Dance of Zálongo

This Greek folk song recalls an heroic action by the women of the village of Souli, who danced off a cliff to their death rather than be captured by the enemy.

DANCE OF ZALONGO

Refrain:
Farewell, springs, forests, mountains and hills.

Verses:
Farewell, unfortunate world, farewell, sweet life,
And you, destitute homeland, farewell forever.
The women of Souli haven’t learned only how to live,
They also know how to die, rather than consent to slavery.
As if to a fair, to see the lilac blossoms,
Into the abyss they go down, with songs, with joy.
Fish do not live on land, nor flowers on the sandy beach;
So the women of Souli do not live without freedom.

Translation by Perry Phillips and Soterios G. Stavrou.