ΟΙ ΜΑΓΚΕΣ ΔΕΝ ΥΠΑΡΧΟΥΝ ΠΙΑ

Hello my dear Greek friends! I wonder if one could help me with the translation and understanding of the meaning of this song written by great artist Rasoulis! I do found the translation attempt on this forum (http://www.allthelyrics.com/forum/gr...-rasoulis.html), but to be honest it is really difficult to get the meaning of this great song! I just love it - can't explain it :-) Many thanks in advance!

Greetings
Sergios

Οι μάγκες δεν υπάρχουν πια
τους πάτησε το τρένο,
με μάγκικο σαλπάρανε
με ναργιλέ σβησμένο.

Μεγάλωσε ο μπαγλαμάς
κι έγινε σαν βαπόρι,
παλιοί καημοί στ αμπάρι του
στο πουθενά η πλώρη.

Σε λαϊκή στεκότανε
ο Χάρος και πουλιότανε,
και μια γριά, καλή γριά
του αγοράζει δυο κιλά.

Οι μάγκες δεν υπάρχουν πια...

Οι μάγκες δεν υπάρχουν πια/ Brash men don't exist anymore
τους πάτησε το τρένο,/ they were run over by the train
με μάγκικο σαλπάρανε/ they've sailed away
με ναργιλέ σβησμένο./ with the nargile (it's like a bottle with tubes attached to it which you use to smoke) turned off

Μεγάλωσε ο μπαγλαμάς/ The baglama (turkish musical instrument) grew
κι έγινε σαν βαπόρι,/ and is now like a boat
παλιοί καημοί στ αμπάρι του/ there are old pains in its store room
στο πουθενά η πλώρη./ and it sails to nowhere

Σε λαϊκή στεκότανε/ In a street market Death was standing
ο Χάρος και πουλιότανε,/ and selling himself
και μια γριά, καλή γριά/ and an old woman, good old woman
του αγοράζει δυο κιλά./ bought two kilos

Οι μάγκες δεν υπάρχουν πια... / There are no brash men anymore


A "magkas" is what you call a person that doesn't hesitate to do things other people would and has a rather brave attitude. It can be used ironicaly (in that case it means something like "smart-***") but litteraly it means the above mentioned and that is the context in which it is used in the song. What it's saying is there are no more brash people.

The second part must mean that the baglama is used to express all the troubles of life, for example, accompanying songs that talk about them, and that is why it says here that it's like a boat that carries pain but has nowhere to go.

The third part, the most confusing one, must mean that old people, instead of fighting death, submit to it easily. That most likely expresses that people are now weak (no more brash people as we said) and life is difficult.


I don't know if my analysis is correct. I'm not a philologist to be able to look into poems and lyrics and get the idea right away, but I hope an average high school graduate's interpretation is satisfactory enough!

The third verse is about hashish. Two kilos of hashish. Magkes were associated with smoking hashish with the nargile or Turkish hookah.

Example:

Dear Seireina,

many, many thanks for the quick response, translation and comments. Well, being Serb (with strong attraction to Greece culture, and basically everything which is Greece ;-) ) I realsied that in Serbian a colloquilal expression for such "tought, smart, guy" exists - MANGUP! ;-) And -, as Guss (a dad from the My Big Fat Greek Wedding) would say "There you go" ;-) I do get the essential meaning of the word!
The second part I find really great with the allegory and meaning of Mpaglama...and the thir part - my gosh! :-) Really great!
I think the beauty of this song, and the beauty of the Art of Rasoulis, is the mystery. One is able to interpret (and reflect) the song according to one's life experience, sense of life and essence thereof...

Once again - many thanks!

Greeetings
Sergios

Hello Mixalopulos,

wow great! Thank you for the suggestion! Well I see the explanation is getting more complex and - multidimensional! ;-)

Greetings
Sergios

Even if their roots can be found in the late 19th century, in Contantinople and Minor Asia, "Rebetika" songs were widely spreaded
after the 1923 population exchange treaty when 1,3 million of Greek refuges came to Greece.

The first years prooved too difficult for them to settle as there weren't enough jobs in Greece's mainland.

That's when under life's difficulties, Minor Asia's immigrants started to create songs using rythms (called "δρόμοι" "roads" or "μονοπάτια" "paths") based on their legacy.

Those songs were under the influence of byzantine "Monophony", and people of lower social classes used to sing and dance with them in out of law places called τεκέδες (tekedes).

So those people were called Magkes, and even if Seireina is tottaly right about what Magkas means NOWADAYS when she says

Originally Posted by Seireina

A "magkas" is what you call a person that doesn't hesitate to do things other people would and has a rather brave attitude. It can be used ironicaly (in that case it means something like "smart-***") but litteraly it means the above mentioned and that is the context in which it is used in the song.

song is talking about the actual magkes existed back in 1923 till 1940.

That's why Mixa's post is TOTTALY relevant to the song.
The vid tries to show how a "tekes" was like. How magkes appeared and their habbits.

Finally the only true problem is what the 3rd stranza is talking about....
But I couldn't find a source to guide me about the meaning of the old lady buying 2 kilos of hashish from the market.