Καλλιτεχνικός Σύλλογος Δημοτικής Μουσικής Δόμνα Σαμίου

Young Evyenoula, comely lass, the lass who married early
and boastfully was wont to say that Charon would not get her
because her home stood proud and tall, her husband was so manly,
because of brothers she had twelve and eighteen brothers-in-law.
Now when old Charon heard of this, he took it very badly,
and in the guise of a white bird –for he was a black swallowhe
went and sunk his claws in her and clung to her left bosom.
– O mother, how my head does spin, my heart is painful, mother.
O mother, make my bed for me, I’ll lay me down and die there.
When Konstantis comes back, mother, make sure you don’t upset him
Just set the table for his meal and see he gets his supper,
give him a jug of swheet red wine to put him in good humour.
She’d hardly finished saying this that Konstantis strode homewards.
He saw the black cross on his door and priests about the courtyard,
he saw the sexton with his spade, the grave that he was digging.
– Hello there, sexton! What’s afoot? Whose grave is that you’re digging?
– I cannot find the words to say, nor yet the tongue to speak them,
nor have I got the heart or mind to tell you who it’s dug for.
Young Evyenoula is the one, the lass who married early
and boastfully was wont to say that Charon would not get her
because her home stood proud and tall, her husband was so manly,
because of brothers she had twelve and eighteen brothers-in-law.
– Why, sexton if that’s so, then see you make the grave a twosome,
just dig it deep and dig it wide, and dig it for a couple,
for Evyenoula the young lass, and for her Konstantakis,
                         a mere youth he was who married early.
And by the pillow ’neath our hands leave us a little window
so that the birds may come and go, the stars look in upon us,
then of those corpses folk will say they died for no good reason,
while cruel fate kept them apart, old Charon did unite them.

Translated by John Leatham