Translation to engl Ξυλούρης songs

Indeed.

A daughter of the shore that's at war
A daughter whose children's blood runs like a river
A girl about whom they say "she's motherless"

A mother is crying, a mother is crying
And her tears, and her tears are running like a river
For the daughter about whom they say "she's motherless"

oh my god! i've recently seen that you've put a translation, dear panselinos. i just cannot tell you how grateful i am for such a favor, lots of thanks, a great deal... that is, efharisto poli ya tin voithia sas

You're most welcome.

By the way, it's Greece the lyrics allude to.

no doubt, you're right! it's obvious from reading between the lines, and I've never seen such a suitable piece of poetry which allows someone to see what's beyond in such a generous way. you must be proud

Hi, everyone.
A few facts about Nikos Ksilouris, for those who don' t know him yet: he was born in Crete, in 1936 and died of cancer in 1980. He and his brother (named Psarantonis) are very famous musicians and singers. Nikos became notorious during the 70's, when he expressed his opinon against the dictatorship by the political hints of his songs. So reading between the lines is the thing, when you listen to his songs.

In many of his songs, Xilouris has a strong sense of his ideal And this is what creates the Cretan soul, the one his ancestors had. Psarantonis has a bright ability with his lyre, and both are two of the best musicians to listen while reading novels about Crete

I totally agree, karderina. What I ment (though I might haven't expresed it as clearly as I wished, not beeing a native english speaker) is that, appart from the ancestral inheritance, Ksilouris sometimes hints his political view and his opposition to the regime through his allegorical songs. The dictators favored whatever was strictly traditional,so he found this way to fight them with their own weapons. The fact that he sings for feedom in such hard times, makes his songs even more beautiful. The first song that pralina mentions is one of them. Here is what it says (more or less):

I was born on the eyelid of thunder,
I am extinguished when I roll about water.
I climbed on the summit of the clouds
jumping with ropes
(made) of incence,
I followed the road of sowing.

I slept on the pillow
of the sword,
I slept like a rabbit.
I was watching the fire
in the stack
speechless during the harvest,
I took the handwoven bag to beg.

I met the Death of the stone wall,
the horse dying on the threshing floor,
I took the handwoven bag to beg.

This is not a very good translation, I did it myself, so please bear with my mistakes. By the way, if you like Ksilouris, you might also like the group Hainides (Χαϊνιδες in greek). They have this kind of cretan music, but they appeared in the '90s.

You're right, Evadni. He really does this in an eligible and natural way. In addition, when we think of the historical background of the time Xilouris' success peaked and stayed till his death, we can understand that his effort was not in vain, in some way. Your translation is also good, don't worry because when any song's translated into English within their basical meanings, they lose their magical poetic sense. So I'm trying to learn Greek, though very slowly for now. By the way, I found that Xilouris's songs go hand in hand in such an harmonious way with Kazancakis's novels. Might be due to Crete? This is wonderful! I listened some of Xainides songs, I'm not quite close for now, but they're also good

It is quite easy for me to understand what Ksilouris means, because I am Greek. Translating songs in English is really difficult, you lose so much in the process. I am glad you enjoyed my text. Here is how goes an other song by Ksilouris:

Αγρίμια κι αγριμάκια μου,
My wild goats old and young,
Λάφια μου μερωμένα,
My tame deer,
Πέστε μου πού 'ναι οι τόποι σας,
Tell me where is your place,
Και πού 'ν' τα χειμαδιά σας;
And where are your winter quarters?

Γκρεμνά ' ναι μας οι τόποι μας,
Crags are our place,
Λέσκες τα χειμαδιά μας,
Ravines (are) our winter quarters,
Τα σπηλιαράκια του βουνού
The little mountain caves
Είναι τα γονικά μας.
Are our parents.

This is a traditional cretan song (ριζίτικο) dating since the turkish occupation of the island. It is allegorical. It speaks of the rebels (Χαϊνηδες) that hid in the mountains. They are refered to as deer or some kind of wild goats that live only in Crete (Capra aegagrus cretica).

