El
 mensaje
 más
 claro:
 
A
 compositional
 journey
 to
 the
 root
 of
 my
 voice
 as
 a
 singer-­‐songwriter
 

 
Jelena
 Ćirić
 
Master
 of
 Music
 Candidate
 in
 Contemporary
 Performance
 (Voice)
 
Berklee
 College
 of
 Music,
 Valencia
 Campus
 
Culminating
 Experience
 Paper
 
Summer
 2014
 

 


 

 

 

 

 

 

 

yo soy de los que van a ninguna parte…
 
(translation by the author)
i am one of those who are going nowhere,
those who, upon feeling love, know they have arrived.
i
 come
 from
 where
 they
 read
 me,
 not
 from
 where
 they
 mention
 me.
 
i
 am
 searching
 for
 the
 same
 as
 you:
 peace,
 love,
 
the
 happiness
 of
 being
 among
 my
 own,
 
to
 watch
 my
 daughter
 grow
 up,
 
to
 fully
 enjoy
 the
 time
 I
 have
 with
 my
 parents.
 

 
i
 renounce,
 by
 writing,
 
climbing
 the
 ladder,
 distance,
 the
 stars.
 
all
 of
 my
 faith
 is
 placed
 on
 laying
 my
 foundations
 
and
 if
 I
 think
 of
 growing,
 it
 will
 always
 be
 downward,
 
to
 find
 the
 taproot,
 
the
 clearest
 message.
 

 
if
 you
 ever
 feel
 that
 I
 am
 addressing
 you
 directly,
 
be
 certain
 that
 it
 is
 so
 and
 don’t
 hesitate
 to
 contradict
 me.
 
i
 am
 recounting
 that
 which
 I
 have
 just
 seen
 –
 felt
 –
 
of
 the
 universe
 that
 lives
 within
 us:
 
we
 are
 not
 so
 different,
 only
 sometimes
 distant.
 

 
you
 passing
 by
 here
 is
 not
 chance,
 
i
 am
 learning
 a
 lesson
 with
 this
 meeting;
 
don’t
 leave
 me
 with
 a
 white
 notebook
 
God
 doesn’t
 let
 us
 stay
 silent.
 

 

 


 


 


 

 

 

 

 


 
Figure
 1:
 Bridge
 of
 "Carried".
 Flute
 melody
 and
 chord
 progression
 from
 "Žubor
 voda
 žuborila".
 


 


 


 
Figure
 2:
 Excerpt
 of
 "Mile
 moje".
 Transcription
 of
 original
 melody,
 with
 bass
 playing
 second
 voice.
 


 
Figure
 3:
 Excerpt
 of
 "Mile
 moje".
 Traditional
 melody
 with
 newly
 composed
 bass
 line
 and
 harmony.
 


 


 


 
Figure
 4:
 "Davisville"
 cello
 part
 excerpt.
 


 


 


 
Figure
 5:
 "Selo,
 selo
 moje"
 transcription.
 


 

 

 

Traditional
 Serbian
 lyrics:
 
Selo,
 selo
 moje
 okićeno
 gorom,
 okićeno
 groom.
 
Vitom,
 vitom
 jelom
 i
 zelenim
 borom,
 i
 zelenim
 borom.
 
Sadi,
 sadi
 mala
 borove
 i
 jele,
 borove
 i
 jele.
 
Ja
 ću,
 ja
 ću
 ruže,
 rumene
 i
 bjele,
 rumene
 i
 bjele.
 

 
Translation:
 
My
 village,
 decorated
 by
 the
 mountain,
 
by
 the
 tall
 fir
 and
 green
 pine.
 
Plant,
 little
 girl,
 pines
 and
 firs,
 
I
 will
 (plant)
 roses,
 red
 and
 white.
 
Original
 lyrics:
 
Cradled
 by
 the
 mountains
 of
 blood
 red
 stone,
 
Pines
 stretch
 their
 branches
 over
 buried
 bone.
 
You’re
 only
 there
 to
 visit,
 but
 the
 welcome
 is
 warm,
 
And
 a
 party
 breaks
 out
 like
 the
 day
 you
 were
 born.
 

 
Faces
 shine
 brightly
 lit
 by
 burning
 oak.
 
This
 is
 the
 promised
 land,
 can
 you
 see
 it
 through
 the
 smoke?
 
Give
 away
 the
 songs
 you’ve
 been
 clutching
 in
 your
 hands,
 
They’re
 the
 waning
 roses
 of
 the
 promised
 land.
 

 

 

 

 

 


 


 
Original
 first
 verse:
 

 
Black
 thumbs,
 blue
 hands.
 
Stuck
 in
 a
 city
 you
 can’t
 stand.
 
Strangers
 staring
 in
 the
 streets,
 
Secrets
 hiding
 in
 the
 sheets.
 

 
You
 rent
 a
 room,
 it’s
 pretty
 bare,
 
You’re
 barely
 ever
 there.
 
You
 go
 where
 you
 are
 led,
 
Empty
 heart
 or
 empty
 bed.
 

 
Revised:
 

 
Black
 thumbs,
 blue
 hands,
 
Stuck
 in
 a
 city
 you
 can’t
 stand.
 
Strangers
 staring
 in
 the
 streets.
 

 
You
 rent
 a
 room,
 the
 drawers
 are
 bare,
 
You’re
 only
 ever
 there
 
To
 hide
 your
 secrets
 in
 the
 sheets.