This Sunday morning, I was driving in a car with a Slovenian who has been vacationing on the Adriatic for years. I didn’t pay attention at the time that Oliver Dragojević was singing from his CD. This is normal in every car in these parts, regardless of the fact that my friend is a great Slovenian patriot, and even in Croatia, he only drinks Slovenian wines.
But Oliver knows no borders. At that time, the sad news had not yet been announced, which we knew was inevitable, but we hoped for another delay ‘from above’.
>>> We lost our beloved velvet of the Croatian stage, Oliver Dragojević
I spent my entire youth with Oliver’s hits – which these days, more than ever, resonate in the Istrian weekend settlements – and indeed, I have aged without even being aware of it.
I remember how, as a high school student, I wandered around the sports hall in Koprivnica while Oliver was preparing for a concert. That was about forty years ago. At one point, he went out on stage by himself, sat at the keyboards, and began to warm up. Soon it became a real experience. Five cleaning ladies and a few of us accidental bystanders witnessed that afternoon one of the best rock concerts of our lives. After half an hour of rock standards in an unforgettable interpretation, he bowed to everyone present, just as if he were singing in front of a full hall.
>>> All of Split grandiosely bid farewell to the ‘soul of Croatia’, Oliver
To such a performer, who became more important than all the great authors who wrote lyrics and composed for him, we can only bow.
