Videos are no longer available. Serbian epic ballads and war songs originated in The Republic of Montenegro where tradition has it, Karadzic's family has lived for over three centuries. Montenegro is in the southern part of the former Yugoslavia; it has kept its independence from foreign conquerors much longer than other Balkan states. Montenegrins were fiercely proud of their independence and bravery and singing about heroic times was one of the ways to convey their stories from generation to generation. These ballads usually tell stories of important political events, battles and wars and are sung and played on the national instrument, the "gusla." The following three-minute excerpt from "Two Kings' Battle" tells the story of the early 20th century Balkan war in which Serbian and Montenegrin kings united to fight Austria-Hungarian forces who wanted to conquer their land. The style of this ballad dates back to medieval times when the region was part of the Ottoman empire.

Grom stravicni sa Lovcena sije
i udara u Kotorske tvrdje
drugi jeci sa Kalemegdana
boze mili stravicnijeh dana.
To ne bjehu munje i gromovi
nego Srpska dva kraljan topovi
udarise na Beckoga cara
jer zeljahu polja i ravnice
od Mojkovca pa do Djakovice
zele Skoplje i Jedrena grada
sto su bili kljuci Carigrada
a Njemackoj u predmetu stoji
da sudbinu Slovenima kroji
a Bugarska kidise na brata
zatvori joj sa istoka vrata.
Braco moja nije bilo sala
da tri carstva velika ustala.
To bi dosta Americi bilo
da je onda na nju zaratilo.
Sastase se svi jednoga dana
da Srbina gone sa Balkana.
Na Balkanu svadise se vojske
krv se stece u otoke morske
navaljuju preko vode Save
a drugi se oko Drine dave.
Pregazise i Drinu i Savu
uljegose u Srpsku drzavu.
Iz oblaka plaha bije krupa
Srpska vojska poce da odstupa
a kralj Petar pjeske na opanke
krece vojsku pro Srbije majke.
Niti gleda krsa nit' planina
smislio je nekud put daljina
da on trazi svoju djedovinu
arbanaske pregazi vrleti
oce grdne rane da izlijeci.
Vojsku hrabre dva kraljeva sina
dva sokola siva iz planina.
Crnogorci na granicu ginu
dok im braca iz Srbije minu.
Tu ne zali svaki da pogine
da mu Svaba puta ne prekine
da odsudnu upotrijebe bitku
da ne padnu u ruke krvniku.
To svjedoce brda i glavice
od Lovcena pa do Bregalnice.

Awesome lightning flashes from the mount Lovcen,
hits the towers of the city of Kotor while the other
echoes from Kalemegdan. Those are not thunder and lightning but the cannons of the Serbian kings.
Two Serbian rulers who attacked the czar of Vienna
because they wanted to conquer fields and plains
from Mojkovac to Djakovica. They wanted to
conquer Skoplje and the eastern city of Jedrene
opening the doors of Istanbul, but Austria-Hungary
has set up a goal to decide the destiny of Slavs and
Bulgaria attacked their brothers closing the doors to the East.
The three powerful empires united the forces
strong enough to oppose even to a power like America.
They have decided to expel Serbs from the Balkans.
The armies that fought in the Balkans caused the rivers of blood to flow to the sea. One army attacked
across the river Sava while the other was drowning in the
river Drina. They crossed both rivers and entered
the state of Serbia. Powerful hail was falling from
the clouds. Serbian army started to withdraw.
King Peter directed his army back toward their home country of Serbia.
He did not notice the hills or mountains around him,
but decided to look for the homeland of his ancestors
far away. He crossed Albanian mountains to heal his wounded pride. Two king's sons encouraged the army. Montenegrins were being killed at the border
while waiting for Serbian army's backup. They did not hesitate to die just to stop Austria-Hungary.
They firmly decided to fight to the last drop of their blood, but not be defeated by the enemy.
All the hills and mountains from the
mount Lovcen to the river Bregalnica bear the testimony of their bravery.