Evo zore, evo dana

Jure Francetić (center) and Rafael Boban (right) with an officer of the Black Legion on a bridge over the Drina , the then border river to Serbia ( Zvornik , 1942)

The Croatian song Evo zore, evo dana (Here is the dawn, here is the day), alternative title Jure i Boban (Jure and Boban), was the battle song of the Black Legion , an elite military unit of the Ustaše . It is considered to be an expression of a Greater Croatian and nationalist ideology.

The title of the song refers to the battles for Kupres in 1942, during which the Black Legion led by Jure Francetić and Rafael Boban drove the Tito partisans out of Kupres and the surrounding area with a surprising counterattack at dawn . The text of the song has been the traditional folk song melody of Oj, Kupreško ravno polje (O, fallow land sung by Kupres), which also themed these struggles to Kupres.

Members of the Legion sang the song for the first time in April 1942, in the heavy fighting against "the rebels on the eastern border of Croatia " - the then border with Serbia - on the Drina River .

text

The author of the text is the folk poet Josip Križanac . Before the war he worked as a forest worker in Ljubinje , joined the legion as a marksman ( čarkar ) and was promoted to the rank of major ( bojnik ). In the period between the battles he wrote poems that glorified the struggle of the Legion and the loyalty of the Legionnaires and their commanders to the political leadership of Croatia at the time. Križanac was tortured to death by partisans over an open fire and is said to have shouted while he was still dying: “Long live the Independent State of Croatia! Long live the poglavnik ! Long live Jure [Francetić]! "

The lyrics were created by shortening a longer poem by Križanac, in which the legion's struggle against Chetniks and partisans in eastern Bosnia was described. The lyrics of the song were first published in the book Crna legija: odredi nepobjedive mladosti (The Black Legion: Units of Invincible Youth), published in 1942 by Ivo Balentović on the anniversary of the founding of the Black Legion and read:

Original Croatian text	German translation
Evo zore, evo dana, Evo Jure i Bobana. Evo zore, evo tića, Evo Jure Francetića.	Here is the dawn, here is the day Here are Jure [Francetić] and [Rafael] Boban. Here is the dawn, here is the young bird This is Jure Francetić.
Na vrh gore Romanije, Ustaški se barjak vije. Na barjaku sitno piše, Odmetnika nema više.	On the peaks of the Romanija , A Ustasha flag is blowing And it is beautifully written on it There are no more rebels.
Jure gazi Drinu vodu, I bori se za slobodu; On se bori za slobodu, Hrvatskome našem rodu.	Jure [Francetić] steps into the waters of the Drina, And fight for freedom; He fights for freedom Our Croatian gender .
Evo zore, evo dana, Nema više partizana. Evo zore, evo tića, Eto Jure i Vokića.	Here is the dawn, here is the day There are no more partisans. Here is the dawn, here is the young bird See Jure [Francetić] and [Ante] Vokić here .
Evo zore, evo dana, Evo Jure i Bobana. Oni vode svoju bojnu, Njome biju tešku vojnu.	Here is the dawn, here is the day Here are Jure [Francetić] and [Rafael] Boban. They lead their battalions To fight a heavy battle with them.
Tvoja bojna brani Liku, Biser zemlje, našu diku.	Your battalion defends the Lika , The pearl of our country, our pride.

post war period

From 1991, during the break-up of Yugoslavia and the beginning of the Croatian and Bosnian wars , the song was revived with new, mostly more radical text versions. Also by well-known Croatian interpreters, such as B. the band Thompson and the singer Dražen Zečić , the song was sung during this time and for a long time afterwards. These new text versions include B. the lines:

Croatian text	German translation
Drinu ćemo pregaziti, I Srbiju zapaliti!	We will cross the Drina And set Serbia on fire!

Individual evidence

^ ^A ^b ^c Marko Marković: Jure i Boban: Povijest Crne legije (Jure and Boban: The History of the Black Legion). 3. Edition. Self-published, Zagreb 2011, p. 205.
↑ Vilim Peroš: Život i djelo pjesnika Josipa Križanaca (Life and Work of the Poet Josip Križanac). In: Josip Križanac: Junačka djela Jure viteza Francetića u stihovima (The exploits of the Jure Knight Francetić in verse). Brochure. Nova Hrvatska, Zagreb 1943, p. 54 f.
^ Marko Marković: Jure i Boban: Povijest Crne legije (Jure and Boban: The History of the Black Legion). 3. Edition. Self-published, Zagreb 2011, p. 206.

[Marković-1] A ^b ^c Marko Marković: Jure i Boban: Povijest Crne legije (Jure and Boban: The History of the Black Legion). 3. Edition. Self-published, Zagreb 2011, p. 205.

[2] Vilim Peroš: Život i djelo pjesnika Josipa Križanaca (Life and Work of the Poet Josip Križanac). In: Josip Križanac: Junačka djela Jure viteza Francetića u stihovima (The exploits of the Jure Knight Francetić in verse). Brochure. Nova Hrvatska, Zagreb 1943, p. 54 f.

[3] Marko Marković: Jure i Boban: Povijest Crne legije (Jure and Boban: The History of the Black Legion). 3. Edition. Self-published, Zagreb 2011, p. 206.