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vitaly2

Πάμε γι' αλλού

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Ideals of an individual won't fit into a straight party line.

An English translation of this song exists (althouh not published here - I could not find at least)

however, I found several inaccuracies, and since the art of translation by definition invites multiple versions and interpretations, -

so here it is

Πάμε γι' αλλού

Στίχοι: Γιώργος Ζήκας

Μουσική: Γιώργος Ζήκας

CD Καλώς τους - 1994

Με γλώσσα πάντα ξύλινη ακούστε τους μιλάνε --| -- Listen to them always talking their woodenspeak *

και στον τροχό μας δέσανε και μας κατρακυλάνε --| -- When they tie us to a wheel and push it downhill

και όλα όσα ζήσαμε ανάξια πια θα 'ναι --| -- And all that weve lived for is now worthless -

τα ρίξαν στις χωματερές τα πλάκωσαν και πάνε --| -- They throw it into a dump, crash it flat and go their way.

Πάμε γι αλλού πάμε γι αλλού --| -- Lets go other places, lets go other places,

μονάχα η τρέλα του μυαλού μας έμεινε αμανάτι --| -- We have only our minds madness to hold on.

σ' αυτού του κόσμου το τουρλού --| -- In the pot luck of this world

γίναμε εμείς τ' αλάτι --| -- We are the salt.

Ανήκετε στο παρελθόν μας λένε και γελάνε --| -- You belong to the past, they tell us, and laugh

σηκώσαν τις σημαίες τους προσπέρασαν και πάνε --| -- They raise their banners, they march by and go forward

και όσα αγαπήσαμε ούτε τα συζητάνε --| -- And all that we loved they wont even discuss it.

σκυμμένοι στις οθόνες τους το μέλλον τους κοιτάνε --| -- Bent over their screens, they stare at their future.

Πάμε γι αλλού πάμε γι αλλού --| -- Lets go other places, lets go other places,

μονάχα η τρέλα του μυαλού μας έμεινε αμανάτι --| -- We have only our minds madness to hold on.

σ' αυτού του κόσμου το τουρλού --| -- In the pot luck of this world

γίναμε εμείς τ' αλάτι --| -- We are the salt.

· Now the fun part while translating I made a full circle around the Globe and also some travel back into the history.

The expression wooden language or woodenspeak (the latter is not in the dictionary but sounds legitimate when you use -speak as a suffix: e.g. computerspeak) as it turns out is a popular term to describe the language of politicians in particular, and of all those in general whose purpose is not to say something essential, but to beat around the bush or mill the wind. Basically, wooden language is used not for expression of real thoughts, but for camouflaging them.

According to Wikipedia (again!), this expression was loaned from the French langue de bois which in turn (according to a French linguistic site) came from Russia.

Shortly before the October Revolution the Russian expression translated as oak language was popular for referral to the tsarist bureocratic institutions. Later it was transformed into the langue de bois which referred to political discussions under the Russian Communist regime. This expression became popular in France after the Polish Solidarnosch published a corresponding column in 1978.

Sometimes langue du bois in French is called xyloglossie so we are back in Greece!

P.S. It's not that relevant to the translation of this specific song, but (as it happend very often in the life of language) current Russian expression translated as "oak language" means something quite different from the "wooden language" or "langue du bois" of this song. It's several meanings are: "official-speak", not readable, full of "vulgar" mistakes, essentially - not flexible, fluid, pleasant to read or speak, but "wooden" and unnaturally sounding.

In political sense it is a language of the party leaders (starting from Lenin) whose main point was not to get to the essence of things but to hold and defend the party line with all possible languistic intricacies.

Loaned by the French, this expression retained mainly the latter, more narrow political meaning.

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