Throughout his childhood he was influenced by the musics that were coexisting in Egypt. The sound of Arabic music entered into his life at that time and has continued until today as one of his biggest influences. At the age of ten, he was intrigued by Jazz and learnt to play the trumpet. As a young boy he also attended the choir of the Greek Byzantine church of Alexandria and sang for five years as a soloist.
However, when Artemios reached the age of fifteen, his life changed. It was the time of the Suez Canal crisis. His family left Egypt and immigrated to their homeland Greece. Artemios then had to work to support his family. During the day he attended school and, at night, he played the trumpet in various clubs in Athens. Two years later, his first band, "The Idols" was formed. Artemios played the Bass Guitar and sang backing vocals as well. One day, as the lead singer needed to rest, he asked Artemios to replace him for a few songs. That night, when Artemios sang "The House Of The Rising Sun" and "When A Man Loves A Woman" the audience was amazed. From then on Artemios was asked to sing again and again.
Within a short period, Artemios was making a sound reputation. It was at this time that he met the man who would later become one of his most successful composer, Lakis Vlavianos. From that meeting a new band was born, the "We Five", with Artemios as the lead singer.
In 1968 Artemios’s journey crossed the road of two other top Greek musicians, Vangelis Papatanassiou and Loukas Sideras. Their associationbecame one of the biggest musical events of the seventies in the form of "Aphrodite’s Child". This ambitious band decided to travel to the United Kingdom for better commercial prospects. Artemios--who had now shortened his name to Demis--would be the singer and the bass player, Vangelis the main composer as well as the keyboard player, and Loukas would play the drums.
However, they were refused entry to the United Kingdom for lack of a work permit. Instead, Aphrodite's Child travelled to Paris, arriving just as the city was going through the May 68 revolution. After a few concerts in some trendy Parisian clubs, a major company offered to record a song of theirs, one that was inspired by Pachelbel‘s canon called "Rain And Tears". This first album of Aphrodite’s Child sold over a million copies in France alone.
Nine months later, as Demis first daughter, Emily, was born, "Rain And Tears" was the top single all over Europe and a top 20 single in the United Kingdom. The band experienced a huge success for three years.
They then released their legendary last album “666”, after which, for various reasons, Aphrodite's Child decided to split up.
Since Demis was one of the main elements of the band, the record company offered him a chance to recorded his first solo single, "We Shall Dance", which was released on the album "On the Greek Side of My Mind". This album and the single jumped into the top five of all the national hit parades of Italy, Spain, France, Holland, Germany and Scandinavia.
Some months later, Demis met with his old friend of the "We Five", Lakis Vlavianos. Lakis was then going through an inspired period and wrote many songs which Demis recorded; these turned into a string of number one hits all over the world, including: "Forever And Ever", "My Friend the Wind", and "Velvet Morning".
After his second child, Cyril, was born in 1975, Demis toured the globe for eight years with his second wife and child. In Brazil, he packed a stadium of 150 000 people--an event that was achieved in that particular stadium twice only. (The other previous artist was Frank Sinatra.) In fact, Demis sold enough records to gain a name in the Guinness Book of records among the personalities of show business in the 70’s and the eighties. He was awarded more than a hundred golden, platinum, and diamond albums and cassettes.
His unique dressing style was often considered eccentric but Demis was following his instinct which told him that the music he was performing should match with the combination of looks between the glorious Byzantine Empire and the Arabic Caftan.
In 1978 his instinct told him again that he should retire for a while, thinking of new things concerning his career and life. And so he took his family to an area of the world where he was unknown, Malibu Beach, California. There, Demis lost over 50 kilograms. He returned to Europe and lived a quieter life between England and Greece, alone with his son, Cyril.
On June 14 1985, wile he was travelling from Athens to Rome, a decisive event occurred. Demis’s TWA airplane was hijacked by terrorists. After two days in that plane praying, Demis was held three days in the prison of Beyrouth with his third wife. Like many other survivors, he went through the shock of a traumatic experience. After that, Demis said he had never understood so well the importance of the nations living in peace and how precious life is when you see death so close. He felt more than ever that his contribution for a better tomorrow could be via music and so decided to return to the recording and performance scene.
He recorded twenty songs and compiled an album called "The story of Demis Roussos". With this album, Demis started to world tour again and found a nostalgic audience who had missed his magic voice. In 1986 Demis toured the USSR for three weeks and was invited to join important scientists, writers and artists at the forum for peace and disarmament in Moscow, during February 1987.
Later that year, during a tight TV schedule in Chile, Demis insisted on fitting in a visit to the Earth summit in Rio to get a clearer picture of the environmental problems, which were a main concern for Demis.
Since then Demis had been a regular visitor of the charts with singles such as "Quand je t’aime" and "On écrit sur les murs", and albums such as "Voice and Vision" and "Immortel".
Since 2008, Demis had been living in Greece by the sea. After being one of the most talented singers of his century, Demis was still working on more magical offerings, with the blessing of music and God.
He died aged 68, on the Hygeia Hospital in Athens on January 25, 2015.
