Αντιλαλούνε τα βουνά

[Geske 37]

I'll never forget the monologue the actress spoke before this song, in the concerts at Megaro. The central question: "how did Tsitsanis know me so well?" - how could this man, who never even met me, express what I am and feel so much better than I ever could myself?

If you have never felt that way about a song..... but you have. Or you wouldn't be here.

Αντιλαλούνε τα βουνά | | The mountains sing in answer

Μουσική: Βασίλης Τσιτσάνης | | Music: Vasilis Tsitsanis

Στίχοι: Βασίλης Τσιτσάνης | | Lyrics: Vasilis Tsitsanis

Αντιλαλούνε τα βουνά, | | The mountains cry out in answer

σαν κλαίω εγώ τα δειλινά | | as I weep in the twilight of sunset

περνούν οι ώρες θλιβερές | | the hours pass by, full of grief,

σ' ένα παλιό ρολόι | | on a tired old clock

κι εγώ τους αναστεναγμούς | | and as for me, [my] sighs

τους παίζω κομπολόι | | I play them like a komboloi.

Αντιλαλούνε τα βουνά, | | The mountains cry out in answer

σαν κλαίω εγώ τα δειλινά | | as I weep in the twilight of sunset

Εμπάφιασ' απ' τα ντέρτια μου | | I have had enough of my troubles

κι απ' τα πολλά σεκλέτια μου | | and of my many sufferings

κουράγιο είχα στη ζωή, | | I used to have courage, facing life,

μα τώρα που σε χάνω | | but now that I am losing you

θα είναι προτιμότερο | | it would be preferable

για μένα να πεθάνω | | for me to die

Αντιλαλούνε τα βουνά, | | The mountains cry out in answer

σαν κλαίω εγώ τα δειλινά | | as I weep in the twilight of sunset

Στενάζω απ' τις λαβωματιές | | I moan from the deep wounds

κι απ' τις δικές σου μαχαιριές | | and from the knife-cuts you inflicted

λαβωματιές με γέμισες | | You filled me with wounds

και μ' έφαγαν οι πόνοι | | and the pain ate me up

και στη φωτιά που μ' έριξες, | | And in the fire you threw me into

τίποτα δε με σώνει | | nothing [can] save me.

Technical notes

About the komboloi: this curious object is the (moslem and christian) string of prayer beads, recycled by the Greeks as a toy - a meditative, but non-religious one; there is a topic about it somewhere in this forum if you are interested.

I translated "to play a komboloi", not "with", because in Greek the construction of the verb is like that too: like "to play the baglama", not "with".

Rather than posting a corrected version lower down in in the topic, I've edited the comments from Anna and Kate right into this one - not to hide past sins, but to reduce confusion in the topic

[Anna 752]

θα είναι προτιμότερο          |  |         it would be preferable

για μένα να πεθάνω         |  |         to die for you

My knowledge about Greek grammar is nothing, so just a question:

is this right?

Doesn't it mean: it would be preferable for me to die?

[Geske 37]

of course it does!

apologies to everyone and thanks to you, Anna!

θα είναι προτιμότερο | | it would be preferable

για μένα να πεθάνω | | for me to die

[Antometrios 0]

It seems that Dalaras does not sing the entire song. I thought it seemed too short Thank you, Geske. This is a beatiful masterpiece, and you have done it justice.

[Geske 37]

Thanks for the compliment, and I honour your intent (as they say on Hain), but believe me, I didn't. The original is a being of a different order. Go learn Greek, go on, you'll see, it's worth it!

[Kate 42]

Thank you Geeske, this is a nice translation of a beautiful song, and a reminder of one of the highspots of the Megaro concerts.

Id make just a couple of points. To sing in English (used in the intransitive) carries a strong sense of happiness, even though of course many songs are sad. As αντιλαλώ means echo, perhaps, to give a better sense of the mountains matching the mood of the singer which I think is what is intended here, the first two lines would be better translated either as The mountains echo/when I weep.. or The mountains weep in answer/when I weep'

Also I think θα είναι προτιμότερο/για μένα να πεθάνω means It would be preferable/for me to die

[Geske 37]

Kate, as usual you went right for the bit that gave me most trouble - so much so that I got hasty and careless further on and mistook "you" for "me" :lol: ...

I didn't like to put "echo" because it's very short, it makes a choppy verse, and also because αντιλαλώ does mean 'to echo', but it also is αντί + λαλώ . And in this case it might be relevant. Or not. Whatever.

Anyway, thanks, I thought about again and changed my mind (not for the last time) and edited the translation.

[Annemarie 19]

For comparison here is the translation given in the CD :

Vasilis Tsitsanis, Sotiria Bellou, Marika Ninou

"Greek music tradition to be discovered" produced by Lyra 1995

THE MOUNTAINS ECHO

The mountains echo

when I cry in the dusk

the hours go by, leaving shabby traces on the surface of a clock

and I just sit alone and sigh for these hours that perish.

The mountains echo

when I cry in the dusk.

I'm just fed up with all this pain

I've really had it with this misery of mine

I was so strong and tolerant but now that I'm loosing you

I might as well die, instead of being without you.

The mountains echo

when I cry in the dusk.

My flesh and soul are open wounds

your knife's stab was sharp and deep

you've made a ruin out of me the pain is sharp, unbearable

you've made my life a living hell, the way back's impassable *.

The mountains echo

when I cry in the dusk.

© English translation for General Publishing Company S.A., Olia Petidou & Evangelos Christopher Tyroglou

* (sic) I suppose "impossible" is meant

[francois 4]

Stratos Pagioumtzis (Tsitsanis said he had a throat made of nightingale nests) has sung the whole song. It was made for him, anyway.... Pagioumtzis, perhaps one of the greatest Greek singers of the 20th century.