was that a true story, old man?

S: The truest truth, this, I tell you.

N [laughing and swearing approvingly]: And he didn’t go for a second one [wife], ha?

S [fighting his own laughter]: God forbid! [Parry here contributes an inaudible but obviously jolly remark] . . . I swear to God . . . I don’t know. . . .

N [interjecting, through laughter]: C’mon, by God, let’s hear this record [again], what happened. [All burst out laughing.]

S: Let’s, by God . . . There’s nothing like this anywhere, not even in Europe!