Listen
Now the birds, now the swallows,
Now the partridges do not cease singing and saying:
– Awake, my lord, awake, my good lord,
Awake, embrace my cypress body,
My white throat and my small breasts which are like lemons,
Which are like cool water at the melting of the snows.
– Let me, my love, rest but a little while,
For on my master's orders, I mounted guard last night
At the risk of being killed or taken prisoner.
But thanks to God and to the Holy Virgin,
I unsheathed my damascened sword,
I slaughtered a thousand men, I took a thousand prisoners.
One only escaped me, and even he was wounded.
Translated by Derek Yeld
Τώρα τα πουλιά
Tώρα τα πουλιά, τώρα τα χελιδόνια
τώρα οι πέρδικες συχνολαλούν και λένε.
– Ξύπνα αφέντη μου, ξύπνα καλέ μ’ αφέντη,
ξύπνα αγκάλιασε κορμί κυπαρισσένιο
κι άσπρονε λαιμό, βυζάκια σαν λεμόνια,
σαν το κρύο νερό πο ’ρχεται από τα χιόνια.
– Ας με λυγερή λίγον ύπνο να πάρω
γιατί αφέντης μου στη βάρδια μ’ έχει απόψε
για να σκοτωθώ ή σκλάβο να με πάρουν.
Mα ’δωσ’ ο Θεός κι η Παναγιά η παρθένα
και ξεσπάθωσα το διμισκί σπαθί μου
χίλιους έκοψα, χίλιους σκλάβους επήρα
κι ένας μου ’φυγε και κείνος λαβωμένος.
Because of its particular subject (the rest of a warrior in the arms of his beloved) and the intense emotion evoked by this very lovely melody, this Acritic song has ended up by becoming an epithalamium (nuptial song) which today is sung on the day after the wedding before the nuptial chamber. Note the extreme austerity of the accompaniment which contents itself with underlining and repeating the melodic ‘formula’ between each verse. Aris Fakinos (1982)
