Είμαστε το φτωχολόι

[Geske 37]

It came by on the radio and I thought "I know this song... why don't I know it?" So I went and looked it up and ended up translating it. And here it is. If untranslatability is a criterium for it being poetry, then it definitely is poetry...

ΕΙΜΑΣΤΕ ΤΟ ΦΤΩΧΟΛΟΙ || WE ARE THE POOR

Μουσική: Απόστολος Καλδάρας || Music: Apostolos Kaldaras

Στίχοι: Λευτέρης Παπαδόπουλος || Lyrics: Lefteris Papadopoulos

Είμαστε το φτωχολόι κόσμος * και λαός * || We are the poor people, the poor folk

χάντρες απ' το κομπολόι που 'χασε ο θεός || beads from the komboloi that god let fall.

Κι αν δεν παίξαμε μ' αστέρια || And though we did not play with stars,

τότε που 'μαστε παιδιά || then, when we were children

πήραμε τη γη στα χέρια || we took the earth in our hands,

πέτρα ειν' η καρδιά || the heart is stone.

Είμαστε το φτωχομάνι κόσμος * και ντουνιάς * || We are the poor people, the poor world

της ανάγκης καραβάνι και της ορφανιάς ** || the caravan of needy and the orphaned.

Κι αν μας γκρέμισαν το στέκι || And even if the north wind and the rain

ο βοριάς και η βροχή || destroy our place for us

κρύβουμε ένα αστροπελέκι || we hide a thunderbolt

μέσα στην ψυχή || inside the soul.

Κι αν δεν παίξαμε μ' αστέρια || And though we did not play with stars,

τότε που 'μαστε παιδιά || then, when we were children

πήραμε τη γη στα χέρια || we took the earth in our hands,

πέτρα ειν' η καρδιά || the heart is stone.

* Translating this is asking for trouble:

κόσμος means both 'the world' and 'every person in it', hence 'people' ;

λαός means 'people' too, but in the sense of 'tribe' or 'nation' - either being too specific; hence 'folk', since I'd used up 'people' already;

ντουνιά is 'the world' again, also including everyone who lives in it.

** Literally, this would have to be: "the caravan of needfulness and of orphanhood", but English doesn't like these substantives, so I put the orphaned (people) in place of the condition (of being an orphan).

From: Για τα τραγούδια κι εγώ φταίω

[Olga Fendrych 0]

To **, Geske: perhaps: fate, bad fortune, doom? "Ananke" is even a personification of this "fate" (Fatum) in the Greek mythology.

Personally for me, bound every time with female grave figures with lost heads .

And, you know, "Dounias" can be of Egyptian origin ("Umm el Dounia", "Mother of the World" is Cairo). How would it sound: Universe? In this more specialized meaning?

Thanks, Geske, for the translation!!!! I like the whole album the song comes from, really. Very much indeed.

Olgitsa

[francois 4]

"Dounias" can be of Egyptian origin ("Umm el Dounia", "Mother of the World" is Cairo

"dunya" is of Persian origin. I have investigated about it this summer. I had asked myself the question so often.

[Olga Fendrych 0]

Francois, you dare give me thousands such examples while writing to me, please, I am sooo interested in the origin of words!! Thanks!!!

So, do you think this "Ananke" could remain here?

[francois 4]

Francois, you dare give me thousands such examples while writing to me, please, I am sooo interested in the origin of words!! Thanks!!!

Are you angry, Olga? I don't understand what you mean. Is it forbidden to say where a word comes from ? Or perhaps I misunderstood what you meant...

[Olga Fendrych 0]

Angry?No, definitely not, more the opposite! I will more (examples, this time.....)!!!

[Geske 37]

Olga, you misunderstand.

Ανάγκη here means 'need' in the meaning of the expression 'to be in need' . In Greek and in English, the word 'need' can be a synomym for 'poverty' , not only for 'necessity'.

[Olga Fendrych 0]

A-ha, but I think the meaning of "fatum" is not too bad here, too. Thanks for the other version. How would you say then "to be in need" in Greek using this phrase in a "normal" languaage, not in poetry?

[nikolas 86]

"Dounias" can be of Egyptian origin ("Umm el Dounia", "Mother of the World" is Cairo

"dunya" is of Persian origin. I have investigated about it this summer. I had asked myself the question so often.

Well, in these things of course, it is difficult to go as far as possible backwards. However, what is certain (although nothing is certain), francois, is that the direct ancestor of the word 'ντουνιάς' is turkish and not persian. Sarper may confirm this. The turkish dictionary says 'dunya'.

Geeske, just a minor change to make it perfect. The north wind and rain destroyed it already, it is past and also, it would sound better without 'for us' because this way, it seems that we wanted to do it but they did it for us.

[francois 4]

However, what is certain (although nothing is certain), francois, is that the direct ancestor of the word 'ντουνιάς' is turkish and not persian. Sarper may confirm this. The turkish dictionary says 'dunya'.

Nikolas, when I said I had investigated about it, I mean that I went to the University Library and did all the necessary research about the word, and I confirm that "dunya" is of Persian origin.

[nikolas 86]

francois, I am not in place to deny this. I just spoke about the direct ancestor of the greek word. We, in Greece, use this word because we took it from the turkish dunya. This is certain. Now, if this turkish word comes from a persian one, that is fine, since you have researched it. But the greek word directly comes from the turkish.

