Η αγάπη χρόνια δεν κοιτά
Greek
Την είδες ξαφνικά,
μπροστά σου να περνά
Και όλα γύρω σου έγιναν
αμέσως γιορτινά
Μα είναι που τα χρόνια αναμεσά σας
ειν’ πολλά
Και τι μ’ αυτό;
Υπάρχει μια φράση απ’ τα παλιά…
Καμιά φορά, η αγάπη χρόνια δεν κοιτά
Καμιά φορά, η αγάπη μόνο κοιτά μπροστά
Αν ήμουνα 30 και εσύ 22
Θα σε περίμενα έξω απ’ το Πολυτεχνείο
Μα αν ήμουνα 16 και εσύ 18
θα μ’ έβγαζες Βαρνάβα
να φάμε παγωτό
Αν ήμουν 90 και εσύ 22
Θα ήτανε μωρό μου αυτό κάπως αστείο
Μα αν ήμουνα 50 και εσύ 48
αυτό θα ήτανε κοινωνικώς αποδεκτό
Αν ήμουνα 40 και εσύ 39
Θα ήταν όλα εντάξει και θα ’χαμε παιδιά
Μα αν ημουν 70 και εσύ 38
Θα ήμουνα μωρό μου ο Ζαν Πωλ Μπελμοντό
Και αν ήμουνα 17 και εσύ 32
το όνομα σου θα ’γραφα επάνω στο θρανίο
οι φίλες σου θα λέγανε «Aυτός είναι μικρός!»
οι φίλοι μου θα λέγανε «Μεγάλε.. είσαι θεός!»
Τι σημασία έχουν τα χρόνια και αν περνάν
η αγάπη μου μωρό μου για σένα δε γερνά
Και όταν θα γίνουμε παππούδια με μασέλες
σ’ το υπόσχομαι, πως
στο κρεβάτι θα σου κάνω τρέλες
English
You suddenly saw her,
passing by, in front of you
And everything around you, became
immediately festive
But… it’s just that… the years between you
are many
So what?
There is some phrase from old times…
Sometimes, love doesn’t look at your age
Sometimes, love only looks ahead
If I were 30 and you were 22
I’d be waiting for you outside the Polytechnic
But if I were 16 and you were 18
You’d take me out to Varnava square
for ice-cream
If I were 90 and you were 22
that, baby, would be somewhat funny
But if I were 50 and you were 48
that would be socially acceptable
If I were 40 and you were 39
everything would be ok and we’d have kids
But if I were 70 and you were 38
then, baby, I’d be Jean Paul Belmondo
And if I were 17 and you were 32
I’d write your name on the school desk
Your friends would say “He’s too young!”
my friends would say “You’re a god, big guy!”
What difference does it make if years go by
my love for you, baby, doesn’t grow old
And when we are old folks with false teeth
I promise you, that
I’ll be doing crazy things to you in bed
και τι μ’ αυτό
The phrase και τι με αυτό – with με almost always shortened –, literally means ‘and what with that?’, and it is used like English ‘So what?’, to show that something has no importance or doesn’t affect a certain situation.
απ’ τα παλιά
The adjective παλιά ‘old’ in the phrase από τα παλιά, refers to the noun χρόνια ‘years’. The whole phrase – από τα παλιά χρόνια – literally means ‘from the old years’, i.e., ‘from old times’.
η αγάπη χρόνια δεν κοιτά
This is a Greek proverb, meaning that a person may find love at any age, and that a person’s age won’t determine whether someone else will fall in love with them or not. In this phrase, the verb κοιτάω ‘to look at’, means ‘to check’, essentially meaning that love won’t check your age to determine whether you are lovable or not – i.e., age is something that love disregards.
τι σημασία έχουν τα χρόνια και αν περνάν
The sentence is phrased in an unusual way. Normally, it would be: Τι σημασία έχει αν τα χρόνια περνάνε;
Three things happen here:
- The word χρόνια ‘years’ becomes the subject, hence έχουν, whereas the subject normally is ‘the fact that years go by’.
- The addition of και gives a vibe of ‘So what?’
- The ending of περνάνε has been clipped – this is grammatically acceptable –, to accommodate the rhyme and meter.