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Subject: Lyr Req: Yerakina (or Gerakina) From: Genie Date: 23 Aug 05 - 04:01 PM Somewhere (in my Weavers song book, I think), I have the Greek lyrics to Yerakina (Gerakina), but I can't find the book. I also have a record of The Limeliters (sp?) singing an English version, but my turntable no longer works. Here is what I recall of The Limeliters' version: Yerakina Yerakina at the spring. Yerakina comes to fill her water jar. (She doesn't hear a thing) While her bangles ring. Refrain: Druga-drug, druga-druga-drug (Greek phrase which I can't recall). Yerakina at the spring, Yerakina sees her sweetheart passing. He doesn't hear a thing though her bangles ring. Yerakina at the spring. Round the water hole the rocks are shiny. Yerakina tumbles in While her bangles ring. Yerakina in the spring. Yeraking hears her sweetheart laughing. "Yerakina, don't you cry, I love you wet or dry!" The song is in 7/8 time and the chords are very easy (1-4-5 or something like that). Does anyone have the full lyrics in Greek (transliterated, preferably) and/or the correct Limeliters lyrics? Genie |
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Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Yerakina (or Gerakina) From: GUEST,Art Thieme Date: 23 Aug 05 - 04:09 PM FRANK HAMILTON brought this song to the Weavers when he was in that group. It is in the Greek language. A fine song. art thieme |
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Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Yerakina (or Gerakina) From: George Papavgeris Date: 23 Aug 05 - 04:42 PM From memory: Keeneese ee Gerakina gia nero kryo na feri droom-droom-droom, droom-droom-droom, ta vrachiolia tis vrontoon Eskypse mes sto peegadi ki eniose zali megali droom etc ki eppese mes sto peegadi ki evale fonee megali droom etc I don't remember the rest; but here's what I found with some research on the net (verbatim from a Greek website about the town of Serres in NE Greece): "According to tradition, Gerakina lived around 1850-1870 in a house in Nigrita, in the picturesque area called Tsoukalades. She was extremely beautiful and so a coveted bride to be. Every man was trying to sweep her of her feet. However, Death was very jealous of her beauty. One early afternoon while the table was set for lunch, Gerakina went together with her pitcher to bring water from the well. As soon as she threw her bucket into the well, she lost her balance and fell in the well, too. According to the song's lyrics, on hearing her screams, «young and old rushed over» and among them a brave man, who didn't hesitate to climb into the well in order to rescue his beloved one. Some time later though, they pulled them both out of the well. The young man was almost dead and Gerakina dead. The well of Gerakina, which is still preserved in Nigrita (at the area of Tsoukalades) is the last witness of this tradition. A few years later, in a coffee house in Nigrita, a poet and singer, made the story of Gerakina into a song. Since them, Gerakina as a song and dance passed over to eternity and didn't take her long to walk over the limits of Nigrita and become famous all over Greece. " |
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Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Yerakina (or Gerakina) From: Genie Date: 23 Aug 05 - 05:05 PM Thanks so much, El Greko! That story sounds much truer to the "folk tradition" than the Limeliters' version, but there's a time and place for happy endings, too, I guess. Nice to have the Greek lyrics. The missing line in my post of the Limeliters' version was the Greek line, "ta vrachiolia tis vrontoon." What does that line mean? |
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Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Yerakina (or Gerakina) From: George Papavgeris Date: 23 Aug 05 - 05:39 PM "her bangles are thundering"... |
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Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Yerakina (or Gerakina) From: George Papavgeris Date: 23 Aug 05 - 05:44 PM It's funny - like every Greek, I knew this song, but I never knew the background story. My mother's village is 5 miles from Nigrita, my sister's husband is from Nigrita itself, yet I never knew that Gerakina had lived there or that the song was local to Nigrita originally (it has long since become an "all Greece" traditional song). So I too learned from the little bit of research; so, thanks, Genie! |
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Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Yerakina (or Gerakina) From: Genie Date: 23 Aug 05 - 09:27 PM Glad it was good for you, too, El! §;-D And thanks for the translation! |
