A fairy gave birth to me

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by Kostis Palamas (1859 - 1943)

Translation © by Kairui (Kerry) Zhou

Mιά νεράιδα μ εγέννησεν

Language: Greek (Ελληνικά)

Our translations: ENG

Mιά νεράιδα μ’εγέννησεν
Από θνητό πατέρα,
Ω μοίρα και ω παράδαρμα
Στον κόσμον εδώ πέρα!

Οι ξωτικές οι ανάερες
Στην όψη της σαρκός μου
Με κοιτάζουν παράξενα
Και φεύγουν απ΄εμπρός μου.

Στοιχειό με λένε οι άνθρωποι,
Και μακραίνουν με τρόμο
Και ξένος πάντα βρίσκομαι
Στης ερημιάς το δρόμο.

Show a transliteration: DIN | ISO 843

Note on Transliterations

Text Authorship:

by Kostis Palamas (1859 - 1943) [author's text not yet checked against a primary source]

Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):

by Manolis Kalomiris (1883 - 1962), "Mιά νεράιδα μ εγέννησεν", 1908-14 [ voice and orchestra ], from Μαγιοβότανα / Magic Herbs, no. 1 [sung text checked 1 time]

Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):

ENG English (Kairui (Kerry) Zhou) , copyright ©, (re)printed on this website with kind permission

Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]

This text was added to the website: 2010-11-03
Line count: 12
Word count: 48

A fairy gave birth to me

Language: English after the Greek (Ελληνικά)

A fairy gave birth to me,
Oh, fate and oh, enigma,
In this world, beyond the veil,
You placed me here, O destiny!

The ethereal creatures, the breathless ones,
Upon the sight of my flesh,
They gaze at me with strangeness,
And flee from before me.

They call me an apparition, the people do,
And with terror, they distance themselves,
Always a stranger I find myself,
On the path of solitude.

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Text Authorship:

Translation from Greek (Ελληνικά) to English copyright © by Kairui (Kerry) Zhou, (re)printed on this website with kind permission. To reprint and distribute this author's work for concert programs, CD booklets, etc., you may ask the copyright-holder(s) directly or ask us; we are authorized to grant permission on their behalf. Please provide the translator's name when contacting us.
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Based on:

a text in Greek (Ελληνικά) by Kostis Palamas (1859 - 1943)
- Go to the text page.

This text was added to the website: 2023-09-01
Line count: 12
Word count: 71