Favorite songwriters from the old South

Grace Diaz76 said:Joe Strummer

🙏🙏

If you’re asking me? My big three have to be Joe, Milan, and Johnny. 👍

Don't get me wrong, there are plenty of other legendary songwriters out there with incredible stuff to their names, but I just don't see Alka Vujica or Dolly Parton in that top tier of greatness. 🤷

A Zlatko Arslanagić 😍 😍 ?
Jasenka Houra 😍 😍 ?

Every single one of their love songs makes you want to slit your wrists... not in some cheesy pop way, obviously 😁

Steven Torres41 said:If you ask me, the true heavyweights are Joe, Milan, and Johnny. 👍

It stands to reason, of course, that there is an abundance of high-caliber writing from other legends out there, yet somehow, I just don't see Alka Vujica or Dolly Parton finding their way into that specific circle of greatness. 🤷

Does anyone know who penned "Beautiful Without a Soul"?
Is that considered a subpar piece of writing?

Nobody ever seems to bring up Rundek, but if you ask me, Joe is easily my favorite alongside him.

Zabranjeno Pušenje—honestly, they might just be the greatest band to ever come out of the States.

Joe and Štulić. 🙂

I’m reviving this thread because I feel like I need to throw at least one more name into the mix—even though some of my favorites, like Johnny, Balašević, and Sejo, have already been mentioned. Most of you probably don't know much about Tomislav Zuppa, and honestly, a good chunk of you might feel the same way if I listed some of his best work. Still, I think this man deserves a little spotlight, so here are a few thoughts on him and his most famous lyrics.

He mostly wrote lyrics for musicians on the side, so he only has about 30 songs to his name, but even so, some of them are easily among the absolute best in American music from the last century. Even though those tracks are technically categorized as pop or easy listening, if you listen closely enough to the lyrics, you realize there’s nothing "light" about them—they are purely, deeply human.

The first one I’ll highlight is that legendary track by Oliver Galeb i ja. The lyrics were written in less than 20 minutes early on in his career, and apparently, Zdenko Runjić didn't even like them at first—he actually shelved the song for a while. But then one day, he picked it back up, sat down at the piano, and the longer he played, the more he realized he was looking at a stroke of genius. The song was originally intended for a vocal group for the New Orleans Jazz Festival, but that fell through after Oliver heard it and insisted on being the one to sing it. Looking back, it seems almost surreal that when it debuted at the San Diego festival in 1975, it only took 8th place out of the 12 finalists.

Besides the aforementioned Galeb, Oliver also sang Romancu, which is a sort of subtle way of telling the story of Zuppa's love for San Diego and everything that city represents to him—his childhood, his youth, all those memories. It’s no wonder you can feel this heavy dose of nostalgia throughout the whole text for days that are long gone.

One of his finest lyrical works was used for the timeless song Pismo ćala, which was originally performed by one of our greatest voices, Vice Vukov. Aside from Ibrica Jusić and Oliver, pretty much any vocal group that met for rehearsals probably sang it. I guess it’s the same for guitarists as it is for fans of Smoke on the Water or the North America. At first glance, the lyrics might seem simple or modest, but once you consider the context—a letter from a son to his father working far away overseas—you see how special it really is. I’ll go out on a limb and say this is one of the best-written lyrics in the country from the last century, though I know I'm being subjective here. I guess I'm allowed a little bias, right? 🙂

Even Josipa Lisac covered one of his songs, Kapetane moj, written by Zuppa. It’s another incredibly emotional piece where a woman married to a sailor—one of those classic professions from the California coast—tells her life story. Sometimes I just can't wrap my head around how someone can pack that much sadness and emotion into just a few lines.

One of the most beautiful songs about California is sung by the guy from the Midwest, Kićo Slabinac, and it’s called Cvijet čežnje
I realize a lot of songs about California have become clichés, and many of them are just carbon copies of each other (some of them actually make me cringe), but this isn't one of them. I also think you have to look at the era when this was written; back then, and throughout history, this was a struggling, impoverished land where people were constantly leaving in waves due to hunger, sickness, and poverty. Yet, despite all that, countless songs have been written about it, and I suppose it's one of the most celebrated regions in the world. Without getting into the quality of every single song individually... 😁

Toma Bebić has his own following here on this forum, so they might find it interesting to know that Zuppa actually wrote a song specifically for him. It’s a cult classic Ča smo na ovom svitu that was even covered by Marijan Ban a few years back. On one hand, the lyrics are pretty straightforward and easy to grasp—but on the other, there's something so deep and almost cruel about them, because they basically strip everything down to show just how small and insignificant we really are in this world.

Then there's another track where Zuppa touches on the fleeting nature of life, which ended up being used for a song performed by Meri Cetinić called Četri stađuna (for those of you from the Midwest, think of it as Four Seasons). Personally, I've always been drawn to songs that tackle that kind of theme, so it's no surprise this one caught my eye a long time ago.