Take My Hand
Demis Roussos Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Now i surrender
The dream came true today
I almost forgot how love could be untill u came my way
take my hand
try to ease your pain
close you eyes
no more lies
dry your eyes my friend
all through the ages, the sages, they trust
we're born and we die on our own
now all we've done I've been through the pages
we'll write them no matter how long
is forever too long?
take my hand
I'm only a man
all the way
come what may
until we reach the end
all through the ages, the sages (the same thing?) they trust(thirst?)
we're born and we die on our own (all alone?)
now all we've done I've been through the pages
we'll write them no matter how long
is forever too long?
take my hand
and try to ease my pain
close your eyes
no more lies
the sun will rise again
so take my hand
I'm only a man
all the way
come what may
we'll try to reach the end
by heidi peck
The song "Take My Hand" by Demis Roussos speaks to the theme of love, companionship, and the willingness to support each other through the journey of life. The lyrics depict the singer, who is surrendering and offering his hand to his lover. He states how his dream of finding love has come true now that she is in his life. He almost forgot how love could be until she came into his life. He is offering to ease her pain as they journey through life together. He lends support to his friend and promises to be with her through thick and thin until the end of their lives.
The song shows that even the wisest and most learned men trust in the fact that we are born alone, live alone and die alone but that we do not need to be alone while we live our lives. The sages acknowledge the importance of being with someone, to share the journey of life. The singer speaks on how something as mundane as writing on pages, which seems like work, will go on no matter how long, and if they walk hand in hand and stick together, they can beat anything that comes their way.
In summary, the song speaks to the indomitable human spirit, which longs for companionship and support in all things, especially the ups and downs of life. It is essential to be with someone who stands by our side, understands us and complements us in every way possible.
Line by Line Meaning
Take my hand
I want to be close to you and offer you support
Now I surrender
I am letting down my guard and opening up to you
The dream came true today
I never thought I would find love until I met you
I almost forgot how love could be until you came my way
I had given up hope for love until I met you and now I remember what it feels like
Take my hand
I am here for you and want to help you feel better
Try to ease your pain
I want to comfort you and help you through your troubles
Close your eyes
Take a moment to relax and let go of your worries
No more lies
Let's be completely honest with each other
The sun will rise again
Things will get better and we will find happiness again
Dry your eyes my friend
I want to console you and help you feel better
All through the ages, the sages, they trust
Wise people throughout history have believed in the power of love
We're born and we die on our own
We come into this world alone and leave it alone
Now all we've done I've been through the pages
Everything we've experienced is a part of our story
We'll write them no matter how long
We will create our own destiny no matter what happens
Is forever too long?
I want to be with you forever and wonder if it's too much to ask
Take my hand
Let's face the future together
I'm only a man
I am flawed and imperfect but I will do my best for you
All the way
No matter what happens, I am committed to you
Come what may
Whatever challenges we face, we will overcome them together
Until we reach the end
We will be together until the end of our days
Contributed by Lillian M. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
tam ali
Take my hand
Now i surrender
The dream came true today
I almost forgot how love could be untill u came my way
take my hand
try to ease your pain
close you eyes
no more lies
thesun will rise again
dry your eyes my friend
all through the ages, the sages, they trust
we’re born and we die on our own
now all we’ve done I’ve been through the pages
we’ll write them no matter how long
is forever too long?
take my hand
I’m only a man
all the way
come what may
until we reach the end
all through the ages, the sages (the same thing?) they trust(thirst?)
we’re born and we die on our own (all alone?)
now all we’ve done I’ve been through the pages
we’ll write them no matter how long
is forever too long?
take my hand
and try to ease my pain
close your eyes
no more lies
the sun will rise again
so take my hand
I’m only a man
all the way
come what may
we’ll try to reach the end
by heidi peck
Isa Buenaventura
Demis Roussos, el más grande entre los grandes,...Maravilloso e INMORTAL!!😚❤🌷🌹🌷👏🎶🎻🎺🥁📯🎷🌾🌷🌾👏👏
Lucila das Graças Goss Brambilla Lucila Brambilla
Amiga Isa, que voz, que música mais linda. Não tem para ninguém. Só saudades. 25_08_19. Mais alguém ouvindo??....
Lucia Zafra Sánchez
Amigas Isa y Lucila que gran cantante no habrá otro igual. Saludos 28-8-2020😘
Stefania Brondo
@Lucila das Graças Goss Brambilla Lucila Brambilla ascolto la musica di (DEMIS) sempre giorno pomeriggio notte sempre a la voce di un angelo la più bella stella di tutto l'universo il suo bellissimo sorriso il suo cuore non si e' spento perché e' vivo nel nostro cuore con la sua musica e la sua voce dolcissima noi che lo amiamo la musica da lui creata col cuore 🌍🌞🌛🌠🌲🐈🌌🍀🐇🌹🦋💘💯🌺🐞🌻🌷😇🐕
Isa Buenaventura
Demis Roussos, marcaste una época muy bonita con tus melodías maravillosas, que todos los que te escuchamos las llevaremos dentro de nuestros corazones enteramente!!😚❤🌷👏📯🥁🎺🎻🎵🎶🎷
Maria Georgina Silva
Demis sempre simpático e bem humorado. Queridíssimo dos fãs.
Maria Julia Freitas
O Inimitável Insubstituível O NOSSO Inesquecível 💚💞🙏🙏🙏🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻
Maria Lins
Todo meu aplauso👏👏👏👏🇧🇷🇧🇷👏👏👏👏👏💓💓💓
Maria Garcia
Hasta el cielo lo saludo por dejarnos su linda música me gusta mucho su voz su elegancia para cantar con mucho cariño Demiss !!
Isa Buenaventura
Demis Roussos, la joya de la música, de todos los tiempos!!...