One 1936 Afternoon (Anestis Delias, "The Poser")

Anestis Delias (the light jacket man sitting on the left) and a bunch of musicians

"

ne afternoon, I was with Anestis Delias and Mpatis, here - around Keratsini - up to the hill. Anestis and Batis had their instruments with them, as well as something to get ourselves high on later. On the way, we found Karydakias that was playing bouzouki. Nice guy, he was killed later on -during the war. Anestis had written the music, but he had no lyrics. It was... a zeibekiko. We stood there, on the hill, Anestis were teaching the others the music and all three of them started playing. I was listening. Batis said: [Hey magka, your knife, to handle it right...] and there he stopped. We all got what the song was about, so we started helping out with the lyrics.[...] Karydakias continues: [...You need to have the guts, you poser, (you need to have) the heart to pull it out...]. The first part was ready. The second and the third was Batis’ and the last one is Karydakias’ and mine. That’s how we wrote that one.”, Nikos Mathesis (nicknamed : Nikos the nuts) remembers.

Anestis Delias

It is not only the evolution of music forms and trends. It is a whole mindset mirrored in these songs. A deeply familiar way of life, no matter how many years have passed.

The song is titled Poser and it is attributed to the Smyrne -born (Izmir) Anestis Delias. The picture given above is a croped part of the one given in previous post (the man standing on the right). He died 31 years old because of heroine. A woman destroyed him, trying to possess and control him, they say. An amateur home grown translation is given below.

The Poser [Το κουτσαβάκι / Ο Φιγουρατζής]

Anestis Delias [Ανέστης Δελιάς]

1936

Hey magka*, your knife
to handle it right
You need to have the guts you poser,
a heart (you need to have), to pull it out
You need to have the guts you poser,
a heart, to pull it out

Don’t you try these on me
You‘d better hide your “sword”
Cause I’ll get high one day, you poser
and I‘ll come along your crib

Cause I’ll get high one day, you poser
and I‘ll come along your crib

(Long live Artemi with your nice plectrumings**!)

You‘d better go to someone else, you poser
To show off that way
Cause I have smoked as well, you poser
And I got dangerously high

Cause I have smoked as well, you poser
And I got dangerously high

I told you once, behave wisely
Or else I’ll bash you straight away
I’ll bring my “gat”, you poser
And there I’ll humble you
I’ll bring my “gat”, you poser
And there I’ll humble you

(Long live Babi with your Baglama.... bravooo!)

*magkas {μάγκας} = tough guy / buster / hep.

**plectrumings = the ups and downs of the bouzouki plectrum