Haris Alexiou sings Otan pinei mia gynaika, a Greek song which translates to “When a woman drinks” in English.
Otan pinei mia gynaika is a song with a long history in Greek music, because the version we know reached the market in an adventurous way. The song the first song ever recorded by Haris Alexiou, however it was claimed by 4 artists: Litsa Diamanti, Nana Harma, Kaiti Petraki and Haris Alexiou.
Alexiou was the one chosen for the song, but it’s interesting to read how she presents the background of the story. ” I sat by the radio to hear the song, but I did not recognize my voice at all. At the beginning I thought that this is how the voice changes on the radio” says Alexiou.
However the radio had not distorted her voice. The album was released under her name but with the voice of Kaiti Petraki. Obviously, the sound editor mixed the tapes and labeled Petraki’s voice as Haris Alexiou. The error was found and was fixed, since the album was released again with both the name and the voice by Haris Alexiou. In any case her performance in this song is unsurpassed.
“Otan pinei mia gynaika” is a Greek laika song, ideal for Alexiou’s voice that expresses the pain and sorrow of a woman betrayed by her love.
The woman who drinks should not be accused for her behavior; she has experienced a huge drama and a big pain says Pythagoras, who wrote the lyrics for the song.
Even if the image of a drinking woman is not typical according to the known and accepted social trends, who can really accuse a woman who feels such a pain for her love?