Vocals, video & arrangement by Farya Faraji. This is the one Greek folk song of them all, the most internationally well known and most often heard one across the world. Originating in the Eastern Mediterranean's late Ottoman Empire, this melody is found across a plethora of cultures of that region, but the oldest and most well known version is the Greek language one. Its lyrics express the plight of a Greek man in love with the exotic Misirlou, "Egyptian girl," a black eyed beauty from the land of "Arabia."
The melody emerges in the Rembetiko repertoire, a style of music emerging out of the Greek communities in the urban centres in Western Anatolia, whose music was closely tied to the tavernas where opium and alcohol usage was prevalent. The earliest recording of the melody is from 1927, by Teto Dimitriades, an Ottoman-born Greek composer who immigrated to the United States in the 20's. However, the most prominent rise of the melody to Western fame occurs when Dick Dale, an American guitarist of partial Lebanese origin, turned the tune into a fast paced, rock n'roll surf song in the 60's. This recognisable, tremolo based, electric guitar version enters Western zeitgeist, becoming Pulp Fiction's main theme, and later being sampled in the Black Eyed Peas' song "Pump It."
As per the ethnomusicological goal of my channel, I wanted to reassess the origin of the song by arranging it in its original ethnomusicological context. The instrumentation is monophonic, without any of the complex modern Western harmony that is often used in modern renditions of the song, accompanied by basic power chords as per traditional Greek music of the late 19th century onwards, and uses the Greek lavta and the saz, two instruments representative of the late 19th century urban centres of Western Anatolia, and copiously used back then by the Greek community. Whilst the usul rythmic pattern of the song is generally a tsifteteli-type one, I changed it to a malfoof based one, commonly used in the region. The mode modulates between Hijaz and Hikazkiar.
Greek lyrics:
Μισιρλού μου, η γλυκιά σου η ματιά
φλόγα μου 'χει ανάψει μες στην καρδιά,
αχ γιαχαμπίμπι, αχ γιαλελέλι, αχ
τα δυο σου χείλι στάζουνε μέλι, αμάν.
Aμάν, Μισιρλού, μαγική ξωτική ομορφιά,
τρέλα θα μου 'ρθει, δεν υποφέρω πια,
αχ, θα σε κλέψω μέσ' απ' την Αραπιά.
Μαυρομάτα Μισιρλού μου τρελή
η ζωή μου αλλάζει μ' ένα φιλί,
αχ γιαχαμπίμπι, μ' ένα φιλάκι, αχ
απ' το δικό σου το στοματάκι, αμάν.
English translation:
My dear Misirlou, your sweet eyes
Have burned a flame in my heart
Ah ya habibi, ah ya leleli*, ah
Honey drips from your lips,
Aman*, Misirlou, your magical fairy beauty
Will drive me crazy, I can’t stand it anymore
Ah I will steal you from Arabia
My black-eyed crazy Misirlou
My life changes with a kiss
Ah ya habibi, with a little kiss, aman
Ah Misirlou, your magical fairy beauty
Will drive me crazy, I can’t stand it anymore
Ah I will steal you from Arabia
*Habibi is the Arabic word for "my beloved, my love," "leleli is an interjection, and so is Aman, an Arabic word roughly meaning "woe to me," usually used as an interjection and filler lyric from Iran to Anatolia, the Arab countries and the Balkans.
