Tis dikaiosinis ilie noite - Grigoris Bithikotsis

Tis dikaiosinis ilie noite – Grigoris Bithikotsis

Posted on 10. Nov, 2009 in Greek Songs

Grigoris Bithikotsis sings Tis Dikaiosinis Ilie Noite, a Greek Song that translates to “Sun of Justice“. The song is composed by Mikis Theodorakis and its lyrics are actually part of a poem written by the Greek Nobelist Odysseas Elytis in the poetic collection “Axion Esti”.

The poem was written in 1949 and became later a song with the music composed by Mikis Theodorakis; the song became a symbol of Greece that is trying to recover and heal its wounds and is one of the most dramatic songs heard in this country, but at the same time one of the most inspirational and optimistic songs one can tell. After the establishment of Democracy in Greece in 1974, the song “Tis dikaiosinis ilie noite” became a hymn for the Greeks, a song representing their agonies and their fights against the Greek Junta, their desire for freedom, stability and progress that started coming soon after.

Grigoris Bithikotsis is the man who marked this song with his voice – as many other songs composed by Theodorakis – and he also became a symbol of an era.

Translating these lyrics doesn’t do justice to the original verses of the poet Elytis, because he used to write in a very descriptive, complex and “concentrated” way.

Lyrics: Odisseas Elytis
Music: Mikis Theodorakis
Performed by: Grigoris Bithikotsis