When we begin „Oj Kosovo, Kosovo“, the hall never stays quiet for long. By the first chorus the whole audience is singing with us. For many Serbs it is almost an anthem.
Where the song comes from
Kosovo and Metohija is the historic heart of the Serbian Orthodox world. Its monasteries, among them Gračanica, Visoki Dečani and the Patriarchate of Peć, are part of the UNESCO World Heritage, and the region has given Serbian music some of its oldest and most beautiful songs.
„Oj Kosovo, Kosovo“ belongs to the large family of songs about Kosovo that Serbs have sung for generations: at church gatherings, family celebrations and far from home, in the diaspora.
What it means
The song remembers and honors the Battle of Kosovo of 1389, when Prince Lazar and his army stood against the Ottoman Empire on the Field of Blackbirds. It honors the heroes who fell there and the faith they died for.
It also honors the Serbian people who built Kosovo and made it what it is: the monasteries, churches, villages and the culture that grew there over centuries. The song speaks to Kosovo directly, almost like to a person, with love, pride and the promise never to forget.
Why the whole hall sings
Everyone in the room knows this song, from grandparents to children. When hundreds of voices join ours, it stops being a performance and becomes a moment the whole community shares.
For those of us who grew up far from Serbia, singing it is a way of keeping that promise. Through the song, the Kosovo our grandparents spoke of stays alive for our children here in Chicago.