Panayiota

Μισιρλού
(Misirlou)

(Egyptian Girl)

This page contains a translation into English of the lyrics to the popular Greek rebetiko song "Misirlou" (Μισιρλού). The lyrics tell of forbidden love between a Greek (Christian) man and an Egyptian (Muslim) woman. The differences between the lovers in both race/ethnicity and religion make the story risqué by the standards of its time. The title is a Greek pronunciation of the Turkish word "Mısırlı", which means "Egyptian girl" in Turkish. Also included is a transliteration of the Greek lyrics into the Roman alphabet so you can sing along if you like. Over the years that followed, many versions of the song have arisen, including Dick Dale's surfer guitar version, Jewish klezmer, Turkish, English lyrics, and more. In the United States, many tsifteteli performers (belly dancers) incorporate this song into their routines, often using a large scarf (sometimes called a veil) as a prop. 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 Theodotos (Tetos) Demetriades Theodotos Demetriades, nicknamed Tetos, was a rebetiko singer, the original artist to record "Misirlou", which he did in 1927. ABOUT THE PHOTO: This photo is of Tetos Demetriades. It's unclear exactly when he was born. Estimates range from 1897 to 1901. He was born in Constantinople (the Greek name for Istanbul). He moved to the United States in 1921, which is where he was living at the time he recorded "Misirlou." He died in New Jersey in 1971 from throat cancer.
About Michalis (Mike) Patrinos Mike Patrinos, a rebetiko singer, was originally from Smyrna (the former name of Izmir, Turkey). He sang his version of Misirlou in the accent of that area, so that it sounds like "Mousourlou". He recorded his version of Misirlou in Athens, Greece in 1930. ABOUT THE PHOTO: This photo shows Michalis Patrinos as a young man..
About Sofia Vembo Sofia Vembo (real name Sofia Bebou), was a legendary singer and actress who became known by the nicknames “Singer of Victory” and "Efi". Pol Nor, whose real name was Nikos Nikolaidis, gave her the stage name of Sofia Vembo. Vembo was born in the Anatolian region (in modern-day Turkey) of Thraki on February 10, 1910. She was one of four children. They were raised in Constantinople, but quickly quickly became refugees when the Greeks fled Turkey. The family arrived in Greece and eventually settled in Volos. ABOUT THE PHOTO: This photo of Sofia Vembo with her beloved guitar was her very first promotional photo. It was advertising her appearance at the Kentrikon Theater, where she dressed as a Romany girl and debuted the song "Tsigana Mavromata" (Black-Eyed Roma) in 1933. Vembo went on to perform as a singer and actress throughout Greece. She was considered the voice of war music in the 1940s, and became highly respected for her monetary donations to the Hellenic Army, which is how she acquired the nickname "Singer of Victory". Her career continued through the “metapolemika” post-war music era of the 1950s.
About Manos Aggelopoulos Manolis Aggelopoulos was a Greek legend. He was born in 1939 in northern Greece, to a Romany family. As a child, he traveled throughout Greece with his family's caravan selling everything from carpets to watermelons. The caravan trucks contained a microphone, so young Aggelopoulos broadcast his singing over the loudspeakers along the way. His big break came in 1959 when he recorded his first 45 rpm vinyl record, bringing the mix of Greek-Gypsy-Arabic fusion into the Greek music scene. For Greeks and Greek-Romany people he was a superstar. His funeral in 1989 was massive, and people cried for 3 days.

Listen to MP3 Clips of This Song

	Sung in Greek by Tetos Dimitriadis (the original artist)
	Surf guitar instrumental by Dick Dale and the Del-Tones
	Sung in English by Harry Saroyan (in English)
	Sung by Sandler & Young
	Oud instrumental by Pangia

Lyrics

This song has been recorded by many artists over the years, with some minor variations in verses, repetitions of verse or chorus, etc. Translations for several of the Greek verses, plus transcript of one English version, appear below.