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Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Yerakina (or Gerakina) From: GUEST,Art Thieme Date: 24 Aug 05 - 12:24 AM I e-mailed Frank to look in here to check if the lyric he sang was what is posted here. I seem to think he had at least another verse!? But he's been vacationing in New England... He recorded it twice that I know of. Once with the Weavers---mostly him and Eric Darling--on one a Weavers reunion albums for Vanguard. And once on a duet LP album for Phillips Records with a grand Brazilian gal singer from Chicago named Valucha. (She just used the one name in the '80s---although when I first heard her sing she was Valucha Buffington---and then later she was Valucha Arneson.) Art |
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Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Yerakina (or Gerakina) From: GUEST Date: 24 Aug 05 - 01:08 AM "Yerakina" in Theodore Bikel's songbook "Folksongs and Footnotes", and recorded by him with Geula Gill |
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Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Yerakina (or Gerakina) From: Genie Date: 24 Aug 05 - 01:22 AM Guest, that's what I thought intially - that it was in my Theo Bikel songbook. When folks started talking about the Weavers doing the song, I thought maybe I was mixed up and it was in my Weavers song book instead. I can't find eitherr book at the moment. I do have a tape of some Greek group singing the song, in Greek, of course, but i can't transcribe from that. (It's Greek to me.) Genie |
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Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Yerakina (or Gerakina) From: M.Ted Date: 24 Aug 05 - 02:15 AM Two more verses, from my handy "Folksongs and Dances from All Parts of Greece"- Like every good Balkan songbook, it looks like the English lyrics were typed onto some ancient sheet music and then lithographed and bound at Mr. Speedy-- K'etrekse o kosmos olos K'etresa K'ego o kaimenos Drum, drum etc. Yerakina tha se vgalo ke jineka tha se paro Drum, drum, etc. I always liked this song, never got to play it. My neighbor, who was an excellent singer santouri player, used to kindly include me in his weekly greek sessions--Once, he asked if there was anything special that I wanted to play--When I said "Yerakina", I got a look like Irene Pappas got before she was stoned--I never figured out what was so wrong with it-- |
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Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Yerakina (or Gerakina) From: George Papavgeris Date: 24 Aug 05 - 04:54 AM Thanks M.Ted, I recognise both those verses, but had forgotten them! As about the look you got: Gerakina, being so well known in Greece has an equivalent place in our tradition to, say, "Jimmy crack corn", i.e. most Greeks consider it overdone and boring. But if/when we ever meet, I will play Gerakina with you! Nevertheless, I'd bet money that if you asked any Greek to sing you the first traditional song that comes to mind, you'd get Gerakina 8 times out of 10. It's a simple tune and very straightforward rhythm (for Greeks!), that is eminently danceable (the "syrtos" fits it perfectly with it 3, 1-2-3, 1-2-3, 1-2-3 beat). The fact that the lyrics start on the last beat of the measure (the "3" I note above) makes it easy to know when to enter the dance, unlike most syrtos tunes where you have to "line yourself up" waiting for the last beat of the measure. Nigrita, from where the song hails (as I now know), has a particularly rich tradition in song, with many particularly intricate songs, at least one of which ("Pagona" - the peahen) is still used in singing competitions - everyone sings the same song, and the best singer wins. It was my brother-in-law's (God rest his soul) favourite song, though he did murder it. If you can find the version sung by Nitsa Tsitra (the best ever female singer from that region), it's the definitive one. |
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Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Yerakina (or Gerakina) From: Wilfried Schaum Date: 24 Aug 05 - 07:08 AM From my song book: 1. Kjinise i Jerakina ja nero krio na feri, ta vrachjolja tis vrondun. Jerkina to fetch cold water, drum ..., her bracelets jingled 2. Kj' epese to pighadhi kj' efghale foni meghali, ... And she fell into the well with a loud cry ... 3. Kj etrexe o kosmos olos kj' etrexa kj' egho o kaimenos ... And all people ran ther, and me poor by, too ... 4. "Jerakina tha se vghalo kje jineka tha se paro ..." "Jerakina, I'll get you out, and you shall be my wife ..." 4. Kj' errixe chriso kordhoni kje tin epjas' ap' ti zoni ... I threw a golden rope and fetched her out on her belt [The transliteration is for German speakers, for anglophones: j = y, i as in minister, u = as oo, but short!, e as in better] From: Europäishce Volkslieder in den Ursprachen [= European folk songs in the original languages] / Gregor ; Klausmeier ; Kraus, - Berlin : Merseburger, 1960 With a note: The text, from Nigrita, Macedonia refers to a symbolic wedding with a girl who died in a well (according to Greek popular belief a girl dying unmarried can't come into Paradise). Jerakina is a girl's name, but it also means "female falcon". Sing and enjoy |
