# ο ακροβάτης



## Theseus (Aug 10, 2017)

Not a lot to ask on this song, except queries about meaning & a point or two of grammar. First, the text:-








Για ιδέστε όλοι τον ακροβάτη που τραμπαλίζεται
για ιδέστε όλοι τον *ξενομπάτη* πως δε ζαλίζεται [my glossary gives 'stranger' but could it be a form of σχοινοβάτης?]
Για ιδέστε τον ακροβάτη που κι όταν πέφτει γελά
και ποτέ δε κλαίει, ποτέ δεν κλαίει

Για ιδέστε που χει το ερημοπούλι αίμα στο φτερό
πετά κι ας το 'βρε [*=εὗρε]* θανάτου βόλι, *κόντρα στον καιρό
Με τον καιρό να ναι κόντρα,* (*what quite is this meant to mean?*) έχει τιμή σαν πετάς 
να μένεις μόνος, να μένεις μόνος

Για ιδέστε όλοι δέστε και μένα άλλο δε ζητώ
που `χω στους ώμους φτερά σπασμένα και ακροβατώ
*Γύρισε κάτω η μέρα κι ακόμη εσύ να φανείς* ( (*the day has declined & you have yet to appear)*
μην κλαις πουλί μου, μην κλαις πουλί μου

Here is the translation by Eva Johanos :-

Look, everyone at the acrobat
Look, everyone, at the acrobat
 how he bounces
look, everyone at the stranger 
how he is not made dizzy

Look at the acrobat who laughs when he falls
and he never cries, he never cries

Look how the desert bird has
blood on its wing
it flies, even if the shot of death may find it
against the weather

Against the weather it has honour as it flies
stay alone, stay alone

Look everyone, look at me also,
I ask for nothing more
how I have broken wings on my shoulders
and I perform as an acrobat

The day turned over and still you have not appeared
Don’t cry, my bird, don’t cry, my bird

The bits in bold or in blue need comments &, no doubt, corrections!:) I apologise for the layout but my skills are limired!


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## drsiebenmal (Aug 10, 2017)

ξενομπάτης = ξένος, περαστικός, ξενοχωρίτης
κόντρα στον καιρό = κόντρα στον άνεμο, στην κακοκαιρία, στις κακοτοπιές (κατ' επέκταση). *κόντρα* [kóndra] επίρρ. τροπ. : (προφ.) αντίθετα, ανάποδα, ενάντια: Tο καΐκι έπλεε ~ στον άνεμο / στον καιρό. 

Γύρισε κάτω η μέρα κι ακόμη εσύ να φανείς = the day has declined & you have yet to appear, as you have it.


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## Theseus (Aug 10, 2017)

Thanks, good Dr. As I said the glossary said περαστικός but since he was dizzy I thought ξένομπάτης might, as it sounded vaguely similar, be σχοινοβάτης.
Thanks for explaining κόντρα στον καιρό. A German translation said er fliegt...... gegen die Zeit / Mit der Zeit gegen dich, which fooled me & is therefore clearly wrong.
I see that contra is from the Old Italian: the Latin word is clearly the root (contra = 'referring to living beings, opposite, in face of, face to face, facing, in front of, fronting, confronting.' Entry in Lewis & Short's Latin Dictionary. 
The conquest of Crete by the Venetians until the Ottoman conquest over 450 years later must have left its mark on the Greek vocabulary of the island but until I know more that must remain μια "εύλογη υπόθεση "(!).;):)


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## Palavra (Aug 10, 2017)

Since you're on the subject of Crete, as I see:


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## Neikos (Aug 10, 2017)

*πετά κι ας το 'βρε [=εὗρε] θανάτου βόλι*

Είναι εναλλακτικός τύπος του *βρίσκω* στον αόριστο, Θησέα :

βρήκε / ήβρε / 'βρε (με αφαίρεση)	

Η Eva Johanos ποια είναι;


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## drsiebenmal (Aug 10, 2017)

*κόντρα* is today a universally used Greek word. There is even a daily Athens newspaper called _Kontranews_ (one that I do not consider the fleur de sel among Athens newspapers, so no link from me here).

I would not agree with this German translation of "die Zeit"; perhaps it is a mistaken translation of *καιρός*, which can have in Greek also a temporal meaning. 

And do not forget that Venetians ruled not only on Crete but also on many Aegean islands, on the Ionian islands and on many places in Southern Greece and the Peloponnese and thus left a big mark on the Modern Greek vocabulary. It's not just an εύλογη υπόθεση, it is a proven fact. :)

You can have some fun *here*, trying to understand what some of those (now obsolete) words mean.


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## Theseus (Aug 10, 2017)

Thanks to you all: to Palαύρα for the video clip, to Neikos for his notes--as to 'βρε I was fooled by the text of ο ακροβάτης since most song sites transcribed the word as βρε, which for a while I confused with the interjection. I've no idea who Eva Johanna is except that i found her translation on a website. 
Thanks finally to the Dr. for his facts. I didn't know how widespread κόντρα is, since all my language courses taught me the word απέναντι or ενάντιο: see: http://www.wordreference.com/engr/opposite. I knew the Venetians had conquered some of the Ionian islands & somewhere I have read that the Venetians took back olive shoots to Italy to grow them there. In fact even now, I omly buy extra virgin Greek olive oil. If this is a mere prejudice, then I shall buy the olive oil of other countries!:):) At least I now know what the Greek for an educated guess is.....


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## Theseus (Aug 22, 2017)

Μεσοπέλαγα αρμενίζω κι έχω πλώρα τον καημό
κι έχω την αγάπη πρίμα κι άλμπουρο τον χωρισμό

Θάλασσα, μη με διώχνεις μακριά
Χωρισμέ, μου ματώνεις την καρδιά

Την κορφή του Ψηλορείτη με παράπονο θωρώ
και με δάκρυα απ’ την Κρήτη φεύγω κι αποχαιρετώ

Θάλασσα, μ' εξορίζεις μακριά
Χωρισμέ, μου 'χεις κάψει την καρδιά

Μαύρη μοίρα το 'χει γράψει, να μακραίνω, να χαθώ
και να ζω μακριά απ' την Κρήτη κι από κείνη π' αγαπώ

Θάλασσα, μη με διώχνεις μακριά
Χωρισμέ, μου 'χεις κάψει την καρδιά

A beautiful song, Palavra, & for once easy to translate! :)


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