Thanks evadni, its really helpful to have the background behind the songs. I love his songs but my Greek is not good enough to understand all the words and certainly not the meaning behind them

I've got a couple of his CD's and thanks to this forum I am able to find out what the songs mean.

I think it is also important to note that these songs were not actually written by Nikos Ksilouris himself, so we must give some credit to the songwriters also.

You're definitely right Evadni, it's the same when you try to translate a written artwork such as poetry or song lyric from a language to another. I knew that some of Ksilouris' songs are actually famous poetry of Greek literature, so it's normal to find so much sensitive and deep meanings inside. And in my opinion, there seems a parallelism between the artworks telling the reader about the events while Crete was trying to get independent from Ottoman Empire and those about the turmoils of the civil war and postwar era of Greece, especially in the subjects of freedom, struggle for peace and so. what do you think about that, can we say this?

Originally Posted by karderina

You're definitely right Evadni, it's the same when you try to translate a written artwork such as poetry or song lyric from a language to another. I knew that some of Ksilouris' songs are actually famous poetry of Greek literature, so it's normal to find so much sensitive and deep meanings inside. And in my opinion, there seems a parallelism between the artworks telling the reader about the events while Crete was trying to get independent from Ottoman Empire and those about the turmoils of the civil war and postwar era of Greece, especially in the subjects of freedom, struggle for peace and so. what do you think about that, can we say this?

You are right, there is a parallelism. When Crete was part of the Ottoman empire, every 25 years (more or less) the cretans took arms against the turks and there was bloodshed. And it happened the whole 400 years of the occupation.
Ksilouris loved freedom, as most cretans do, and was willing to risk singing about this subject during the dictatorship. He risked to be imprisoned, exiled, tortured or even to die, just because he spoke of these things. It was a decade after the civil war, when Greece was still a kingdom, but the rightfull government was overthrown by the army. It was one of the darkest eras you can imagine and ended after the uprising of the students of the university of Athens in 1974. This rebelion caused the siege of the Politechnic school and there were many dead students and civilians (some died by bullets, others when a tank broke down the front gate of the school).
As catherini said, a great proportion of the credit should be attributed to the songwriters, but what Ksilouris has is the merit of speaking out loud in troubled times. I hope this makes clear why he was and is still loved. He was like one of the first swallows in spring. He gave people hope and also awakened them.

All was for the sake of freedom, the 70s were a difficult process throughout the world, but the events taking part in Greece at the time were really bloody than any country imagined. A real progress means great pain, and this is why Ksilouris will always be very precious for Greek culture. He has become one of the symbols for freedom, he deserves this with all the naked truth and sole beauty in his songs.

Here is one of my favorite songs. What I really love about it is its ancienty and of course Ksilouris' voice. Its title is "o Digenis".

Ο Διγενής ψυχομαχεί
Digenis is about to render his soul
κι η γης τόνε τρομάσει
and the earth fears him
κι η πλάκα τον ανατριχιά
and the tombstone shivers
πώς θα τόνε σκεπάσει,
how will it cover him,
γιατί από 'κειά που κοίτεται
because from where he lies
λόγια 'ντρειωμένου λέει:
he speaks as a brave man:

"Να 'χεν η γης πατήματα
"If only the earth had steps
κι ο ουρανός κερκέλια,
and the heaven handles
να πάτουν τα πατήματα,
I would step on the steps,
να 'πιανα τα κερκέλια,
I would grab the handles,
ν' ανέβαινα στον ουρανό,
to climb up to heaven
να διπλωθώ να κάτσω,
and curl up to sit down,
να δώσω σείσμα τ' ουρανού."
to give a shake to the sky."

This is a version of a medieval Greek song. It is about the death of Vasilios Digenis Akritas, the most favourite hero of the late byzantine period. He was the son of a great Byzantine lady and a converted Arab emir (Διγενής in greek means someone who belongs to two nations). He was said to be as handsome as Achilles, as strong as Hercules and as glorious as Alexander the great. He was the mythical leader of the guardians of the byzantine borders and of course he symbolises the undying greek soul.

yesterday, it has been 29 years since he passed away. but the myths are still in minds and his voice still reminds his listeners of the wind from Crete, mystery from ancient times and ballads of freedom. may he rest in peace...