Demofest, a rock music festival held every July in Banja Luka, Bosnia and Herzegovina, celebrates its 10th anniversary this year. And to mark the occasion two of the festival’s previous winners — ZAA from Serbia and M.O.R.T. from Croatia — have released a joint effort in the single “Ne odustajem” (I Do Not Give Up).

Demofest aims to promote new bands and help them land their first recording contracts. That’s exactly how ZAA and M.O.R.T. seized the limelight. “Ne odustajem” is the groups’ way of saying thank you and wishing the festival that first brought them to public attention a happy tenth birthday.

ZAA & M.O.R.T. — “Ne odustajem”

“Ne odustajem” is an anthem that builds on the idea of carpe diem, encouraging resilience and survival in these troubled times. As they sing: “You must know that you only have one life to live […] I never give up!”

ZAA’s lead vocalist — and Serbia’s Eurovision 2016 singer — Sanja Vucic wants you to know she is there for you. “Give me your hand and do not be afraid,” she sings.

Those encouraging lyrics are backed by M.O.R.T.’s pulsating punk rock sound flavoured with ZAA’s ska influences. The song itself was written by members of both bands, while the video was filmed in Banja Luka — where it all began for them.

“I think we have done an excellent job when it comes to mixing the sounds of our two bands together, considering that we had only a few days to record the song,” Sanja told Bosonoga.

“The initial idea was for each band to record a cover of one of the other band’s songs, but then, along with the executives of the festival, we decided to start from scratch and write a new song. The rest just came by itself, with the selfless help of Demofest, which connected us.”

“This is one of those moments in your career that you feel the catharsis of twelve people working together, that thing that the Rastafarians call One Love.

Are you feeling the love for “Ne odustajem”? Or have you given up on listening to the track? Let us know in the comments section below!

Sanja Vucic interview (July 2017)

ZAA & M.O.R.T. — “Ne odustajem” lyrics

Original lyrics

A, da se stišam, ta nisam lud
Ja tu sam gdje jesam i nemam kud
Moj dom je tu i ne idem nikud

Ustani, sredi se, zaboravi sve nevolje,
Reši, pronadji se, zaviri dublje, spoznaj se
Otvori oci, lepe stvari dolaze
Pruži mi ruku i ne boj se

Stojim sam, usta puna pijeska
Glava puna buke, neizgovorenih misli
I nisam lud
Ja nisam lud

Nikad ne odustajem
I nikad ne odustajem

Kažu nam da je Balkan bedan
Ti znaj da imaš samo život jedan
Budi vredan, ma budi mu veran
Život je bolji dok sviram i pevam

Stojim sam, usta puna pijeska
Glava puna buke, neizgovorenih misli
I nisam lud
Ja nisam lud

Spremaš se, sanjaš, vežbaš kao lud
Zlobni ljudi oko tebe kažu: „Ma, džaba trud!“
Kradem od snova deo po deo
Korak po korak za život ceo

Kažu je Balkan bijedan
Imaš samo život jedan
Budi vrijedan, budi vrijedan
Ama ljudi, ja jesam vrijedan!

I nikad ne odustajem!

English translation

I am not crazy to keep my voice down
I am where I am and I have nowhere else to go
My home is here and I am not going anywhere

Get up, pull yourself together, forget all the troubles
Solve, find yourself, look down deep inside, get to know yourself
Open your eyes, the good things are coming
Give me your hand and do not be afraid

I stand alone, with my mouth full of sand,
My head full of noise, of unspoken thoughts
And I am not crazy
I am not crazy

I never give up
And I never give up

They tell us that the Balkans are poor
You must know that you only have one life to live
Be worth it, be loyal to it
Life is better while I play and sing

I stand alone, with my mouth full of sand,
My head full of noise, of unspoken thoughts
And I am not crazy
I am not crazy

You get ready, you dream, you practice like crazy
Mean people around you say, “It’s no good!”
I steal from dreams bit by bit
Step by step for the whole life

They tell us that the Balkans are poor
You must know that you only have one life to live
Be worth it, be worth it
Hear, people, I am worth it!

And I never give up!

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2 Comments
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Marco
Marco
6 years ago

I will always say that this woman was really infravalorated…

May 8,10 and 12
May 8,10 and 12
6 years ago

I don’t have enough information, but what about the song Hovi Star said he wrote for them both. Sanja Vucic and Hovi Star were best friends in 2016 and they said that have a project together.