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Versuri originale
Μαργαρίτα Μαγιοπούλα
Είχα φυτέψει μια πορτοκαλιά
που την εζήλευε όλη η γειτονιά
Που την εζήλευε όλη η γειτονιά
είχα φυτέψει μια πορτοκαλιά
Αχ, Μαργαρίτα Μαγιοπούλα
Αχ, Μαργαρίτα Μαγιοπούλα
Αχ, Μαργαρίτα μάγισσα
Πρωί πρωί την πότιζα φιλιά
το δειλινό την πήραν τα πουλιά
Το δειλινό την πήραν τα πουλιά
πρωί πρωί την πότιζα φιλιά
Postat de 
MichailiaV18 la 2016-10-29
MichailiaV18 la 2016-10-29Traducere
Margarita Magiopoula
I once brought forth an orange tree.
All of my neighbors felt envy,
All of my neighbors felt envy.
I once brought forth an orange tree.
As the sun rose, my kisses watered her.
The birds flocked to5 her as the sun sank westward.
The birds flocked to her as the sun sank westward.
As the sun rose, my kisses watered her.
- 1. This given name is derived from the ancient Greek word for "pearl."
- 2. This surname has two distinct elements: Μαγιο = May & πούλα = female child/offspring. Apple Music, thus, translates the title of this song as "Margarita Child of May." In modern times in European countries, Greece included, May 1st is Labor Day, a time for workers to rest and receive acknowledgement. But according to the Greekpod website, there are much older traditions associated with May 1st. Since there are several that seem relevant to this song, I will quote the website at length: "In many regions, May is personified with the May Child. In this tradition, a child decorated with flowers wanders around the streets of the village with some escorts, and everyone dances and sings songs about May. In Nafpaktos, the May child is accompanied by elderly men who wear fustanela skirts and hold bells decorated with willow tree blossoms. This tradition, with a few variations, is called piperiá (“pepper tree”) in north Euboea. From the crack of dawn, the young girls of the village cover the body of a tall and beautiful young girl with flowers and ferns. They also hang a bell on her, making her piperiá. In some places, everyone waters piperiá and sings pleas for rain. She bows to those who sprinkle her. It’s said that very often after the stroll of piperiá on the streets of the village, it rains!" Persuing this a little further, the month we call May derives its name (according to Wiktionary) from the Greek earth goddess, Μαῖα, whose name and function was later assigned to a Roman goddess. The proper name Μαῖα seems to derive from from the Ancient Greek noun μαῖα, meaning “lady," a word possibly rooted in the Proto-Indo-European word *mag-ya, "she who is great."
- 3. I found a blog post by Avi Nishri that adds the following background info about this song: "[A version of] The song was first heard in a 1950s radio-play adaptation of [Bizet's opera] "Carmen," titled “Stella with the red gloves”. The adaptation had been made by Yakovos Kampanellis (Ιάκωβος Καμπανέλλης) who wrote also the lyrics of the song. The first lyrics were slightly different, [the girl was] a “gypsy”- “Estrellita, the daughter of May” who later became “Margarita”." In short, the Estrellita of the original version was an avatar of Carmen, the fiery title character of the opera who seduces a naive soldier to his ruin. Theodorakis's changes to the song's lyrics have given us a central female figure divorced from the influence of the opera's Carmen and Kampanellis's Estrellita, whose name means "star," suggesting distance and coldness. Margarita is a much warmer figure. She is not associated with any marginalized social group. And Although the speaker characterizes Margarita as "magical/bewitching," this quality is not associated with any scandal, but with the maturing orange tree that grows in his courtyard, a tree that neighbors envy, that birds flock to at dusk, and that the speaker assiduously/passionately cares for.
- 4. "Magical" here translates Greek μάγισσα, which is normally rendered as "witch" or "sorceress." But neither of those words chimes with the girl's last name "Magiopoula." Luckily, there is a common English word that is a perfect fit in terms of meaning and music. The word "magic" is rooted in the ancient Greek word "magos," i.e. "one of the members of the learned and priestly class."
- 5. "πήραν" is a form of παίρνω - "to take, get, move, gain; call." The meaning "take" is listed first, but this verb is used frequently in other senses in Greek. And it features in many Greek idiomatic expressions. So thought needs to be given to the way to best translate it here. The song's imagery is very simple and straightforward. Only in this final stanza is metaphor used. Margarita is likened to the orange tree of the first verse. The speaker says two things. 1) I watered her with kisses. 2) something that puts the birds in relation to the girl/tree. I think that lyricist intended πήραν to contain some "creative ambiguity," i.e. multiple possible interpretations. There might be some sexual innuendo here, which is mostly what comes across if "take" is chosen as the English translation. With "take," the line no longer has any non-surreal sense. Birds lifting the tree out of the ground and flying away with it?! We are told that whatever the birds are doing happens at sunset. What do birds do at sunset? They roost in the branches of trees. The lyricist did not use the word for roost, he used πήραν, which chimes nicely with πουλιά and also creates layers of meaning, which we don't want to lose by putting "roost" in the place of πήραν in the English translation. This got me thinking about the English expression "take to," which can mean "flock to." I think this captures the sense of the Greek verse, in which the feminine pronoun "την" in each line has to work as a reference to both the tree and the girl. So the birds are flocking to the tree at sunset, just as people would be flocking toward the girl, who (as we know from the second verse) is bewitching presumably because of her beauty and vitality.
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Postat de 
jhbuck la 2021-07-27
jhbuck la 2021-07-27Ultima oară editat de jhbuck în data 2024-03-07
jhbuck în data 2024-03-07Te rugăm să ajuți la traducerea cântecului „Μαργαρίτα Μαγιοπούλα”
Mikis Theodorakis: Top 3
| 1. | Στρώσε το στρώμα σου (Strose to stroma sou) |
| 2. | Καημός (Kaimós) |
| 3. | Άρνηση (Το περιγυάλι το κρυφό) (Árnisi (To periyali to krifo)) |
Idioms from "Μαργαρίτα Μαγιοπούλα"
| 1. | Take a Line |
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Russia is waging a disgraceful war on Ukraine. Stai cu Ucraina!
Despre traducător
This is not a word-by-word translation. Instead, it is my attempt to capture not only the imagery and ideas of the original lyrics, but also (as much as possible) the strong musicality of the language (which involves end-rhyme, meter, repetition, and other sound-patterns).