Τούτο το καλοκαιράκι
Greek
Τούτο το, μωρέ Γιαννάκη
τούτο το καλοκαιράκι
άιντε τούτο το καλοκαιράκι
κυνηγούσα ένα πουλάκι
άιντε κυνηγού- , μωρέ Γιαννάκη
κυνηγούσα προσπαθούσα
άιντε κυνηγούσα, προσπαθούσα
να το πιάσω δεν μπορούσα
άιντε κι έστησα, μωρέ Γιαννάκη
κι έστησα τα ξόβεργά μου
άντε κι έστησα τα ξόβεργά μου
κι ήρθε το πουλί κοντά μου
English
This - , my dear Yannis
this summer
Oh this summer
I was chasing a bird
Oh I was chas- , my dear Yannis
I was chasing, trying
Oh I was chasing, trying
to catch it – I couldn’t
Oh and I set, my dear Yannis
and I set my bird traps
Oh and I set my bird traps
and the bird came to me
τούτο
The pronoun τούτος -η -ο means ‘this’, when referring to something or someone that is very near. It is not as common as αυτός -ή -ό, and it used more often in the countryside than in the cities.
μωρέ
A very common way to address someone – usually before their name –, when the speaker is familiar with them and wants to express admiration, despair, or intense emotion.
άντε
A word shared by a few Balkan nations, originally borrowed from Turkish. It acts as a prompt, i.e., it tells someone to proceed with an action. In countryside folk songs, it is often used as part of the rhythm – similar to ‘oh yeah’ in blues –, and it is often found in the form άιντε.
Άντε, πάμε. – Come on, let’s go.
ξόβεργα
Originally ιξόβεργα [ιξός ‘mistletoe’ + βέργα ‘rod, stick’], ξόβεργα is a type of bird trap made from a long piece of wood, covered in the sticky juices of the mistletoe.