Thodoris Kotonias / Θοδωρής Κοτονιάς

Whoever was able to hold
Eros in his hands
he who has swords of steel
and sharp knives

Who has wings and disappears
and how can you catch him
He will wound your heart
and you will lose your mind

He dresses you like a king
in gold he crowns you
and armed, they strike you
hidden, thousands of pains

He stands in wait and strikes
between your two eyes
and as many hearts as love you
they shatter like jugs

(translation: Eva Johanos)

When something hurts me
I have a little balloon
to hold.

With an ah I give it air
I inflate it and farther off
where here I fly.

And if the balloon breaks on me
I have another one which saves me
and if the other one breaks on me
at some point I will sprout wings.

So that I may get out and go high
from my pockets I fly
no matter what I find.

My belongings a weight
which stole grace from me
that I may not find joy

And if the balloon breaks on me
I have another one which saves me
and if the other one breaks on me
at some point I will sprout wings.

When I lose the wheel
I have a little balloon
to hold.

And whatever road I took
I look at it from the moon so
that I don’t get lost.

And if the balloon breaks on me
I have another one which saves me
and if the other one breaks on me
at some point I will sprout wings.

(translation: Eva Johanos)

As many nights as they walk
they step in mud and water
as many come and as many go
and they owe to Michalou*

As many hearts as beat
they will seek love
in the dance when they revolve
like drums they will beat

All the violin the little violin
and they don’t mind a little bit
they all have a glass
in the celebration of heaven

Like Romans like Gauls
from two villages villagers
and when they are in good spirits again
they are distant cousins
they are distant cousins
only when they are in good spirits

[translation: Eva Johanos
Nikos Georgousakis ~ guitar
Iasonas Ktenas ~ violin
Thodoris Kotonias at Kafe Aman, Serres.
March 29th, 2017]

A nightingale told me
That spring was ending
But I never
believed it

And the streets bloomed
Once more
And in your embrace
Inside, I believed

Dishonorable heart
Dishonorable heart
Without asking, you give the keys
Without asking, you give the keys

A gypsy woman told me
Your heart is a vacant lot
For the children to play in
Each May

And if they skin their knees
The games don’t stop
On the cliffs she will play
Forever the heart

Dishonorable heart
Dishonorable heart
Without asking, you give the keys
Without asking, you give the keys

A star told me
The line you have on your hand
Will bring you
in front of her door

And if she never opens it
The wind will blow
To bring back to you
Whatever it owes you

(translation: Eva Johanos)

I am a ship in the open seas
looking for a harbor
I am always seeing the shore
but I never arrive

… and they found me shipwrecked
off of Amorgos*…

Your house two paces away
but it resembles the foreign lands to me
the world became a sea
and wherever I step, it is sinking

… and they found me shipwrecked
off of Amorgos…

The charm you gave to keep me safe
I have kept it
but worse than separation
I have nothing to expect

.. and they found me shipwrecked
off of Amorgos…

(translation: Eva Johanos
*Amorgos: an island in the Cyclades, the farthest east before the Dodecanese Island group)

You are a red rose
In my heart
At night you become a wound
That eats up my insides

You always come even earlier
Nobody knows you
You make some people love
And others to never return

And all these are not enough for you
You leave and don’t remember
If you’re so nice, Spring
Why don’t you pity us?

You come for a little, you sit
In our garden and bloom
You went in our blood
And you smell of resurrection

And when you leave, nothing
Will be like before
Leave the sky’s door
Open for a little

I am on fire and silently melting
and all night I am wasting away
ah, such heartache . . .

What can I do, what can I do-
in black despair I will die. . .
ah, the impoverished one

I love you, I love you
as no one else;
in my heart there has taken root
a great passion. . .

What can I do, what can I do-
in black despair I will die. . .
ah, the impoverished one

I am on fire and silently melting
and all night I am wasting away
ah, such heartache . . .

I love you, I love you
as no one else;
in my heart there has taken root
a great passion

I am on fire and silently melting
and all night I am wasting away
ah, such heartache . . .

(translation: Eva Johanos)