Μαλλιά σγουρά

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Original	English translation / Μετέφρασε στα αγγλικά / Traduzione ingle...
ΜΑΛΛΙΆ ΣΓΟΥΡΆ	CURLY HAIR

Μαλλιά σγουρά, μαλλιά κοράκου χρώμα	Curly hair, of dark black colour,
που ανέμιζε ο αγέρας στα ζερβά	that the air was blowing to your left
σας αγαπούσα πάντοτε και τώρα	I've always loved you and now
η δόλια μου καρδιά στενάζει και πονά.	my poor heart hurts.

Πάει καιρός που έβγαινες στους δρόμους	It's been a while since you used to go down on the streets
τη σκούφια φόραγες λεβέντικα στραβά	you would put your cap on, in a proud way, a bit lop-sided
και τα μαλλιά χυτά πάνω στους ώμους	and your hair showering your shoulders
τ’ ανέμιζε ο αγέρας στα ζερβά.	the wind was blowing it to your left.

Θά `ρθουν καιροί, καιροί ευτυχισμένοι	There will be times, happy times,
σκλάβοι δε θα `ναι τότε οι λαοί	when the nations won't be enslaved.
θα ζούμε τότε πια αδελφωμένοι	Then, we will all live like brothers and sisters,
σε μια ελεύθερη ειρηνική ζωή.	a free peaceful life.

Εγώ Άη Στράτη δε φοβάμαι	I am not afraid of Ai-Stratis [1],
είναι κι αυτή μια Ελληνική γωνιά	this is also a piece of Greek land.
τα μαύρα τα μαλλιά μας κι αν ασπρίσαν	What if our dark hair went white
δε μας τρομάζει η βαρυχειμωνιά.	we are not afraid of the hard winter.

	[1] Aghios Efstratios, commonly abbreviated as Ai-Stratis, is the name of a small and almost uninhabited island in the northeastern Aegean, south of Lesbos, considered particularly suitable, since ancient times, to exile and confine those who were considered harmful to the establishment at the relevant time. During the civil war and then again during the period of the Regime of the Colonels, there were a lot of the Democratic Army’s fighters and opponents forced to stay there. Today there is an Exile Museum (Note by Gian Piero Testa) The island of Saint Eustratius, or Ai-Stratis, also has an Italian name: "Agiostrati", which I use here. The prison camp was established there since 1929 and it worked at full capacity before it was closed in 1962. Many prisoners passed by there, among the others Dimitris Glenós, the poets Kostas Várnalis (the author of the Ballad of Mr. Medios), Giannis Ritsos (who wrote there the Letter to Joliot-Curie in 1950) and Tasos Livaditis (often covered by this website, too). During the dictatorship of the Colonels the prison camp was reopened, just in time to let Mikis Theodorakis pass too; on February 20, 1968, however, the island was struck by a disastrous earthquake of the 7th degree on the Richter scale, which destroyed it making over twenty victims among the inhabitants (currently 270) and razing the entire field, which was finally closed. (Note by Riccardo Venturi)

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