Zjerm: The Albanian Bonfire That Burns Through Eurovision

Some Eurovision entries sparkle. Others shine. And then there’s Albania’s "Zjerm", which burns the whole stage down and asks the ashes for mercy.

Albania’s Eurovision 2025 entry "Zjerm" by Shkodra Elektronike is fire, both literally and spiritually.

Albania Calling for Eurovision 2025: "Zjerm"

Albania's 2025 entry of "Zjerm" by Shkodra Elektronike’s doesn’t tiptoe into Eurovision. It howls, it chants, it stomps barefoot through your living room at midnight and lights a candle on your grandma’s coffee table. Formed by Kolë Laca and Beatriçe Gjergji—two artists who left Shkodër for Italy only to resurrect its ghosts through synths—they're not here to play nice. They’re here to summon something.

Fire as Element, Elegy, and Eurovision Existential Therapy

The title "Zjerm" in Albania, means “Fire” and not the controlled kind. We’re talking “seven-knives-in-your-soul” fire. We’re talking fire that “falls upon our tribal wild dances” and then rolls down mountains like an avalanche that just finished a Balkan rave.

The music video? Oh, just a casual fever dream where flames slowly creep in, first the background, then the earth itself, and yes, even Kolë Laca’s newspaper goes up in smoke. But hey, they didn’t start the fire (cue Billy Joel nod).

As Beatriçe Gjergji vogues through the blaze like a Balkan high priestess at fashion week, Kolë’s gritty baritone and pulsing beats anchor the ritual in something raw and unforgettable. It’s a smoldering masterpiece and one Billy Joel would absolutely stan… if he spoke Albanian.

Lyrics That Linger

The lyrics in "Zjerm" slip in and out of poetry, prophecy, and the beautifully bizarre. Just when you think you've got a handle on this Albanian Eurovision electro-ritual, bam—you’re hit with lines like this:

Diesel smelling like lilac. No more paranoia. Freedom of speech taught in a school class.

Ah yes, the Eurovision trifecta: revolution, hallucination, and national curriculum reform.

It’s giving post-apocalyptic poetry slam. It’s giving, prophetic dream journal scribbled in a bunker. It’s giving... Eurovision, obviously.

Later, the chorus turns into a plea:

Carve in me a clean heart. In the darkness, I’ll send you the light. Aman, miserere! Aman, miserere!

Aman Miserere, a phrase that rings out like a gothic hymn on club night. A blend of Albanian and Latin, it roughly translates to “Have mercy,” or for the spiritually overwhelmed among us: “Please, I cannot even.” It’s not just dramatic. It’s devotional.

This isn’t your average heartbreak lyric. No one here is crying over a missed text or a ghosted situationship. This is spiritual open-heart surgery. It’s the kind of line you would etch onto a candle during a lunar eclipse or whisper into your kombucha during a very intense Mercury retrograde.

But then comes the real emotional curveball:

Imagine a minute… without soldiers, without orphans.

Just sixty seconds. That’s all we’re asking for. Not world peace, not UN resolution, just one metaphysical smoke break from human suffering. (Because apparently, even utopia needs to be bite-sized now.)

Still, even that tiny imagined breath of peace lands like a spark in dry grass. It reminds us that fire doesn’t wait for permission; it ignites. And "Zjerm" is the match.

Old Spirits, New Synths

What makes Albania’s Eurovision entry so mesmerizing is its blend of reverence and rupture. The sound is what might happen if the ancient spirit of your homeland got an Ableton subscription and never looked back. It’s folklore gone feral. The duo doesn’t remix tradition; they resurrect it.

They’ve performed across Europe, enchanted festival crowds, and collaborated with the UNESCO-recognized Albanian Iso-Polyphonic Choir because apparently invoking cultural heritage through harmonized grief wasn't dramatic enough already.

With "Zjerm", Shkodra Elektronike doesn't just represent Albania, they channel it, challenge it, and set it ablaze with glittering rage for Eurovision. It’s fierce. It’s folkloric. It’s one bonfire away from being declared a UNESCO site itself.

