These days, Dušan Velkaverh is recognized as one of Slovenia’s most successful lyricists of all time. His classic hits are still popular among several generations of Slovenian music lovers. Few realize, however, that Velkaverh grew up in an English-speaking household and never even set foot in Slovenia until he was 13.

Velkaverh was born in 1940 in Georgetown, Guyana (then British Guiana), to a Slovenian father – a commercial ship captain – and a British mother. When he was a child, his family frequently moved around the world, and he spent time in cities as diverse as London, New York, Belgrade, and Rijeka. It wasn’t until 1956 that he came to his father’s native Slovenia for the first time.

At first, the young Velkaverh he had some difficulty learning the Slovenian language, as the family had always spoken English at home. He soon mastered the language, however, and began a career as a lyricist. In 1968, he submitted his first song to Slovenia’ largest popular music competition.

Over the coming years, he wrote the lyrics to some of Slovenia’s best-loved songs: Dan ljubezni (Day of Love), Marie, ne piši pesmi vec (Marie, Don’t Write Any More Songs), Silverstrski poljub (New Year Eve’s Kiss), and many others. He wrote lyrics for both solo performances and pop groups like Hazard, and translated several English-language pop songs into Slovenian.

Songs written by Velkaverh, with their characteristically personal and intimate lyrics, received widespread acclaim, and some became all-time classics. Dan ljubezni was selected as the best Yugoslav song of the year 1975 and went on to compete at the Eurovision Song contest. It finished 13^th.

In the 1980s, Velkaverh wrote the lyrics to Slovenija, moja dežela (Slovenia, My Land). Originally a part of a tourism campaign, the song became an unofficial anthem of Slovenian national reawakening in the waning days of Yugoslavia.

Velkaverh died in February 2016. He was not a household name, but the lyrics he had written over the years have become classics – and continue to be among the most frequently played songs in Slovenia.