(It's hard to love when you're left alone)
Years before the song was written, Silvana was already a rising star. While performing in Leskovac, she found a young, penniless, and shivering man named Toma Zdravković sleeping on a park bench. Touched by his plight, she convinced a hotel manager to give him a job and a place to stay, effectively launching his career. A Song for a Friend Silvana ArmenuliД‡ - Е ta Д‡e mi Еѕivot (Audio)
In 1969, Toma—now a successful songwriter—wrote "Šta će mi život" during a three-day drinking bout while recovering from a hangover in a hotel lounge. He initially intended to perform it himself at a festival, but when Silvana heard the lyrics, she felt they mirrored her own inner sadness and failing marriage. Toma famously gave her the song, saying it was "inspired by her life and her problems". The Legacy of the "Queen of Sevdalinka" (It's hard to love when you're left alone)
The song became a massive hit, selling over 300,000 copies and cementing Silvana's title as the . Its lyrics speak of profound heartbreak and hopelessness: "Noćas mi srce pati" (Tonight my heart suffers) A Song for a Friend In 1969, Toma—now
The story behind (What Use is Life to Me) is one of the most poignant legends in Yugoslav music, born from a chance encounter between two future icons: Silvana Armenulić and Toma Zdravković . The Park Bench Encounter
Tragically, Silvana died in a car crash in 1976 at the age of 37. Toma later remarked that the song felt like a dark prophecy that had come true, wishing he had never written it because it seemed to forecast her tragic end.
