In these trying times for Greece, for the Greek people and for the world as a whole, I can only remember the song I first heard when I was eight years old. On one of those “adult” evenings in Chicago, which I always found so boring, I escaped to my uncle’s mini studio and discovered an album he had prominently left beside the stereo. I pulled out the LP, carefully wiped it of any dust and then devoutly placed it on the record player (yes, those black, round things that are coming back to fashion).
I was overwhelmed. A thundering piano intro made it clear to me – at eight – that this was something worth listening to. I took the sleeve in my hands and – as I always did – started examining the lyrics.
►Greek Political Song: Get up, Stand up, Sing Out for Your Rights
The song, titled “Lengo” (later added in parenthesis “Ellada” – Greece), was penned – music and lyrics – by Cretan composer Yannis Markopoulos (1939-2023). This song, together with 12 other inspiring musical works, were recorded on his 1975 album “Anexartita” (Independent).
In a live recording, the composer with his faint voice barely sings the lyrics. He begins to tell the tale of a weary mother, who beats her children, who dare not speak their mind. As the piano prepares for verse after verse, Markopoulos goes on to ask an uncle “was mother always like this?”
The stirring music continues to build up as the uncle sighs: “she was a beautiful young girl with flowers in her hair… and then one day raiders used and abused her and forced her into beating her own flesh and blood…”.
Mother Greece
Markopoulos uses a poignant allegory to speak of Mother Greece (Motherland), who is unable to care for her children (the Greeks) because she’s been ransacked and robbed of her dignity, put up to do things by her dominators, who have “special” interests. The children dare not speak up…
Let us not forget that this album was released right after the fall of the dictatorship in Greece, which saw hundreds of people tortured and stripped of their basic human rights. The title “Lengo” was given so as to bypass censorship. The original title is “Ellada”.
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To this day the last verse brings tears to my eyes. Not only because Markopoulos’ interpretation was so true, so real: I could picture the story of the innocent children seeking tenderness and protection unable to explain why their jaded mother mistreats them. And then her tale… But mainly after the climaxing applause when Markopoulos utters the word “eleftheria” (freedom).
And yet, so many years have gone by and Greece, continues to find herself yet again in the very same predicament. Thirty seven years later, in 2012, in a full-blown economic crisis, Greece was still being molested and raped by traitors and “suitors” of all sizes, shapes and colors as her children look on, knowing that their future is bleak… And then came the coronavirus in 2020.
“Ellada” was also sung by Haris Alexiou in 1975 on “12 Laika Tragoudia” (12 Laika Songs) and Vassilis Papakonstantinou in 2000.
Here a live recording from a Markopoulos concert in Thessaloniki in January 1975.
A loose translation by The Greek Vibe follows.
Ellada
“Don’t offer our dearest mother relief
not even a walking stick by her bed rest
because she will beat her children every day
and when I speak up she will call me a punk
and if she beats her children on a whim
they will end up submissive merchants
they waste their youth in the murky side streets
so they can weigh their standing on earth.
Lengo, Lengo, Lengo, Lengo
Stop governing me
Lengo, Lengo, Lengo, Lengo
Stop tormenting me.
And if it is that I want my voice to be heard today
I am still terrified by the looming shadows
Your companionship figures golden in my life
And your beauty heals my sorrows
Dear uncle sit with us and tell us a tale
The tale of mother way back then
Was there punishment when there was trouble
Or did she lull you with caresses and kisses
Lengo, Lengo, Lengo, Lengo
You break my heart
Lengo, Lengo, Lengo, Lengo
You dash my hopes.
And then our uncle turned sombre
He stroked his head and bid for coffee
Ellada was a little girl
An orphan who gathered flowers in a garden
The blossoms adorned her dignified head
But when she’d sleep they would fall to the ground
And of the flowers assigned by death
He desired me to see life
Lengo, Lengo, Lengo, Lengo
You’ve broken my spirit
Lengo, Lengo, Lengo, Lengo
Friends we will find ourselves together again
This, my children, is how your mother was back then
But the garden later filled with thieves
They dressed our little girl in the garb of an old woman
And from her rags you could see her wounds
And if she beats us with anger and she yells
Others make her with a great many vested interests
The fleeting dream terrifies her all the more
As she wishes she could seek her lost freedom
Lengo, Lengo, Lengo Mother
In the furnace and in the fire
Lengo, Lengo, Lengo Mother
Tell us again what it is you desire.
Yannis Markopoulos
►Greek Music 101
♫ “Lengo, Lengo, Lengo” by Yannis Markopoulos performed here by beloved Greek singer Haroula Alexiou in a moving rendering.
Enjoy!
