Song Analysis Albania

Albania is a country in Southern Europe bordered by Greece, Macedonia, Serbia (or Kosovo depending on one’s country), Montenegro, and the Adriatic Sea (Figure 1). Despite having a land area of only 28,748 km2 and a population of just over three million, the music of this region is unusually diverse. This is because of its mostly mountainous terrain and complex history. Due to its strategic location on the border of the Adriatic and Mediterranean Seas, Albania has been controlled by many outsiders, starting from the Ancient Greeks, the Romans, the Greeks again under the Byzantine Empire, the Ottoman Turks, and finally the Soviet Russians. This history of foreign occupation has left its mark on Albania’s music, though not as much as one may

However, the most remarkable aspect of this song does not have to do so much with music itself, but rather the brutal accusations she makes when she chastises her friend for leaving too soon. This shows the practical, cynical thinking of the Albanians, as she views the friend’s death as the loss of a breadwinner (Lloyd 5).
The music of the region is some of the oldest in Albania. It is unknown exactly how old it is, but most say it developed during the Antiquity (Shetuni 25). The texts of the songs in particular reflect the epic literature of the Classical Period. An example of this can be found in the hero ballad “Kenga e Çun Mulës” :
Kah po vjen more Çun Mula? (x2)
Pre Kelmendit sot u ula. (x2)
Më zanë rruga me shumice (x2)
Pre Kastrit deri në Kamice. (x2)
Mali Hotit po gjëmon;
Mali Hotit.
N’Podgorice po gërset topi, (x2)
Gërset topi dhe pushka. (x2)
Po na vijne topat me mushka, (x2)
Nëpër mal e nëpër fusha, (x2)
Nëpër mal e fushavet. (x2) Where do you come from, Çun Mula? (x2)
I came down from Kelmendit today. (x2)
There were many ambushes on the road (x2)
From Kastrit to Kamice. (x2)
Mount Hoti is echoing,
Mount Hoti.
In Podgorice the cannon roars, (x2)
Cannon and rifle are roaring. (x2)
The cannon reach us on mules, (x2)
Through the mountains and through the plains, (x2)
Though the mountains and into the plains.