Zoidakis - Pentozali

Hello everyone, I'm having some big trouble translating a song...

After scouring the internet for a long time, I've finally found the artist and the name:

YouTube -

I know the first words are "οταν εσκεφτικε ο θεος" but I can't even find out what "εσκεφτικε" means

I've checked www.kitharu.vu and can't find it on there.. the name of the song may not even be pentozali. I'm really not sure...

It's asking a lot to have someone just sit there and listen to a song, transcribing it in Greek, but I would very much appreciate it. I've been studying more of the language lately, and I thought it would be a good idea to go back and find out what all those songs we danced to as kids were actually saying. Thanks for any help,

stefanie

For starters, Pentozalis is a tradition Cretan dance. This song is the first part of two, which eventually go into the music for Pentozalis. This music is solely for the slow sections. The lyrics themselves are Mantinades, which are short rhyming couplets.

Όταν εσκέφτηκε ο Θεός
When God thought

να φτιάξει τον πλανήτη
to make/fix the planet

επήρε πέτρες και νερό
he took rocks and water

και χώμα από την Κρήτη
and soil from Crete.

Όταν εσκέφτηκε ο Θεός
When God thought

τη γη να σχηματίσει
the land to form

είπε η Κρήτη θα 'ναι έπα
he said Crete will be here

κι ελεύθερη θα ζήσει
and freedom will live


Τη λευτεριά ρωτήσανε
They asked freedom

ποιάς μάνας είναι γέννα
what mother is birth

και είπε πως τη γέννησε
and said she gave birth

το Κρητικό το αίμα
to Cretan blood

Μες στη ματιά του Κρητικού
in the eyes of the Cretan

βλέπεις τον ψηλορείτη
you see Psiloritis(The name of the tallest mountain in Crete, literally "Tall Mountain")

στο πρόσωπο του φαίνεται
the face appears

ζωγραφισμένη η Κρήτη,
Crete, painted/depicted

η μάνα του η Κρήτη
the mother of Crete

Ήθελα μόνο μια στιγμή
I only wanted for one moment

τση θάλασσας να μοιάσω
to appear as the sea

να μπόρου να ολόκληρη
to be whole(the whole sea)

την Κρήτη ν' αγκαλιάσω
and Crete to hug

Όλου του κόσμου το χρυσό
All the world's gold

να στρώσουν να πατήσω
to pave I step(?)

για να σ' αφήσω Κρήτη μου
to leave you my Crete,

εγώ δε θα σ' αφήσω
I will not leave you

τίποτα δε θα σ΄ αφήσω
nothing, I will not leave you

κι όλου του κόσμου τα νησιά
and all of the world's islands

που 'ναι στον πλανήτη
which are on the planet

να τα ενώσεις δεν μπορούν
to combine them can not

να κάνουνε μια Κρήτη
make one Crete


This is the best I could do. Mantinades are hard sometimes. Because they are meant to rhyme, they aren't phrased intuitively.