“Naghd tbilisels gaumarjos”. The imagination of Tbilisi in Soviet Pop songs

2025-04-06

When I was supposed to write my PhD about the historic centre of Tbilisi, I was procrastinating, pretending to search material for my work, ending up on YouTubeand listening to Georgian pop music. Among these songs was an endless number of Tbilisi related songs, all with similar names and lyrics. In fact, since the beginning of Soviet rule in Georgia until today, many songs about Tbilisi, which praise the beauty and kindness of the city, were produced. I will present a selection of these popular songs and show which tropes about Tbilisi are deployed and what they tell us about the imagination of this place, starting from the early Soviet period to today.

Tbilisian musical traditions

Many songs about Tbilisi were composed since the end of World War II, especially after the 1500th anniversary of the city in 1958. Musical and poetic accounts until the early Soviet period were most of all linked to bards (ashughi)External link who presented their song-like poems (mukhambazi)External link accompanied by music. The ashughi Ietim Gurji(1875-1940) is presented as “Tbilisi's last ashughi”External link. He wrote the poem, “Be greeted Tbilisi my City (gamarjoba chemo tbilis kalako),” that today is widely known. It tells ofhis return from Polish exile and his love of the city by mentioning iconic sites, like theNariqala fortress, Sioni church and the river Mtkvari. The poem of Ietim Gurji is a blueprint for most Soviet songs about Tbilisi, especially the first line, “'Be greeted Tbilisi my City (gamarjoba chemo tbilis kalako),” which became an iconic catchphrase. Almost all lyrics of songs about Tbilisi composed during Soviet times, by composers like Revaz Laghidze (1921 – 1981)External link, Giorgi Tsabadze (1924-1986)External link, Vazha Azarashvili (1936-2024)External link, or Jemal Sepiashvili (1947)External link (all trained at the State Conservatory of Tbilisi), are a mimicry of Ietim Gurji’s poem and the ashugi tradition.

Soviet Estrada and the VIA

The increasing number of popular songs about Tbilisi since the 1950s were linked with the establishment of the Estrada music, an officially approved Soviet popular music. It spread especially after World War II and was often presented by VIA – vocal-instrumental ensembles (in Russian: vokal’no-instrumentalnyi ansambl’). This music is often seen as the Soviet answer to new Western popular musicExternal link, and incorporated music styles such as Jazz, Rock, and Beat music, as well as folkloristic elements. In Georgia, many composers were dedicated to the production of Estrada music.

The extensive work of Revaz LaghidzeExternal link includes “Song about TbilisiExternal link,” also called“Tbiliso,” with lyrics by Petre Bagration-Gruzinski (1920-1984)External link. The music is a classical aria accompanied by a philharmonic orchestra. The song “Mukhambazitbiliss (Mukhambazi of Tbilisi)External link” with lyrics by Levan Chubabriasi (1916-1985) points to the multi-lingual ashughi tradition, by calling it a mukhambazi, while the music is inspired by Western classical music. The songs’ lyrics deploy the same tropes as Ietim Gurji’s poem (e.g. iconic sites, love).

Giorgi TsabadzeExternal link was the head of the department for Estrada music of the Georgian Philharmonic between 1956-1975. He composed music for the poem of Ietim Gurji, now called “Ietim Gurjis song (ietim gurjis simgheraExternal link).” This version is an art song of western musical tradition. Other Tbilisi songs are “Tbilisian Serenade (tbilisuriserenada)External link” with lyrics by Otar Razmadze and “Tbilisi, my City (chemo tbilis kalako)External link”with lyrics by Moris Potskhishvili (1930-1997)External link. These songs are choral pieces thatdeploy polyphonic vocalists, which represent national cultural traditions. Other songs are “In Tbilisi when the daisies sing (tbilisshi khom gvirilebits mgherian)External link” with lyrics byPetre Bagration-Gruzinski, “My Tbilisi (chemo tbiliso)External link,” “The last capman(uk’anask’neli mepait’one)External link,” “Tbiliso, I am your congratulator (tbiliso, sheni mek’vlevar)External link,” or “Song about Tbilisi’s neighbourhoods (simghera tbilsis ubnebze)External link” with lyrics by Moris Potskhishvili. All lyrics of these songs describe the city as a place of love.

Among the work of Vazha Azarashvili (1936-2024)External link are also songs for and about Tbilisi. He composed the soundtrack for the 1970 movie “Sun of Autumn (mzeshemodgomisa)” where an artist couple rediscovers their love for each other and for the beauty of the historic centre of Tbilisi. One song in the movie is known today as“Be greeted Tbilisi my City (gamarjoba chemo tbilis kalako)External link.” The lyrics were written by Revaz Tabukashvili (1927 – 1990)External link who also wrote the movie script. The song, like the movie itself, shows the devotion of the national elites to the historic centre of Tbilisi. The “Who’s Who” of the cultural elites of Georgia of the time are presented throughout the movie.External link Another song of Azarashvili is “The Wind of Subsarkisi(subsarkisis kari)External link,” with lyrics by Dodo Gvishiani, about a legend linked with the destroyed Subsarkisi (also: Surbsarkisi or Supsarkisi) church in Tbilisi. The song “Tbilisis Goodbye (tbiliss etkhoveba)External link,” with lyrics by Potskhishvili, is a recitation of pleasant memories about the city.

