Mi mou thimoneis – Giorgos Dalaras
Giorgos Dalaras sings the song Mi mou thimoneis, a famous Greek song which translates to “Don’t be angry at me” written and composed by Stavros Kougioumtzis. The full title of the song is Mi mou thimoneis matia mou – Don’t be angry at me my eyes. In Greek language, we use the phrase “matia mou” (my eyes) in the same way that “my dear” or “my darling” is used in English. It is a phrase of tenderness and love.
Mi mou thimoneis combines two common themes in Greek music; love and immigration. During the 50s and 60s many Greeks left the country to find a better life in Europe and the US, most of the times successfully. The pain of leaving the country and all the beloved people behind has been sung in many Greek songs, most of the times in a sweet and nostalgic way.
Don’t be angry at me now that I am leaving for foreign lands,
I will turn into a bird and I will come
back again, to you.
The hope to return back home is always alive in the heart of the Greeks. After all, home is where heart is.
The song Mi mou thimoneis was originally sung by Poulopoulos and the second – maybe even the most known one – is by Giorgos Dalaras.
Mi mou thimoneis
- Mi mou thimoneis - Giorgos Dalaras
- Mi mou thimoneis - English lyrics
- Mi mou thimoneis - Greek lyrics
The island of Corfu became a famous refuge for the Serbian army in the First World War. The legend goes like this: in those times of suffering and misfortune, love was born between a Greek woman and a Serbian soldier. Their feelings were strong, but his duty to the fatherland was stronger. The soldier leaves his beloved and goes to the Thessaloniki front, aware that he may never return.
In one letter, the soldier writes to the girl that he will surely return to her. Even if he dies, he will come in the form of a bird, and she should open the window to let him just wish her good night.
The girl reworked the words of her lover and turned them into verses… Or, at least that’s what the legend says.
The true story is different.
Go and research the honourable and tragic story of Serbian soldiers who found refuge on Corfu in the Great War.
The poem was written by a Serbian soldier to his Corfu love, Harula. It was then completed with the Greek melody.