Vangelis Germanos

Irons and heavy stones the sky is raining
the side drum thunders like a big bear
I have no success and I am all alone
in this jealous world.

I had a friend, a friend of the heart
staying up late at night, feasting and taking strolls
a huge and insatiable beast
he got sucked in by the river of the city.

Yellow eyes, wide mouths
you didn’t suspect anything
I’m leaving the road, losing myself in the side streets
keeping company with the garbageman.

The wind blew, the rain blew
and I roam about like a jackal
I must have chosen the wrong season
in the void and in the dizziness.

Blasted by tempests, my barren source
invisible black horseman,
the carnival ended and they
are selling masks at the bazaar.

A labyrinth and secret door
I dig in the earth like a scarab
I must have chosen the wrong season
they are selling masks at the bazaar.

I must have chosen the wrong season
they are selling masks at the bazaar.

(translation: Eva Johanos)

Άσχημη μάλλον διάλεξα εποχή
μάσκες πουλάνε στο παζάρι.

I wish I was, I wish I was a gardener
in a coral garden in the deep
an old man, a maker of miracles
getting drunk with the spirits of the night

I wish I was, I wish I was a shoemaker
counting time with my hammer
her glass slipper
I would hide, and no one would find it

chorus:
Take a step, and come into the dance
Laugh- you too- my little love
Take a step, and come into the dance
Your tear is my water of eternal life

I wish I was, I wish I was a hunter
living in a magical forest
like Orpheus, the musician
to be devoured by witches

But since I am not a gardener
I’ll be the guardian of our love
But since I am not a hunter
I’ll be a shipwrecked sailor in your lap

Take a step, and come into the dance
Laugh- you too- my little love
Take a step, and come into the dance
Your tear is my water of eternal life

(translation: Eva Johanos)

Βάλε βήμα κι έμπα στο χορό
γέλα και συ αγαπούλα χρυσή
βάλε βήμα κι έμπα στο χορό
το δάκρυ σου είναι το δικό μου αθάνατο νερό

The ship will take off in late evening
Take the metro to Piraeus
In sweet little summer
to go on cruise to the islands

On the wave will the boat sail
the wind will take our hair away
We’ll become skilled to love
and the thoughts will fly away like birds

O, o, I’ll take you on cruise
O, o, because I care about you and I love you
O, o, Mykonos and Santorini
O, o, like penguins in love

Leave bad people shouting
at beaches, restaurants, pensions
We, with sleeping bags and water-melon,
will go around the islands

Naked will we swim at the beaches
The sun will we face “en face”
I’ll treat you like a chinese fan
and you’ll never go to the office again

Άσε τον παλιόκοσμο να σκούζει
σε πλαζ, εστιατόρια, πανσιόν
Εμείς με σλίπιγκ μπαγκ και με καρπούζι
θα κάνουμε το γύρο τον νησιών

With empty pockets and fear in my heart
from the shouts of the people in the holiday evening
I waited for you again tonight like manna from heaven
but daybreak found me alone with the dawn’s light.

Little spring rain my old love
sends presents and kisses to my new love
with the same song which returns softly
and dances barefoot in the narrow side streets

Little spring rain whispered in my ear
about a world made with wisdom and virtue
the garden of heaven only for us two
waits, kept safe in your deep mind.

But the chitchat of the public, their common hopes
poured poison on me, and dimmed my mind
lost creation of god, i walk by your side
I stand in the garden and sweetly greet you

Little spring rain, spring rain
choose with me if you will come, or if you will stay alone
food, wine, bed and our clothes in common
but for those who live alone, there is no cure.

(translation: Eva Johanos)

Ανοιξιάτικη βροχούλα, ανοιξιάτικη βροχή
διάλεξε μαζί μου αν θα ‘ρθεις, ή αν θα μείνεις μοναχή
φαγητό, κρασί, κρεβάτι και τα ρούχα μας κοινά
μα γι’ αυτούς που μένουν μόνοι, δεν υπάρχει γιατρειά.

In an unending card game, I win you and lose you
And I bet my life on your love
Erotokritos* I will become and I will undo the dragon
Because I want you… yes, I want you…

You don’t hear as I purr like a cat who is in love
Like the chimney of the bible, like the burning bush
With songs I dig a tunnel, 3000 meters deep
Because I want you… yes, I want you…

I loved before, and was sick for a time,
bit this is a frenzy, and a serious passion

With hot needles I want to make a tattoo
A heart with chains and anchors I will decorate
And the arms with a razor, inch by inch I will measure
Because I want you… yes, I want you…

Take a Cretan knife, and come and cut my throat
and my blood in a handkerchief, collect it
And to the world, if they ask you why, tell them you did it
Because I want you… yes, I want you…

Πάρε κρητικό μαχαίρι κι έλα κόψε το λαιμό μου
και το αίμα σε μαντήλι μάζεψέ το το δικό μου
και στον κόσμο, αν σε ρωτήσει, πες πως το ‘κανες μωρό μου
γιατί σε θέλω, ναι σε θέλω