• Theodotos (Tetos) Demetriades, 1927
• Michalis (Mike) Patrinos, 1930
• Danai Stratigopoulou, 1930
• Maria Karela with Spiros Stamos Orchestra, 1941
• Sofia Vembo, 1947
• Manolis Aggelopoulos, 1976
• Glykeria Kotsoula
• Maria Konstantinidou-Stamatiou
• Dario Moreno (in French)

Theodotos (Tetos) Demetriades, 1927

Numbers in parentheses refer to footnotes that appear at the bottom of the translation.

1. "Ya habibi" is an Arabic expression for "oh my love" or “oh my darling”.
2. In Arabic, "leleli" is derived from the word "leil" for "night", but Arabic-speaking singers often improvise using the syllables "leleli" in the same way an English song might use nonsense syllables such as "tra la la".
3. “Aman” is an exclamation that can mean “Oh!” or "Oh my!"
4. Many of the old songs use the word "Arapia" and its variants liberally. The lyrics generally use it to refer to Arabic-speaking, Romany, or Indian women. Unfortunately, in the modern Greek language, the term "Arapis" has become an offensive racial slur for people with dark skin. Although this newer definition now exists, it did not mean this when the lyrics were written. When newer generations listen to these older songs today, they realize the lyrics are referring to an innocent use of the word, and can enjoy the music in the way it was intended.

Michalis (Mike) Patrinos' Version, 1930

Numbers in parentheses refer to footnotes that appear at the bottom of the translation. This version is sung with an accent from Smyrna (where modern-day Izmir, Turkey is), so the pronunciation guide below shows how it's pronounced in this version.

1. "Ya habibi" is an Arabic expression for "oh my love" or “oh my darling”.
2. In Arabic, "leleli" is derived from the word "leil" for "night", but Arabic-speaking singers often improvise using the syllables "leleli" in the same way an English song might use nonsense syllables such as "tra la la".
3. Many of the old songs use the word "Arapia" and its variants liberally. The lyrics generally use it to refer to Arabic-speaking, Romany, or Indian women. Unfortunately, in the modern Greek language, the term "Arapis" has become an offensive racial slur for people with dark skin. Although this newer definition now exists, it did not mean this when the lyrics were written. When newer generations listen to these older songs today, they realize the lyrics are referring to an innocent use of the word, and can enjoy the music in the way it was intended.

Danai Stratigopoulou's Version, 1930

Numbers in parentheses refer to footnotes that appear at the bottom of the translation.

1. "Ya habibi" is an Arabic expression for "oh my love" or “oh my darling”.
2. In Arabic, "leleli" is derived from the word "leil" for "night", but Arabic-speaking singers often improvise using the syllables "leleli" in the same way an English song might use nonsense syllables such as "tra la la".
3. Many of the old songs use the word "Arapia" and its variants liberally. The lyrics generally use it to refer to Arabic-speaking, Romany, or Indian women. Unfortunately, in the modern Greek language, the term "Arapis" has become an offensive racial slur for people with dark skin. Although this newer definition now exists, it did not mean this when the lyrics were written. When newer generations listen to these older songs today, they realize the lyrics are referring to an innocent use of the word, and can enjoy the music in the way it was intended.

Maria Karela's Version, 1941

Maria Karela recorded her version with the Spiros Stamos Orchestra.

Numbers in parentheses refer to footnotes that appear at the bottom of the translation.

1. "Ya habibi" is an Arabic expression for "oh my love" or “oh my darling”
2. In Arabic, "leleli" is derived from the word "leil" for "night", but Arabic-speaking singers often improvise using the syllables "leleli" in the same way an English song might use nonsense syllables such as "tra la la".
3. "Oime" is an ancient Greek word of expression, similar to "Oh my!"

Sofia Vembo's Version, 1947

Numbers in parentheses refer to footnotes that appear at the bottom of the translation.

