Glikeria sings Gianni mou to mantili sou, a Greek song which means “My John your handkerchief”. This is a traditional Greek song from Epirus and we post it here as part of the tribute to name Giannis, celebrating his nameday on January 6th.
The song “Gianni mou to mantili sou” is a traditional song from Epirus, and is the main rhythm of the “syrtos sta tria” (dragging in three steps) dance, which looks a lot like the dance called tsamiko. The song “Gianni mou to mantili sou” is a song for the exile, for the numerous immigrants that left Greece during the 50s and 60s looking for a better life abroad. Many songs written shortly after or during that period refer to the issue of immigration, due to the pain caused to many Greek families at the time. For the Greeks, the pain of the exile is insupportable and, as very descriptively mentioned in the song, the dirt and grim of the exile can leave stains on Giannis’ handkerchief even if it is washed in five rivers .
The song Gianni mou to mantili sou has been sung by many Greek singers and even in many variations in the orchestration and rhythm of the song. The translation here is as close as possible due to the use of many idioms in the original Greek version.