[francois 4]

I know that, Nikolas... Kιτάπι is another example of Greek words that came into the Greek language from another language (Arabic here), through Turkish.

[Christo 9]

Hi Peolple

I'm going to ask you all a QUESTION regarding the original topic?

HELP

In the CD of GD:

"Gia Ta Tragoudia Fteo Ego or better known as 45 Strofes",

Είμαστε το φτωχολόι is a song on their from a 45 release

and never recorded on one of Dalaras full personal albums which by the way I don't know why it still remains a mystery.

It was recorded in 1973 if my memory serves correctly by composer

'Apostolis Kaldaras' whom Dalaras and Alexiou recorded together in the album 'Vizantinos Esperinos' from also that same year.

And it should have been recorded on that album but was not.

Nevertheless,

Now the question is this:

as you know a 45 is a single like a cassette tape

meaning it has 2 sides to record on just like a 2 track player.

With that being the case,

what was the other song on that 45????

And why was the other song not recorded in the 45 Strofes Cd?

Missing a single recording back in 1973

Nikolas or Sarantis

anybody know?

I thought it was the Klassiko Rembeitko

also by Kaldaras "Ahh O Baglamas'

but as the Musiko Kouti mentions "it was suppose to go on the 'Mikra Asia' album but was taken off as it did not fit on there as there were already 12 other songs on there and had no more room to record.

Plus 'Ahh O Baglamas' was already recorded and released in 1972 so

it couldn't have been the other song on the 45 record of Είμαστε το φτωχολόι .

But then again here is a new question?

If 'Ahh O Baglamas' was also released as a 45 single from a year before

Είμαστε το φτωχολόι

then what is the name of the other song on side B of this 45 release with "Ahh O Bagalmas"?

Is Dalaras singing on both Side A and Side B?

Are they both all composed by Kaldaras?

totally confused

can some one please help

[nikolas 86]

Christo

I can't be sure of course. I will be based on the message (big one) of Panos Geramanis inside the album Gia ta tragoudia ki egw ftaiw. There he says, that this album contains only 22 out of the 72 songs that Dalaras has recorded on 45". And he adds that the rest have been included in big albums of 33". Now, as you very correctly say, this one was recorded in 1973, where we also had Vizantinos Esperinos, with the same composer and lyricist.

My conclussion is that the other side of this 45" disc was probably one of the songs that were finally included in Vizantinos Esperinos. Have in mind that there are totally 60 such songs (recorded on 45" and transfered to LPs). One of them would be this.

As for Ach o baglamas, some time ago I knew which was the other side, now I don't remember and I also don't remember who told me about this so that I can ask him again. ANyway, maybe someone else knows.

[christos-regnis 57]

Once I have heard about a 45-disc (not of Dalaras) which had the same song in both sides. So, there is also this possibility..(not very likely but there is..)

[Olga Fendrych 0]

75-22= 53..... People, if you have these older songs somewhere, which were not rerecorded to the wellknown later albums, let me know! Rena, you?

Or anybody else?

PLEASE. I love these older songs so.

[nikolas 86]

Olga, the message in the album says that ALL the rest 45" songs were included in big albums. So, it seems that we didn't miss any of his recordings...hopefully...

[Geske 37]

Corrected version of the translation, with thanks to Nikolas.

ΕΙΜΑΣΤΕ ΤΟ ΦΤΩΧΟΛΟΙ || WE ARE THE POOR

Μουσική: Απόστολος Καλδάρας || Music: Apostolos Kaldaras

Στίχοι: Λευτέρης Παπαδόπουλος || Lyrics: Lefteris Papadopoulos

Είμαστε το φτωχολόι κόσμος * και λαός * || We are the poor people, the poor folk

χάντρες απ' το κομπολόι που 'χασε ο θεός || beads from the komboloi that god let fall.

Κι αν δεν παίξαμε μ' αστέρια || And though we did not play with stars,

τότε που 'μαστε παιδιά || then, when we were children

πήραμε τη γη στα χέρια || we took the earth in our hands,

πέτρα ειν' η καρδιά || the heart is stone.

Είμαστε το φτωχομάνι κόσμος * και ντουνιάς * || We are the poor people, the poor world

της ανάγκης καραβάνι και της ορφανιάς ** || the caravan of needy and the orphaned.

Κι αν μας γκρέμισαν το στέκι || And even if the north wind and the rain

ο βοριάς και η βροχή || have destroyed our place

κρύβουμε ένα αστροπελέκι || we hide a thunderbolt

μέσα στην ψυχή || inside the soul.

Κι αν δεν παίξαμε μ' αστέρια || And though we did not play with stars,

τότε που 'μαστε παιδιά || then, when we were children

πήραμε τη γη στα χέρια || we took the earth in our hands,

πέτρα ειν' η καρδιά || the heart is stone.

* Translating this is asking for trouble:

κόσμος means both 'the world' and 'every person in it', hence 'people' ;

λαός means 'people' too, but in the sense of 'tribe' or 'nation' - either being too specific; hence 'folk', since I'd used up 'people' already;

ντουνιά is 'the world' again, also including everyone who lives in it.

** Literally, this would have to be: "the caravan of needfulness and of orphanhood", but English doesn't like these substantives, so I put the orphaned (people) in place of the condition (of being an orphan).

From: Για τα τραγούδια κι εγώ φταίω

[Olga Fendrych 0]

Aaach - thanks, NIkolas. But, should you find ANYTHING, send it to me, please, endaxei?