This song is sung with such passion, with such power in the music and words, that it became almost universally used for other events.
It is a Greek translation of an Irish poem, “The Laughing Boy,” written by Brendan Behan in honor of Michael Collins. He was shot dead in 1922 in Cork after his convoy was ambushed. Was he killed by his own people? You can find the background here .
You can read and listen to the original poem here.
Here you can find the progress of the Irish poem to the Greek translation and set to music by Mikis Theodorakis.
You will find this passion in other songs as well, even if you don’t understand the language in which they are sung. How many languages, for example, would “Bella Ciao” be sung in?
Every time I hear this*song, or in another*version — even before I understood the words — I am stilled by the power of this song. For me, Maria Farantouri expresses the best this power of the underlying theme (despite me a big fan of Georges Dalaras).
I wonder where the laughing child is in these days. The crying girl symbolizes everyone who weeps for a child — even more this horribly — lost.
To be continued…
AMK
Op reis naar Ithaka 