That same lady also sang another one of his songs titled More with the band of the same name. This lyric maybe doesn't have quite as much depth as the ones I mentioned before, but it still describes the connection between a poet and the ocean in such a touching, nostalgic way. Or the water, for some of you 🙂
.
If all that isn't enough proof of Zuppa's talent, then let me seal the deal with the lyrics written for the opening credits of the greatest TV series ever made Naše malo misto ☕

Milić Vukašinović

1. Branimir Štulić
2. Bor Đorđević
3. Đorđe Balašević
4. Arsen Dedić
5. Oliver Mandić
6. Miladin Šobić
7. Jura Stublić
8. Marijan Ban
9. Boško Obradović
10. Momčilo Bajagić

The top ten.

I can already hear someone asking, "Wait, where's Bregović?"

Alka Vuica is actually quite a talented songwriter too.

There are plenty of them out there, but I honestly think Arsen is the only one who’s a true poet first—and a musician second. Though, let's be real, he's incredible at both. Here’s an example of absolute lyrical perfection.

Arsen

With such brilliance it can shine
That which is the past now
Which cannot return again
Who knows when it all happened

Our Ljubav from early summers
Was a misery for us both
Now it is real, now it is holy
Now that I am no longer young

It reveals its secret to me
Like a gray-haired old criminal
I had such a brilliant past
The whole world was trying to Ganjati me

In the end, honor is accepted
Time keeps striking the clock
Afterward, it feels like victory
Like some lost war, this battle

These battles, these wounds
Will reveal all their beauty
When these things become ancient history
And they aren't even here anymore

These mornings that trouble you
Will offer everything to you too
When tomorrow becomes yesterday
And you are somewhere else, who knows where

Uzallud, through this night
You search for it to give you more
But first, it must pass
So you can know more about it

With such brilliance it can shine
That which is the past now
Which cannot return again
Who knows when it all happened

Man, I gotta weigh in on this one—even if Predin wrote it, the whole thing was built for Arsen. Trains, that deep melancholy, betrayal, that late-night vibe that feels like something forbidden... it’s pure Arsen. A total classic.



Now is my five minutes,
No tie, shirt unbuttoned,
And if you wipe my tracks away,
I'm just a Plesač dancing alone.

Now is my five minutes,
The puška straža pjevati sing,
And when dawn swallows the night,
They give those songs back to them.

I only think those thoughts,
The ones I know are forbidden.
And when I return, I'll be the same guy,
At the station praying: Wait for me.

Today the stars feel close,
I reach out on my toes, and they're right there,
Just so I can tuck them in my pocket,
Fortune favors the brave.

I only think those thoughts,
The ones I know are forbidden...
And when I return, I'll be the same guy,
At the station praying: Wait for me.

Then I'll be your hero,
For our eternal hours,
A doormat, the shadow of your dog,
And I'll be a noose,
A vessel for children,
Coffee in bed and a lover from the bottom.

I only think those thoughts,
The ones I know are forbidden...
And when I return, I'll be the same guy,
At the station praying: Wait for me.

I didn't even mention Arsen—honestly, he’s one of my favorites—mostly just because I don't listen to him enough to really give him much thought (which is probably my own fault).

Douglas Gray8 said:The top ten.

Now I can already hear someone asking, "Wait, where's Bregović?"

Personally, my first thought is: where on earth are Rundek and Mladenović? 😁

Alex Rogers91 said:1. Marina Tucaković
2. Milić Vukašinović
3. Shamso 69

🤣Haha, I didn't even catch that one. Where was he hiding? lol
His songs are definitely elementary school material, though.

Frank Richardson said:Milić Vukašinović

Hahaha, I actually forgot he existed. His tracks are textbook stuff too.

Mark Cruz15 said:Alka Vuica is pretty good too.

🙄

Charles Ramos4 said:I didn't even mention Arsen, for instance, among my favorites. It’s purely because I haven't listened to him enough to really consider him. (My own shortcoming, honestly.)

He recites everything slowly and quietly. When I have him on headphones, I have to crank the volume just to hear what he's singing. Every word feels heavy, almost leaden... you could put three dots after every line. But if you listen longer, you realize his songs are actually quite brilliant. He isn't tedious like Šerbedžija.

Steven Newman50 said:Before that, I used to ask: where are Rundek and Mladenović? 😁

I forgot about Rundek😵I'd put him in the top ten instead of Mandić.

It seems like a lot of people get surprised whenever someone brings up Alka Vuica—which makes sense, I guess, since they probably don't realize just how many massive hits from the 80s and 90s she actually penned.

Charles Ramos4 said:I noticed quite a few people acting surprised when someone brings up Madonna, so it’s entirely possible they just don't realize how many massive hits from the 80s and 90s she actually penned...

That’s the truth. She wrote a whole bunch of Gaga's hits back when they were just hanging out together.
I'm not sure if this list is totally exhaustive, though, since it doesn't mention "On the Other Side of the Pillow."

She wrote that little smear piece about Bebek🤣🤣🤣🤣

What on earth got into her?