Bećarac
Croatian musical form from Slavonia
Bećarac is a humorous form of folk song, originally from rural Slavonia, Croatia, and eventually spreading to southern Hungary and the Vojvodina region of Serbia. Its name comes from the Serbo-Croatian word bećar (from Turkish: bekâr), meaning "bachelor", "reveler" or "carouser". Bećarci verses are typically teasing, mocking and/or lascivious in nature, and are often sung by male company at village parties ("sijelo" or "kirvaj" (kermesse)) or weddings. However, they are also sung by women in equal footing, especially in kolo dance circles.
Description
Bećarac uses a strict form of couplet in trochaic decasyllable, always sung to the same music, played by a tamburitza orchestra, less common accordion or samica, or just by a choir. The first verse is sung by the choir leader and forms a logical thesis; it is repeated by the choir. The second verse is a humorous antithesis, also repeated by the choir (but often broken by laughter). Bećarci are usually performed at the peak of a party as a drinking song after the crowd is sufficiently warmed up by wine and music. A series of bećarci can last indefinitely. The lyrics are often made up at the spot or improvised, and the best ones are spread and reused for later parties.
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This entry incorporates text from “Bećarac” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.