Yammat: Tvoje lice se promijenilo

Yammat was a Croatian pop ‘project’ which later produced the pop band Detour. This is a hit from their 2004 album Plan B. The lyrics were written by Nenad Borgudan and Ivana Babić. It’s quite popular even more than 10 years later, with ambitious lyrics and catchy melody.

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This song contains a number of clauses and constructions with a bit advanced grammar. It opens with a presentative evo, which can be only roughly translated to English: see, here’s, look at etc. For basic uses of evo, check 22 Pronouns.

The clause [što mi je donijelo vrijeme] is a noun clause; for more information, check 59 Knowing and Telling: Content and Noun Clauses.

The phrase još jedan means another, one more (but the word order is different in Croatian).

Iand evohere’s, ‘voici’, look [štowhat mi
me (DL)
je
past tense auxiliary
And here’s [what
donijelobrought vrijemetime] the time has brought me]
jošmore jedan
one (m. inan., A)
tragtrack, mark
another mark
ovdjehere naon, to dlanpalm here onto my palm

The last verse has the noun dlan palm with no possessive before it; with body parts, it’s assumed that they belong to the subject, and actually, there’s no subject, but the DL mi² literally to me establishes the context. The noun is in A (which is equal to N, since it’s masculine inanimate) since it’s literally to (my) palm. The verb donijeti (...) perf. bring uses destinations.

Following verses contain simple grammar:

Otvoren
open (m)
prozorwindow
An open window
tuhere krajbeside mene
me (G, stressed)
here beside me
nosicarries nove
new (m, A-pl)
mirisescents
carries new scents

The following verses start with za¨ + I. This preposition with A means for, but with I means after, mostly in the spatial sense, i.e. behind motion. For more details, see 35 Tools and Means, With and Without.

Then, there’s a negative existential construction. In the present tense, it’s impersonal nema + G. Such constructions are introduced in 22 Pronouns.

The third verse contain an unreal comparison clause, starting with kao da as if. They weren’t above the ground, but there are no tracks, as if they were. For more details, see 77 As If: Advanced Clauses.

Zaafter, behind nama
us (I)
nema
negative existential:
there isn’t/aren’t
After us, there are no
tragovatracks, marks tracks
kaoas [daif as [if
cijelim
whole (m, I)
smo
past tense auxiliary
putemway
the whole way
biliwe were iznadabove zemljeground, earth] we were above the ground]

The last two verses contain cijelim putem, which is whole way, but in the instrumental case. The noun put in I is very often used to refer to the path of motion, literally or metaphorically. This is split by the auxiliary verb for the past tense, for rhythmic reasons (but it’s also possible in formal speech).

The following verses contain a quite rare noun mag, roughly magician, in G-pl: world of magicians (and of devils). The construction još jedan je svijet is ‘existential’, and best translated with there’s.

Uin ovom
this (m, DL)
svijetuworld
In this world
magovamagicians of magicians
vragovadevils of devils
jošmore jedan
one (m)
jeis svijetworld
There’s another world
tuhere zafor tebe
you (A, stressed)
iand mene
me (A, stressed)
here for you and me

The last verse contains stressed pronouns: after prepositions (such as za¨), stressed pronouns must be used. See 34 Stressed Pronouns.

The next verses contain a statement that love has disappeared: the past form is feminine, since the word ljubav f love, the subject, is feminine.

Ljubavlove je nestalashe has disappeared za
temporal meaning: in
danday
Love has disappeared in a day
vidjela samI saw I saw
jaI znamI know I know
tvoje
your (n)
liceface se
mediopassive
particle
your face
promijenilohas changed has changed

The last verses contain reflexive/mediopassive se²: something has changed (on its own, or by an unknown cause). While English doesn’t need an object in such use, Croatian must use a se²; for more details, check 64 The Door Opens: Fun with se².

The next two verses contain a relative clause [za koji znam], literally for which I know. The verb znati can be used with objects expressed by za + A, meaning know of. The preposition must precede the relative pronoun; for more details, check 62 The Friend I Saw: Relative Clauses.

Iand čitav
whole (m)
svijetworld [zafor koji
that/which (m. inan., A)
znamI know]
And the whole world [I know of]
kaoas sandream like a dream
je nestaohe has disappeared has disappeared
tvoje
your (n)
liceface me
me (A)
your face
promijenilohas changed has changed me

The third verse contains je nestao he has disappeared, since the subject is svijet world, a masculine (inanimate) noun.

The last two verses are almost exactly repeating the verses before, but instead of reflexive/mediopassive se², there’s object me², 1st pers. pronoun in A.

5 Easy Croatian: Yammat: Tvoje lice se promijenilo Yammat was a Croatian pop ‘project’ which later produced the pop band Detour . This is a hit from their 2004 album Plan B . The lyrics were...

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