Sto Mi E Milo

COUNTRY: Macedonia
LANGUAGE: Macedonian

“Sto Mi E Milo” is one of the most widely sung Eastern European folk songs, and with good reason. Not only is the song’s melody enchanting, but it’s seven beat, “7/8” meter is an intriguing, yet universally singable, entry into the world of Eastern European “additive” (Bulgarian) rhythms.

“Sto Mi E Milo” tells the story of a young man who yearns to own a shop in the town of Struga. In our music class version we stop there, happy for this young Macedonian entrepreneur. In the original song we learn the real reason our friend wants to open this shop: “How I would like to have a shop, In the town of Struga…to sit by the door, and watch the young girls of Struga go by.”

Lyrics of All Around This World version:

Sto mi e milo, milo i drago
I’d love to have a little shop in the town of Struga