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

This page contains a translation into English of the lyrics to the joyful Greek song "O Salonikios", which was sung by Stratos Dionisiou. It is in the elafro-laiko style of music, a newer version of laiko music that arose in the 1980's.

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.

The Hellenic (Greek) people, young and old, love the laiko style of music. But there is also a love/hate relationship. You have to be in the mood to be able to welcome this music into your conscious body, mind and soul. Even though there are many songs that may sound upbeat, they are also heavy at the same time. But when the time comes for celebration, it has the opposite feeling. Feeling is no longer heavy, but rather joyous and nostalgic!

ABOUT THE PHOTO: The three musicians whose collaboration produced this song: Christos Nikolopoulos, Stratos Dionisiou, Lefteris Papadopoulos. Christos Nikolopoulos composed the music, and was a self-taught musician. Stratos Dionisiou was the original artist. Lefteris Papadopoulos is a Greek lyricist, poet, author, and journalist.

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 Stratos Dionisiou

Stratos Dionisiou's parents were refugees who had fled Anatolia (modern-day Turkey) to escape the genocide, and when he was only 13 years old, his father died. As a young man, while working as a tailor in Thessaloniki, Stratos Dionisiou also performed in the nightclubs as a musician. He moved to Athens to advance his singing career, recording his first song in 1959. He began achieving commercial success with a series of hits in the 1960's, followed by a successful U.S. tour.

Just as it seemed his career was taking off, he was arrested in 1973 on charges of possessing a gun and cannabis, and imprisoned for two years. He resumed his music career after serving his time.

His success continued into the 1980's, and this song "O Salonikios" became a hit during this era, in 1985.

ABOUT THE PHOTO: Stratos Dionisiou was the original artist to record this song.

About Lefteris Papadopoulos

Lefteris Papodopoulos created the lyrics for this song. He was born in Athens in 1935, as the son of Greek refugees who had fled to Greece from the genocide in Turkey in the 1920's. Although he built a career in journalism, Papadopoulos has been a major force in Greek music, penning the lyrics for about 1,200 songs and collaborating with many great artists of the 20th century. The work he did with Manos Loizos is considered a landmark of his career.

About Christos Nikolopoulos

According to imdb.com, Christos Nikolopoulos (Χρήστος Νικολόπουλος) was born on July 11, 1947 in Kamohori, Imathia, Greece. His first taste of learning to play music as a child came when his cousin showed him how to play a few things on the accordion. Later, he borrowed his older brother's bouzouki and learned to play that. Eventually, he attended music school, learning to read music and play by ear.

To help out his family financially, Nikolopoulos began to play professionally at the age of 14 years old. At age 16, he relocated to Athens to advance his musical career, often playing for just a meal. In 1968, his compositions came to the attention of famous singer Marinella. She introduced his songs to her ex-husband Stelios Kazantzidis. These connections helped Nikolopoulos achieve his first major hit song as a composer, "Νυχτερίδες κι αράχνες" ("Bats and Spiders"). He went on to compose many songs which have become part of Greece's cultural legacy.

ABOUT THE PHOTO: Christos Nikolopoulos plays his bouzouki.

Lyrics: Lefteris Papadopoulos

Music: Christos Nikolopoulos

Original Artist: Stratos Dionisiou

Dance Style: Belly dancing or Syrtos

Στίχοι: Λευτέρης Παπαδόπουλος

Μουσική: Χρήστος Νικολόπουλος

Πρώτη εκτέλεση: Στράτος Διονυσίου

Greek Lyrics

Pronunciation

English Translation

Verse

Verse

Verse

Chorus

Chorus

Chorus

Verse

Verse

Verse

Chorus

Chorus

Chorus

Instrumental Solo

Instrumental Solo

Instrumental Solo

Chorus

Chorus

Chorus

Listen to Clip

Artist: John Bilezikjian
CD Title: Tapestry of the Dance

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.