Στρατιώτης και δεντρί ⬥ A young man, a fine young lad went off in search of a castle, Greek lass of mine. And though he found no castles and no villages to stay in, he found a tree, Greek lass of mine. – Oh, tree of mine, dear cypress so [...]
Αλέξαντρος κι βασιλιάς ⬥ Alexander, bre aman aman, Alexander and the king, Alexander brave and strong and little Constantine. They ate together, bre aman aman, they ate and drank together, Alexander brave and strong, and feasted and revelled together. And as they ate and as they drank and as they revelled they [...]
Πέρασα καλημέρισα ⬥ I passed by and bid four black eyes good day, four lips, dear Daphne, four red lips. Four red lips and two lithe, slender frames, I passed them by, dear Daphne, and asked them the way. They didn’t say a word, and I set off anyways along [...]
Θ’ ανέβω σε ψηλό βουνό ⬥ With golden adz and silver saw I climb a mountain high, up where the best trees grow. To cut boughs of laurel and apple and orange my lyre and silver bow to carve, and to sing as I know how. The girls dance so [...]
Μαρία πάει για πασχαλιές ⬥ Maria’s gone to pick some lilac, a nightingale is singing, she goes to gather lilac blossom in vineyards and in paddocks. And as she gathers lilac blossom, with laughter and a burst of song, she finds the nightingale that carols. She creeps towards it on [...]
Μια Πασχαλιά, μια Κυριακή ⬥ One Easter Day, one Sunday, on a holy day, my little bird, a mother was adorning her son one Saturday from dawn to dusk, readying him for church on Sunday morn. Everybody went, hands reverently crossed, and I went, too, eyes tight shut. The congregation [...]
Το παράπονο της μηλιάς ⬥ In Konstantinos’ gardens a brook welled up, because of which I planted an orchard with apples and quinces, with laurels and cypress and roses, red set amidst white. And one apple tree, ‘twas a golden apple tree, grew scorched and withered, and another spoke to [...]
Του νεκρού αδελφού ⬥ What a mother, vai aman aman, what a fine mother, what a mother, ela giareni mou ela, what a fine mother is she with, vai aman aman, with the nine sons and, ela giareni mou ela, the only daughter. Matchmakers came from Babylon to take Areti far away to foreign [...]
Αμπέλι μ' ποιος σε φύτεψε ⬥ Studio recording, 2006. Domna Samiou taped the song in Athens, sung by Maria Tserkezi and Dimitra Markoudi who originates from Amorio, Evros, in 1980.
Διώχνεις με μάνα, διώχνεις με ⬥ You drive me, mother, out from home, in truth though I’ll be going. I’ll migrate with the little birds and with the long-winged swallows. In time the birds will all return, but I’ll be ever absent. Good mother, you will go to church, to [...]
Ζωναράδικο – Δω στα λιανοχορταρούδια. By Dionysis Savvopoulos ⬥ Young men who’ve let their hair grow long and dress in black all over bring messages for one whom I did once love very dearly, while lying deep within my veins a bloodlike stretch of dark sea speaks words of bitter [...]