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Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Yerakina (or Gerakina) From: M.Ted Date: 24 Aug 05 - 12:24 PM I suspected as much, El Greko-- My friend also refused to play "Never on a Sunday" when asked(and he often was, particularly at weddings)--However, he was invited to play in the band of a traditional Romanian fiddler(as you know, they use the santouri, but call it a Tsymbalom)--they had been playing for a couple of hours at the Saints Day festival at a Romanian church, when the fiddler broke into NOS, much to the delight of the dancers, and the band,my friend included, joined in--I always thought that the fiddler did it on purpose-- Jimmy Crack Corn, incidentally, sounds great in a quick 7/8, and if you change it from a major to a minor, you can't tell that it's not Macedonian-- |
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Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Yerakina / Gerakina (trad. Greek) From: Mandolin Steve Date: 07 Apr 08 - 03:44 PM I remember this song from an album by Theodore Bikel and Geula Gill - Folk Songs From Around The World. It was my introduction to world music, as a teenager in the mid 60s. The lyrics for all the songs were included in the original language and English translation. The following are close to what I remember, as found on the web:
That's where the story ended, sort of a coy bargain with the damsel in distress. Theo and Geula sang it that way, too. I found a fifth verse: Ki'errixe chriso kordhoni kje tin epjas' ap' ti zoni I threw a golden rope and fetched her out on her belt Which I find a little anticlimactic. Some say this was based on a real incident in the town of Nigrita, in which a beautiful young woman fell into a well, someone jumped in to rescue her, and though he eventually pulled her out she was dead and he nearly so. His offer of marriage was made so her spirit would be able to enter heaven. Apparently in Nigrita there are memorials in her honor. I've only ever heard this version of the song so I have no idea how authentic it is. I must say, however, that it is a beautiful melody and they sing it very expressively. Their version is a true testament to how much can be got out of a simple 1-4-5 song. |
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Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Yerakina / Gerakina (trad. Greek) From: Wilfried Schaum Date: 09 Apr 08 - 12:13 PM The metre is clearly 7/8 (123-12-12), common in the Balkans. |
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Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Yerakina / Gerakina (trad. Greek) From: John MacKenzie Date: 10 Apr 08 - 03:21 AM The Greek song I would like the words for, is called something like E Kokkoraki. Spelling will be very wrong as I only ever heard it sung. It was a favourite of Donald Swann, he of Flanders and Swann fame, he apparently learned it in Greece during the second world war, when he was stationed there. It appears to be an Old MacDonald had a Farm sort of song, with a list of all the animals and the noises they make, and I believe the title means The Cockerel. Giok |
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Subject: ADD: To Kokkoraki (Greek) From: George Papavgeris Date: 10 Apr 08 - 04:27 AM No sooner said than done, John, here it is: TO KOKKORAKI otan tha paho kyra mou sto pazari tha s'agoraso ena kokkoraki to kokkoraki ki-kiri-ki-kiii tha se ksipnahi kathe prohi otan tha paho kyra mou sto pazari tha s'agoraso mia gatoula i gatoula mieauw-mieauw to kokkoraki ki-kiri-ki-kiii tha se ksipnahi kathe prohi otan tha paho kyra mou sto pazari tha s'agoraso ena skylaki to skylaki gaouw-gaouw i gatoula mieauw-mieauw to kokkoraki ki-kiri-ki-kiii tha se ksipnahi kathe prohi keep accumulating using ... mia agelada i agelada moo-moo-moo... ... mia katsikoula i katsikoula meeeh-meeeh... ... mia provatina i provatina baaah-baaah... ... mia malakeea i malakeea chlapa-chlapa... That is, as best as I remember it, but BE WARNED: I have inserted a booby trap verse that does not belong there, and if sung in front of Greeks it will have the same effect as the hapless bridegroom's comments on "My Big Fat Greek Wedding"... Just felt devilish this morning! Those of you with mis-spent youths backpacking around the Med will of course recognise the offending verse. |
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Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Yerakina / Gerakina (trad. Greek) From: George Papavgeris Date: 10 Apr 08 - 04:47 AM I should have said that "i" on its own above is the feminine definite article, and is pronounced "ee" as in "screech". |
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Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Yerakina / Gerakina (trad. Greek) From: John MacKenzie Date: 10 Apr 08 - 04:47 AM Hee hee ROTFLMFAO George, and how do you know what sound it makes? G. |
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Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Yerakina / Gerakina (trad. Greek) From: George Papavgeris Date: 10 Apr 08 - 04:48 AM I read a lot... |
