ΤΟΥΤΟ ΤΟ ΚΑΛΟΚΑΙΡΑΚΙ - ΚΩΣΤΗΣ ΜΠΕΖΟΣ (1931)
Gomesio
what about this haunting tune? It'd be great to know the meaning of the lyrics. Who wants to help me :) ?
Thanks in advance.
Here's the song https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dy5b3S8m3pA and here's the lyrics in greek:
Νίκος Πολίτης
This summer I was chasing a young girl.
Come to me, to have some fun.
In my heart there is sorrow, big as a hazelnut.
I will buy you a couch, so you can smoke narghile.
I walk in the night, covered by the walls, looking for my loved one.
The tune may be haunting, for the lyrics you will probably agree that they probably are n't.
Gomesio
first of all thank you for translating this! In the second place yes, we could say that lyrics are not so haunting but we can make several assertions, for example that similar verses can SURELY being set in a traditional poetic context (except maybe for the ones about the narghile and the scene of the lover covered by city walls, of recent and urban origin). These verses could be imagined as a "cliché" in folk music expressions: in particular, the "picture" of the heart sorrow big as a hazelnut recurs almost identical in many versions of sicilian cart drivers' songs. It's a pity I can't share these songs with you because I have them just in vinyl!
Gomesio
Νίκος Πολίτης
Dear Gomesio, your assertions are almost identical to mine. Especially the “Kostis” (Kostas Bezos) songs though, have the particularity you also have mentioned: They have been “made to order” for Tetos Demetriadis of RCA Victor / Orthophonic Records of USA, for export. Both the music as well as the lyrics follow the familiar patterns of folk / popular songs that Bezos knew very well, even whole verses as you mention. However, it seems that the pressure on him for quick deliveries was sometimes much too much, so we often see repetitions in his lyrics like the ones appearing in this song. Knowingly, any song of that period had to fully cover a time bracket from approx. 03:00 to 03:15 minutes, if it was supposed to sell....