Μια μάνα έχει ένα γιο

Listen

A mother has a son, the apple of her eye,
and the neighbourhood would have him,
’tis a wonder the very mountains do not crumble,
and Roula, a priest’s daughter, desired him, too.
His mother would have him,
the bitch that nursed him would have him as her husband,
vows exchanged in church.
Come one Sunday morning,
she decided to tell him, come one holy day,
she puffed up her feathers and cooed like a dove.
– My child, I am in love with you, but too shy to tell it,
I would have you as my husband, vows exchanged in church.
– May your mouth burn to dust and your body be consumed in flames,
may you be singed from head to toe for desiring your own son.
Mad mother, insane mother, what mother would have
her son for a husband, vows exchanged in church?

Translated by Michael Eleftheriou

Μια μάνα έχει ένα γιο

Η κακιά μάνα

Μια μάνα έχει ένα γιο, ένα κι κανακάρη,
τον ζήλευε η γειτονιά, που δε ραΐζουν τα βουνά,
τον ζήλεψε κι η Ρούλα, μια μικρή παπαδοπούλα,
τον ζήλεψε κι η μάνα του, η σκύλα παραμάνα του,
άντρα για να τον κάνει και στεφάνι να τον βάλει.
Μια Κυριακή, ένα πρωί, απόφασε για να τον πει
και μια επίσημη μέρα άλλαξε σαν περιστέρα.
– Παιδί μου ’γώ σε αγαπώ, μα ντρέπομαι να σε το πω,
άντρα για να σε κάνω και στεφάνι να σε βάλω.
– Φωτιά ν’ ανάψ’ το στόμα σου, να καίγεται το σώμα σου,
φωτιά και στο κορμί σου που θα πάρεις το παιδί σου.
Μάνα τρελή, μάνα ζουρλή, ποια μάνα παίρνει το παιδί
άντρα για να τον κάνει και στεφάνι να τον βάλει.

Information

Collaborators

  • Singer: Vassiliki Dokidou

Albums

Notes

A mother erotically attracted to her son is undoubtedly one of our most ancient themes of familial transgression. hough known from ancient Greek mythology, it is clearly an archetypal motif which draws on fantasies which transcend particular cultures and survive censorship because they represent psychic realities which, though dark, are familiar to every audience.

The verse sung ‘And Roula desired him’ should actually be ‘And the rouga desired him’ (rouga=street), and provides a good example of a singer replacing words or phrases either deliberately or because he/she could not understand their meaning or make the words out clearly. This common phenomenon is thus one way of imbuing a song with a new meaning which corresponds to the needs of the group. Miranda Terzopoulou (2008)

Recording information

This song was recorded as part of the Friends of Music Society's Thracian programme.

Member Comments

0 Comments

Post a comment


up to 2000
Login to post a comment

See also

d27_30_badge
Song
Fair Evgenoula
Charon and the Maid Evgenoula, the fair maid beloved by all, went and boasted she had no fear of death, that she had houses tall and a sweethea...
d27_badge
Song
One Easter Day, One Sunday
The Sinner One Easter Day, one Sunday, on a holy day, my little bird, a mother was adorning her son one Saturday from dawn to dusk, ...
d23_badge
Song
The Son of the Armenian
The son of the Armenian boasted, my beautiful blue eyes, to a pasha, his master, sing my lovely nightingale. – My master, I...
d27_badge
Song
A Little Shorty (Skiathos)
A short little man had a beautiful wife. The whole neighbourhood was jealous, and all the land and a pasha, a pasha envied ...
d32_badge--3
Song
Digenis Is Dying
The Death of Digenis Digenis is dying and the mountains are trembling, and all the lords that heard it set out to visit him, they set out, bring...
d27_badge
Song
I Passed by and Bade Good Day
I passed by and bid four black eyes good day, four lips, dear Daphne, four red lips. Four red lips and two lithe, slender f...
d12_badge
Song
May
May's come, May's come and spring, summer’s come when the perfumed roses bloom. I've a white rose I want to dye and if I...
d20_badge
Song
My Son, Why Dont You Go and Wash?
Necrolatric Dance of Easter – My son, why don’t you go and wash, why don’t you change your clothing? Today, my child, is Easter Day, you’ll go and take ...
d33_cover_badge--2
Song
Old Nun A-Cooking
A nun was frying fish and a voice, A squeaky little voice, kept telling her over and over: - Stop cooking, old maid, And C...
d27_badge
Song
The Dead Brother
What a mother, vai aman aman, what a fine mother, what a mother, ela giareni mou ela, what a fine mother is she with, vai a...
d13_badge
Song
The Four Palikari
Four and four make eight,  Four Palikari go to the wars. On their way they are hungry And they sit down to eat, but they ...