1. "Ya habibi" is an Arabic expression for "oh my love" or “oh my darling”
2. In Arabic, "leleli" is derived from the word "leil" for "night", but Arabic-speaking singers often improvise using the syllables "leleli" in the same way an English song might use nonsense syllables such as "tra la la".
3. "Oime" is an ancient Greek word of expression, similar to "Oh my!"
4. Many of the old songs use the word "Arapia" and its variants liberally. The lyrics generally use it to refer to Arabic-speaking, Romany, or Indian women. Unfortunately, in the modern Greek language, the term "Arapis" has become an offensive racial slur for people with dark skin. Although this newer definition now exists, it did not mean this when the lyrics were written. When newer generations listen to these older songs today, they realize the lyrics are referring to an innocent use of the word, and can enjoy the music in the way it was intended.

Manolis Aggelopoulos' Version, 1976

Numbers in parentheses refer to footnotes that appear at the bottom of the translation.

1. "Ya habibi" is an Arabic expression for "oh my love" or “oh my darling”
2. In Arabic, "leleli" is derived from the word "leil" for "night", but Arabic-speaking singers often improvise using the syllables "leleli" in the same way an English song might use nonsense syllables such as "tra la la".
3. "Oime" is an ancient Greek word of expression, similar to "Oh my!"
4. Many of the old songs use the word "Arapia" and its variants liberally. The lyrics generally use it to refer to Arabic-speaking, Romany, or Indian women. Unfortunately, in the modern Greek language, the term "Arapis" has become an offensive racial slur for people with dark skin. Although this newer definition now exists, it did not mean this when the lyrics were written. When newer generations listen to these older songs today, they realize the lyrics are referring to an innocent use of the word, and can enjoy the music in the way it was intended.

Glykeria Kotsoula

It's uncertain what year Glykeria released this. Her recording career began in 1978, and as of 2016 she is still active.

Numbers in parentheses refer to footnotes that appear at the bottom of the translation.

1. "Ya habibi" is an Arabic expression for "oh my love" or “oh my darling”
2. In Arabic, "leleli" is derived from the word "leil" for "night", but Arabic-speaking singers often improvise using the syllables "leleli" in the same way an English song might use nonsense syllables such as "tra la la".
3. Many of the old songs use the word "Arapia" and its variants liberally. The lyrics generally use it to refer to Arabic-speaking, Romany, or Indian women. Unfortunately, in the modern Greek language, the term "Arapis" has become an offensive racial slur for people with dark skin. Although this newer definition now exists, it did not mean this when the lyrics were written. When newer generations listen to these older songs today, they realize the lyrics are referring to an innocent use of the word, and can enjoy the music in the way it was intended.

Maria Konstantinidou-Stamatiou's Version

Some have referred to Maria Konstantinidou-Stamatiou as "the Tina Turner of Greece". She was one of the last original rebetises (rebetiko singers). Numbers in parentheses refer to footnotes that appear at the bottom of the translation.

1. "Ya habibi" is an Arabic expression for "oh my love" or “oh my darling”
2. In Arabic, "leleli" is derived from the word "leil" for "night", but Arabic-speaking singers often improvise using the syllables "leleli" in the same way an English song might use nonsense syllables such as "tra la la".
3. "Oime" is an ancient Greek word of expression, similar to "Oh my!"
4. Many of the old songs use the word "Arapia" and its variants liberally. The lyrics generally use it to refer to Arabic-speaking, Romany, or Indian women. Unfortunately, in the modern Greek language, the term "Arapis" has become an offensive racial slur for people with dark skin. Although this newer definition now exists, it did not mean this when the lyrics were written. When newer generations listen to these older songs today, they realize the lyrics are referring to an innocent use of the word, and can enjoy the music in the way it was intended.

Dario Moreno's Version (Sung in French)

1. "Ya habibi" is an Arabic expression for "oh my love" or “oh my darling”
2. In Arabic, "leleli" is derived from the word "leil" for "night", but Arabic-speaking singers often improvise using the syllables "leleli" in the same way an English song might use nonsense syllables such as "tra la la".
3. "Oime" is an ancient Greek word of expression, similar to "Oh my!"

Where to Get Recordings of this Song

	Listen to Clip	Artist: Sandler & Young CD Title: Sounds from Around the World: Greece
	Listen to Clip	Artist: Harry Saroyan CD Title: Saroyan Sings Cairo

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About the Translator

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.

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