Whether "Zjerm" wins or not, it’s already secured Albania’s place in Eurovision 2025 history with flames, folklore, and full dramatic flair. This is not just a song. This is spellwork.

 And Eurovision better be ready.

Zjerm

Albanian Lyrics

Në këtë minutë,

Në këtë çast,

No paranoia.

Pas shiut,

E ylbertë duket bota.

Nëpër rrugë,

Asnjë ambulance.

Kurrkush s’të flet

Me arrogance.

Edhe sot na thane,

Që s’prishet koha.

Përfundova nën ujë

Kurrë s’mu tha goja.

Imagjino një minutë

Pa ushtarë,

Pa jetimë.

Asnjë shishe në oqean.

Naftës i vjen era jargavan.

lirinë e fjalës

T’a mëson shkolla

Krijo në mua një zemër t’pastër.

Në natën time, të dërgoj dritën.

Aman miserere.

Aman miserere.

Në zemrën time.

Në zemrën time.

Ky minutë do të vazhdojë.

Njerëzit e mirë.

Njerëzit e mirë

Kërcejnë valle në shpirt.

Jarna ne ti toka ime,

Ku kam lindë s’do të harroj.

Jarna ne ti bota ime,

Vazhdo më shndrit,

Shndrit,

Shndrit,

Shndrit,

Shndrit.

Zjerm!

Bjer mbi vallet tona tribale,

Që ushtojnë sa orteku kur bjen n’male.

Zjerm!

Njerëzit pa emën e njerëzit e dlirtë,

Njësoj këputen e bijnë.

Si 7 thika që t’ngulen n’shpirt.

Zjerm!

Këtu flen deti, rana e hana.

E yjet s’i shohim se yjet na i shkel Kamba.

Kur ecim n’jerm.

Zjerm!

Jena t’untë për flakë e dritë,

E t’kërkojmë...

N’kyt terr që s’pranë tuej shndritë

Krijo në mua jë zemër t’pastër

Në natën time, të dërgoj dritën

Aman miserere

Aman miserere

Krijo në mua jë zemër t’pastër

Në natën time, të dërgoj dritën

Aman miserere

Aman miserere

Në zemrën time

Në zemrën time

Ky minutë do të vazhdojë.

Njerëzit e mire.

Njerëzit e mire.

Kërcejnë valle në shpirt.

Jarna ne ti toka ime.

Ku kam lindë s’do të harroj.

Jarna ne ti bota ime,

vazhdo më shndrit

Shndrit,

Shndrit.

Fire

English Lyrics

At this minute,

At this moment,

No more paranoia.

After the rain

The world seems like a rainbow.

No ambulances

Roaming the streets,

No one arrogantly speaks.

Forecast for today, true:

The skies still will be blue.

Ending under the water,

My mouth never dried up.

Imagine a minute, try,

Without soldiers,

With no orphans crying.

No bottles in the ocean,

Diesel smelling like lilac.

The freedom of speech

Taught in a school class.

Carve in me a clean heart,

I’ll send the light,

In my darkness, night.

Aman, miserere!

Aman, miserere!

In my heart,

In this heart of mine,

This minute eternally lasts,

Good people blast.

Decent people,

Dance in their soul

Hey, hop my soil!

I’ll never forget the cradle I was born

Oh, hey, my world

Keep shining on me!

Enlighten!

Shine!

Splendidly shine!

Shine on!

Fire!

Fall upon our tribal wild dances,

As avalanche echoes

On mountains, rolls down.

Fire!

The nameless and pure people,

Fall and roll down the same

As seven knives the soul straightly pierce.

Fire!

Here the sea, the sand and the moon sleep,

And the stars we do not see

Trampled under the feet,

Sleepwalking to be free.

Fire!

For flames and light starving,

For you endlessly searching,

In this shining darkness thirsting for brightness.

Carve in me a clean heart

In the darkness, I’ll send you the light

Aman, miserere!

Aman, miserere!

In my pulsating heart,

In my beating heart!

This minute will keep on keeping on,

Decent beings,

Good people,

Dance around in their soul.

Hey, hop my soil!

I’ll never forget the cradle I was born

Oh, hey, my beloved world,

Keep shining on me!

Shine!

Shine on!