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My love-bird far away from home, my love who's broken-hearted,
                                                                               - o, absent love of mine,
those foreign lands greet you with joy, while I am pining for you.
What should I send you, absent love, to you so far from home now.
I send an apple and it rots, a quince it simply shrivels;
I send you, then, a tear of mine in a fine cotton kerchief;
my tear, alas, is searing hot and sears the cotton karchief. 

Translated by John Leatham

Ξενιτεμένο μου πουλί

Ξενιτεμένο μου πουλί και παραπονεμένο, μωρέ, ξένε μου,
και παραπονεμένο,

η ξενιτιά σε χαίρεται και γω ’χω τον καημό σου, μωρέ, ξένε μου,
και γω ’χω τον καημό σου.

Tι να σου στείλω ξένε μου αυτού στα ξένα πού ’σαι
να στείλω μήλο σέπεται, κυδώνι μαραγκιάζει,
να στείλω και τα δάκρυα μου σ’ ένα χρυσό μαντίλι,
τα δάκρυα μου είναι καυτερά και καίνε το μαντίλι.

Information

Collaborators

  • Singer: Elpida Brachopoulou
  • Clarinet: Yiorgos Brachopoulos

Albums

Notes

Emigration songs are to be found in several parts of Greece, since emigration has a long history. Epirus especially is one of the regions which have been drained the most by emigration, and many of the Greek workers in Sweden and Germany come from these parts.

The text tells of a mother's sorrow over her emigrated son.

The "Pogonisios" dance the Pogoni province of Epirus is danced by both men and women and has six steps.

Recording information

Studio recording, 1960s. Released in extended play 45 rpm disc (Fidelity 8054, 1966) supervised by Domna Samiou (Recordings in 45 RPM). Later, in 2008, Yiorgos Tsambras included the track in the CD collection Mousiko Odiporiko 1959-1969 (Universal Music, 2008).

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