Onamo 'namo! () is a patriotic song written by Prince Nicholas of Montenegro and first published in the Novi Sad-based Serbian-language literary journal Danica ("Morning Star") in 1867. Its melody can be attributed either to the Slovene composer Davorin Jenko or the Czech chaplain František Wimmer, the conductor of the Royal Montenegrin Army's military band.
The song's lyrics call for the liberation of Serb-inhabited lands from the Ottoman Empire, making reference to the medieval Serbian capital of Prizren, the Visoki Dečani monastery and the 14th-century Battle of Kosovo. Following its publication, it became popular among the Serb population of the Balkans, and came to be popularly referred to as the "Serbian Marseillaise". It was for a time considered a candidate to become the national anthem of both Serbia and Montenegro, but was rejected out of fear that its lyrics might provoke the Ottomans, and was later banned in both the Ottoman Empire and Austria-Hungary for promoting pan-Serb sentiment. In 1870, the Montenegrin government opted for Ubavoj nam Crnoj Gori ("To Our Beautiful Montenegro") as the country's national anthem, and in 1882, Serbia settled on Bože pravde ("God of Justice").
In 1918, Montenegro became part of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes (later renamed Yugoslavia) and Nicholas was forced into exile. Onamo, 'namo! was proposed as the anthem of the nascent Republic of Montenegro in 1992, and after the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia was renamed Serbia and Montenegro in 2003, as the national anthem of the newly formed state union. Following Montenegro's decision to leave the state union in 2006, Onamo, 'namo! was proposed as the newly independent country's national anthem. Due to its pan-Serb themes and the fact that Montenegro is not explicitly mentioned in its lyrics, the Montenegrin government instead decided to adopt Oj, svijetla majska zoro ("Oh, Beautiful Dawn of May").
Composition and themes
thumb|right|175px|Onamo 'namo! was written by Prince [[Nicholas I of Montenegro. In 1910, he was elevated to the status of king.]]
Nicholas I (, ), of the house of Petrović-Njegoš, acceded to the throne of the Principality of Montenegro in 1860, following the assassination of his uncle Prince Danilo, Montenegro's first secular ruler. Over the preceding centuries, Montenegro had been one of the few polities in Southeastern Europe that managed to remain essentially independent of the Ottoman Empire. A theocracy for much of its existence, it was ruled by a series of prince-bishops until Danilo's ascent in 1851. Upon coming to power, Nicholas waged numerous wars against the Ottomans, greatly expanding his country's territory. Like his predecessors, he considered himself a Serb and was generally supportive of the Serbian national cause. In addition to being a statesman, he was also an accomplished poet, playwright and orator.
The lyrics to Onamo, 'namo! were first published in 1867 in the Serbian-language literary journal Danica ("Morning Star"), based in Novi Sad, which at the time was part of the Austrian Empire. By some accounts, the song's melody can be attributed to the Slovene composer Davorin Jenko. According to other sources, the melody was composed by a Montenegrin chaplain of Czech descent named František Wimmer, and is said to have been based on that of a contemporary song extolling the Italian revolutionary Giuseppe Garibaldi.
Onamo, 'namo! is a pan-Serb anthem whose lyrics call for the re-establishment of the medieval Serbian state, which had been consumed by the Ottoman Empire over the course of the 14th and 15th centuries. and describe Nicholas' desire to set foot in Serbia's medieval capital, Prizren, then the seat of the eponymous Ottoman administrative unit known as the Sanjak of Prizren. The lyrics also reference Miloš Obilić, the Serbian knight who was reputed to have slain Sultan Murad at the Battle of Kosovo in June 1389, as well as Jug Bogdan and the nine Jugović brothers, who were said to have perished in the battle. The Visoki Dečani monastery, in western Kosovo, is also referenced.