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Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Yerakina / Gerakina (trad. Greek) From: GUEST,phyllis gilmore Date: 13 Jul 08 - 02:49 AM David, More comments - history of the song, various translations, performers. Originally in 7/8. Phyllis |
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Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Yerakina / Gerakina (trad. Greek) From: GUEST,phyllis gilmore Date: 13 Jul 08 - 02:50 AM David, More comments - history of the song, various translations, performers. Originally in 7/8. Phyllis |
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Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Yerakina / Gerakina (trad. Greek) From: GUEST,Kevin Gillette Date: 17 Jun 09 - 10:37 AM Many thanks to everyone, especially George, for finally disclosing the lyrics to this wonderful traditional song. I've loved "Yerakina" since I first heard it as a very young boy on the Limeliters' album, "Our Men In San Francisco," but not being a Greek speaker (yet), I couldn't make out what the guys were trying to sing. Speaking of The Limeliters: Major props to Messrs. Hassilev, Gottlieb (may he rest in peace), and Yarborough for doing their best to bring folk music to life from languages other than English. Occasionally they mis-pronounce something though - check out "Die Gedanken Sind Frei (Thoughts are free)" on the album "Folk Matinee" - In one verse they exclaim, "Sie blieben vorbei" - this *should* have been "Sie bleiben vorbei" (note different spelling, and therefore different pronunciation, on second word!) - their version puts the verb in past tense, when it only makes sense semantically as a present-tense conjugation. An easy mistake to make, since one is simply a letter swap from the other. Oh well - it's the thought that counts! Again, thanks, George! Charis kai eirenen (did I get that right? "Grace and peace"?), Kevin |
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Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Yerakina / Gerakina (trad. Greek) From: George Papavgeris Date: 17 Jun 09 - 10:59 AM You did, Kevin - Kai mazi sou! thanks |
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Subject: Fifth verse From: GUEST,Rolf Nordeide Date: 06 Jan 10 - 02:19 AM Hi! I don't speak Greek, but it would be interesting to have that fifth verse written properly in Greek letters: "Ki'errixe chriso kordhoni / kje tin epjas' ap' ti zoni" Can one of you do that, please? Thanks! :-) |
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Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Yerakina / Gerakina (trad. Greek) From: GUEST,TJ in San Diego Date: 06 Jan 10 - 07:23 PM I believe you may also find this song, annotated, in Theordore Bikel's old book, "Folksongs and Footnotes." It was published back in the early 1960's or earlier. |
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Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Yerakina / Gerakina (trad. Greek) From: GUEST Date: 06 Jan 10 - 08:23 PM Can't do Greek characters on this, Rolf - sorry... |
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Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Yerakina / Gerakina (trad. Greek) From: Gweltas Date: 06 Jan 10 - 08:26 PM A Dutch friend told me, several years ago, that "Gerakina" is known rather irreverently as "The Twit in the Well", among his Dutch folk dancing pals !! It SOUNDS like "De Truut in de Puut" in Dutch, but you'll have to pardon my spelling as I do not speak Dutch, LOL. Perhaps a Mud elf speaker of the language might correct my spelling ?? |
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Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Yerakina / Gerakina (trad. Greek) From: Joe Offer Date: 06 Jan 10 - 09:13 PM I swear I've heard this by the Weavers, with Ronnie Gilbert singing lead, but I can't find it. Any idea what it's called on the Weavers recording? -Joe- |
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Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Yerakina / Gerakina (trad. Greek) From: artbrooks Date: 06 Jan 10 - 09:27 PM Joe, it's on "Wasn't That a Time", spelled Yerakina. |
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Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Yerakina / Gerakina (trad. Greek) From: Joe Offer Date: 07 Jan 10 - 04:13 AM Hmmmm. I wonder if this will post....
Rolf was looking for the fifth verse in Greek letters. I found it here (click) with a recording you can play. Also here (click) «Η Γερακίνα» Ντουμ ντουμ ντουμ ντουμ ντουμπου Τραγούδι : Ιωάννα Γεωργακοπούλου, Βασ. Τσιτσάνης I hope these characters are legible to everyone. I used the English transliterations above and pasted a phrase into Google (advanced), and asked it to search for Greek Websites. It brought up lots of lyrics. You can find sheet music at 8notes.com |
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Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Yerakina / Gerakina (trad. Greek) From: GUEST,Rolf Nordeide Date: 07 Jan 10 - 11:31 AM Excellent! Σε ευχαριστώ! |
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