Branko Radicevic - I sing by day, I sing by night

I sing by day, I sing by night

I sing, sele, whatever I want;

And what I want, that I can,

There's only one thing I still can't;

To sing loudly,

Loudly, mightily,

To pick you off the ground,

To put you among stars,

Since you're a star, my sele,

You should be among the stars,

Among your, my sele,

dear sisters.

Behind the poem

Branko Radicevic wrote this song on a whim, for Vilhelmina "Mina" Karadzic - Serbian painter and daughter of his close friend and Serbian language reformer Vuk Karadzic. Branko was in love with Mina but never acted on it, firstly out of respect for Vuk, who wouldn't want his daughter marrying a poor poet with no consistent job, and secondly because he was terminally ill with tuberculosis and knowing he'll die young, didn't want anyone to get too attached to him. Mina was flattered by this song and knew his intentions behind it. Branko died of tuberculosis at the age of twenty-nine.