Sure thing, i would love to see the text and the translation of the song. I've seen somewhere on the net a site that is offering either a dvd or videocasette, but i don't remember which site.
It is possible nowadays to see everything again in a theatre live version in Belgrade. Here's the link: www.pozoristeterazije.com/srpsk...i.html
I heard that this musical show is excellent and worth seeing it. Maybe they'll come to Montreal someday too?
And this is the link to our's band site:
www.libraradio.com/langaspeed.html

Okay, it is official, now I am definitely hunting down that movie
till I find it! Good idea Julia, I will try to find russian video clubs and speak to a russian friend of mine about this movie.
As I was trying to find this movie through the internet, I saw as well that the the Belgrade Theater is putting a production of it. I know some people there...I will see if I can get them to come to the next Romani Yag festival ( depending on sponsors and finances next year!!!) or put on a production of it...I am so inspired! Thank-you Marian. The story of you as a little boy is so endearing and one can sense your genuine passion. As for me, I discovered this music as a little girl as well. My father played the clarinet and sang (among many other things). He would mostly sing the Roma and Russian repertoire with his beautiful baritone emotionally laiden voice with his friends at home or in a café, while I danced and ran around, in the late hours, I would fall asleep in a pile of coats( I stiil remember the exotic perfumes emanating fom the women's coats and the tobacco from the men's)...When my father passed away, this music, became even more gripping to me. His roma friends in ex-yugoslavia had named him the noble gypsy. While a five year stay in Belgrade and a period where I no longer wanted to peep a sound, a roma friend of mine taught me a few songs and a few musicians there, awoke the deep desire and need to sing again. Although I know what you mean by not needing to know the words, my interest grew when I found the traslation to gelem, gelem and pilem, pilem(wich shocked me, I would have never thought that these were the words!), they are like miniature stories that are unfolding before me like a giant quilt. Also, I resolved myself to learn the words and translations when I heard a non-roma(gadjo) singing the titiles of several songs as the words to the songs! I want to learn a dialect at least, so when I perform these songs so that, if I change the words, I am telling a story...As you, I want to keep the Roma culture alive....
Warm reagrds,
Mirjana

I wouldn't say that Saban sang this song. Maybe he did it on the stage, but i never found this song or even a smell of it oh his albums. Dema Devla is a modified version of the original song made by Cigani Ivanovici, known also as Les tziganes Ivanowitch in their French period of work.
Original russian title for the film is "Tabor uhodit v nebo", everyone old enough and coming from former Soviet Union or some of the satellites should emmediately know what you want from him.
Your story you shared with as is also very beautiful and self-explaining. I don't know why our site stopped with song delivering, i shall take a closer look at it. I can also send you something, but don't know how.
Take care
marian