Ουρανέ που περνάς
Greek
Ουρανέ που περνάς,
σ’ όποια πόρτα σταματάς
ποιος ακόμα με θυμάται
να ρωτάς, να ρωτάς
Κάθε τόσο στ’ όνειρό μου
ξαναβλέπω το πατρικό μου
στο μπαλκόνι χτίζουνε φωλιά
όσες αναμνήσεις μου καίνε την καρδιά
Τόσοι φίλοι αγαπημένοι
το κορίτσι που με περιμένει
ποιος το ξέρει δρόμο αν θα βρω
πίσω να γυρίσω και να τους ξαναδώ
Κάτασπρα σπίτια που η δύση τα ματώνει
αυλές γεμάτες ήλιο και φωνές παιδικές
με πήγε ο δρόμος μακριά
απ’ τη ζωή μου την παλιά
μα η καρδιά δεν ξεχνά
English
Sky – passing through,
at every door you stop by
keep asking
who still remembers me
Every now and then, in my dream
I picture my family house
On the balcony, are building a nest
the memories that burn my heart
So many dear friends
the girl who is waiting for me
Who knows whether I’ll find a path
to go back and see them again?
All-white houses crimsoned by dusk
yards full of sun and children’s voices
The road took me far away
from my old life
but the heart can’t forget
Oυρανέ που περνάς
The phrase is in the vocative case, in other words, it is addressing the sky. Word for word, it is translated as ‘Sky, who are passing [by/through]’ and the structure is comparable to the first sentence of older English translations of the Lord’s Prayer: “Our Father who art in heaven”. In Modern English, it may not be as grammatical to use a relative pronoun for the addressee if the latter is referred to by name, yet it is still acceptable to say “You, who are passing through”. Therefore, a different translation could be ‘Sky – you, who are passing through’.
να ρωτάς
The particle να here introduces a mild command, and it is followed by the indicative mood. The phrase could be replaced by the imperative ρώτα ‘ask!’, though the latter may sound less polite in some contexts.
κάθε τόσο
The adjective τόσος -η -ο means ‘that much’, and the phrase essentially means ‘every that long’, referring to time. The same formation is found in Italian ogni tanto and Spanish cada tanto.
όσες
The adjective όσος -η -ο means ‘as much/many’, ‘however much/many’, and although its meaning normally refers to quantity, it is often extended to ‘whoever, whichever’, ‘all those who’.
e.g.
Θα μιλάω όσο θέλω. – I’ll talk as much as I want to.
Πάρε όσα θέλεις. – Take however many you want.
Όσα ζώα είχε, τα χάρισε. – All the animals she had, she gave them away.
Όσοι θέλουν, μπορούν να το κατεβάσουν. – Whoever wants to, can download it.
Όσες μπορείτε να έρθετε, ενημερώστε μας. – Those who are able to come, let us know.
Όσα παιδιά τραγουδάνε, σηκώστε το χέρι. – The kids who can sing, raise your hand.
κάτασπρα
One of the functions of the prefix κατα- is intensification and emphasising. For example, κατακόκκινος ‘all-red, totally read’, κατακαμένος ‘completely burnt’, κατανικώ ‘to achieve a decisive victory’.
ματώνει
Derived from (το) αίμα ‘blood’, and originally being αιματώνω, the word means ‘to bleed’ or ‘to cover in blood’. In the song, it is used to portray the warm colours of the sunset as they paint the white houses red. This is a poetic usage, and definitely not standard whatsoever.