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 "K' An Se Thelo, K' An Me Thelis" (Και Αν Σε Θέλω), which was sung by Giorgos Dalaras. Also included is a pronunciation guide for the Greek lyrics so you can sing along if you like.

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 This 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 Algeria as "Ya Rayah" in 1993, recorded by Rachid Taha.

Amrani Abderrahmane (stage name Dahme El Harrachi) was a renowned chaabi composer and lyricist. He wrote "Ya Rayah" (which translates to "The Immigrant") in 1960. The music credits often show both Amrani and Rachid. Some have mistakenly credited the song to Goran Bregovic (Γκοραν Μπρεγονικ).

This style of music is considered "Raï" (which means "opinion") of Oran, Algeria, although it's found throughout the North African Maghreb. "Maghreb" translates to "the place of sunset", or "west". The raï singers are referred to as Cheb, which translates to "child" or "young".

ABOUT THE PHOTO: The photo shows Rachid Taha, the most prominent artist to have recorded this song.

The Greek version of this song was released under the name "Kai An Se Thelo" by Giorgos Dalaras.

About Giorgos Dalaras

Giorgos Dalaras was another artist who recorded this song, in 1997.

Giorgos Dalaras' first true big break in music arose when an album he recorded with Haris Alexiou went gold.

In 1975, he decided to release an album titled 50 Years of Rebetiko Songs. It proved to be an immediate success, and created a revival of interest in rebetiko music.

Dalaras is a versatile musician who not only sings, but also can play the the guitar, bouzouki, baglamas, tzouras and oud.

Greek Lyrics: Mihalis Ganas

Music: Amrani Abderrahmane (Dahme El Harrachi)

Original Artist of Greek Version: Giorgos Dalaras

Dance Style: Algerian Shaabi

Album: Thessaloniki, Yianena, Me Dio Papoutsia Panina (From Thessaloniki to Yianena, with Two Canvas Shoes)

Has Also Been Recorded By:

• Dahme El Harrachi, 1973, in Arabic (Ya Rayah)
• Rachid Taha, 1997, in Arabic (Ya Rayah)

Στίχοι: Μιχάλης Γκανάς

Μουσική: Αμρανι Αμπντερραχμανε (Νταχμε Ελ Χαρρατσι)

Πρώτη Εκτέλεση: Γιώργος Νταλάρας

Άλμπουμ: Θεσσαλονίκη, Γιάννενα Με Δυο Παπούτσια Πάνινα

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.