PHOTO CREDIT: Above photo by John Rickman Photography, San Jose, California.

This page contains a translation into English of the lyrics to the popular Greek song "Den Axizis" (Δεν Αξίζεις), which was sung by Peggy Zina. Also included is a pronunciation guide for the Greek lyrics so you can sing along if you like.

For more information about the laiko and rebetiko styles of music, see Introduction to Laiko / Rebetiko Music elsewhere on this web site.

Song lyrics are provided for educational purposes. If you like the song, please purchase either the album or a download from an authorized source.

About the Song

Those of us from regions that speak Greek, Arabic, and Turkish have exchanged countless songs with each other through licensing the music and creating lyrics in our own languages. These include both current pop music and classics. The song translated on this page is an example of one – it originally appeared in Turkey as "Dudu".

"Dudu", was released in 2001 in Turkish by Tarkan Tevetoglu. The music was composed by Tarkan Tevetoglu and Jeff Koplan, with Greek lyrics by Nazan Öncel.

ABOUT THE PHOTO: The photo shows Tarkan, the original artist to release this song in Turkey.

The Greek version of this song was released under the name "Den Axizis" (sometimes spelled "Den Akseis") by Peggy Zina.

About Peggy Zina

Peggy Zina is the stage name for Panagiota Calliope Zina, the original artist to sing this song with Greek lyrics. She was born in 1975, and released her first album at age 20. Since then, she has become an important singer in the laiko genre of Greek music.

Lyrics: Natalia Germanou, Sokratis Soumelas (Original Turkish Lyrics: Nazan Öncel, 2001)

Music: Tarkan Tevetoglu and Jeff Koplan

Original Artist for the Greek Lyrics: Peggy Zina

Album: Mazi Sou (With You)

Στίχοι: Ναταλία Γερμανού, Σωκράτης Σουμέλας (Τουρκικά – Ναζαν Ονσελ, 2001)

Μουσική: Ταρκαν Τεβετογλου, Τζεφ Κοπλαν

Πρώτη Εκτέλεση: Πέγκυ Ζήνα

Άλμπουμ: Μαζί Σου

This page was contributed by Panayiota Bakis, who is happy to share her culture and music she grew up with! Here's how Panayiota describes her background:

I always love engaging with intelligent like-minded people, especially artists. I love sharing anything and everything about my Hellenic culture and upbringing, especially music and dance. A conversation with me will bring you back to America's favorite Greek-American movie by Nia Vardalos called My Big Fat Greek Wedding.

I love investigating Greek culture, history, music, and dance. Speaking of investigating, I think I missed my calling, I probably should have been an investigator. Instead, I use those skills to dig and dig and dig tirelessly, often times falling asleep on my laptop... just to find the truth. But, most importantly, accurate truth. For me personally, and other respectable folklorists, my culture and accuracy are very important. Each generation of ethnic born artists has a duty to do the best it can to pass down our traditions as was taught to us. We have been given this artistic gift to be the gatekeepers of our heritage and culture.