Among the work of Jemal Sepiashvili (1947)External link is the Tbilisi song “Tbilisian Love Song(tbilisuri sat’rpialo)External link.” The music is influenced by folklorist urban dances as well as Rock and Jazz, and the lyrics, which were written by Ietim Gurji, focus on the beauty of the city. The song “I want to wander your streets (shens kuchebshi khet’ialiminda)External link,” also known with the title “Be greeted Tbilisi my City (gamarjoba chemo tbiliskalako)” with lyrics by Zurab Goshadze repeat the tropes of Ietim Gurji’s poem.

In 1979 the VIA OreraExternal link released the album “In Old Tblisi (dzvel tbilisshiExternal link).” Many lyrics of the album were taken from Ietim Gurji’s poems. Some songs appear in movies.External linkOne of its members was the actor and singer Vakhtang (Buba) Kikabidze (1938 – 2023)External link. He gained Soviet-wide popularity not only as musician, but also as an actor. He was also one of the most active vocalists of Tbilisi songs, especially songs composed by Tsabadze. He also composed songs about Tbilisi, for example “My childhood friends (chemi q’rmobis megobrebi)External link,” or “Toast (sadghegrdzelo)External link.” Within the latter he praises all Tbilisians (“cheers to all real Tbilisians (naghd Tbiliselsgaumarjos)”) and links the city with feasting.

Most songs were presented on long play vinyl records (LPs) released for the city festival, Tbilisoba, established in 1979, which celebrates the particularities of Tbilisi,and thereby the Georgian nation. The songs form part of nationalizing discourses established during Soviet times. The Georgian cultural elites appropriated the multilingual urban musical traditions of ashughi like Ietim Gurji within thesediscourses. According to the Soviet perspective of the “Empire of NationsExternal link” where every Soviet nation holds its particularity, the Tbilisi songs represent the Georgian nation by linking the city with typical Georgian tropesExternal link like friendship, love, andfeasting, but also iconic sites like the river Mtkvari, Sioni church or Nariqala fortress. At the same time the songs are influenced by the latest trends of Western and Soviet popular music.

Soviet songs featuring HipHop

Many of the songs mentioned above are also widespread in the public media today, often reinterpreted and adapted to current musical trends. For example, the song “I sing for you, Tbilisi my city (shen gimghera chemo tbilisi kalako)External link” originally known as Mukhambazi on TbilisiExternal link, is reinterpreted by Dzvali and Maia Kachkachishvili. The current version of the song is modernized by combining it with rap.

A remake of “Be Greeted Tbilisi my City”External link by Sepiashvili, is performed by Masteri and Irakli. It is structured very similar to the song of Dzvali and Maia Kachkachishvili. A rap is followed by the chorus, which consists of the original version of the song.

The song “Tbilisi, my City (chemo tbilisi kalako)External link” by Tsabadze was reinterpreted by Sakhe in 2017, and featured by the groups Bithard and Poetry ‘n Motion. For the latter, the rapper Michael Ameer Williams contributed a rap in English. In this remakelyrics are not changed, but a rap is included. All these songs refer to the aforementioned tropes introduced by Ietim Gurji.

The remakes of the Soviet Tbilisi songs show that the canonized, dominant idea of national identity created during socialism is still in action today. Not only do the tropes in the songs remain the same, but also the songs themselves.

The songs about Tbilisi produced in the Soviet Union had their roots in ashughitraditions. At the same time, they adhered to Soviet ideology, which glorified one's place of origin and reinforced nationalism. The lyrics produced and reproduced ideas about what “real Tbilisi” looked like, and in doing so, also shaped the image of what a “real Tbilisian (naghd Tbilisel)” might look like.

Author Bio: Dr. Joseph Sparsbrod is a teacher and independent researcher. He studied History and European Ethnology at Albert-Ludwigs-University Freiburg and Universitat de Valencia and Caucasus Studies at Friedrich-Schiller-University Jena and Ivane-Javakhishvili Tbilisi State University. In his PhD thesis “Everyday Life in Old Tbilisi” he dealt with everyday tactics of residents and the production of space in a tourist neighborhood.

Peer reviewed by: Dr. Tamar Haupt-Khutsishvili, Teaching and Research Fellow, Institute for Caucasus Studies, Friedrich-Schiller-Universität Jena