[Greek]

That Big Fake Talk

 
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This is a song with lyrics written by Nikos Gatsos and music by Stavros Xarhakos, and appearing on the soundtrack of the movie Rembetiko (1982, Costas Ferris). The lyric has great resonance with Greeks, as it challenges the Greek national mythos of a glorious past with a humdrum present. It is also part of a line of songs from the Greek left, depicting Greece as a mother cruel to her politically unruly children. My translation is somewhat free; you can also consult the original (linked above.)

Oh
I have no house to come back home;
no bed to sleep my own.
I have no neighbourhood, no way
to walk the First of May.

You talked that big fake talk
to me with your first milk.
And now the snakes draw close
you wear your antique clothes.
And — Mother Hellas! — you sell those you rear
as slaves, with nary a tear.

You talked that big fake talk
to me with your first milk.
And while I spoke with Fate,
you donned your antique pride,
and dragged me to the fair, a Gypsy's tow —
Greece, Greece, mother of woe.

You talked that big fake talk
to me with your first milk.
And now the flames grow tall,
you smile at antique frills.
And — Mother Hellas! — to the world's soirees
you lug the same old lies.

Oh
I have no saint to hear me pray;
no light for an empty sky.
I have no stars, no sun by day
to sing the First of May.

Nick Nicholas, opoudjis [AT] optusnet . com . au
Created: 2001-3-5; Last revision: 2003-4-29
URL: http://www.opoudjis.net/Play/logia.html