Mouskouri's family lived in Canée, Crete, where her father, Constantin, worked as a film projectionist in a local cinema. Her mother, Alice also worked in the same local cinema as an usherette. When Mouskouri was three, Constantin moved the family to Athens. Mouskouri's family worked extremely hard in order to send Nana and her elder sister, Jenny, to the prestigious Athens Conservatoire. Mouskouri had displayed exceptional musical talent from the age of 6. However her sister, Jenny, appeared to be more the more gifted of the two. In fact Mouskouri only had one 'working' vocal chord (rather than the normal two). This a rare condition gives her voice its particularly original timbre.
Mouskouri's childhood was colored by the Nazi occupation of Greece. Her father became part of the Nazi resistance movement in Athens. Mouskouri began singing lessons at age 12. Despite the flaw in her vocal cords, Mouskouri took singing lessons regularly. During the Nazi German occupation, her family no longer had the financial means to pay for her singing lessons. But her teacher saw that she had a certain talent and continued to give her lessons free of charge. As a child, she listened to radio broadcasts of American jazz singers such as Frank Sinatra, Ella Fitzgerald, and Billie Holiday as well as French chanson stars like Edith Piaf.
In 1950, she was accepted at the Conservatoire. She studied classical music with an emphasis on singing opera. The young Mouskouri committed herself into classical music studies with a passion, perfecting her vocals with extraordinary self-discipline as well as taking piano and harmony classes. After 8 years at the Conservatoire, Mouskouri was encouraged by her friends to experiment with jazz music. She soon began singing with her friends' jazz group at night and they even managed to get a radio slot. However, when Mouskouri's Conservatory professor found out about Mouskouri's involvement with a genre of music that he considered to be absolutely worthless, he flew into a fury and prevented her from sitting her end of year exams. Consequently, the Conservatoire expelled her. Mouskouri's dreams of becoming an opera singer were dashed.
Mouskouri left the Conservatoire and began performing at the Zaki club in Athens. She began singing jazz in nightclubs with a bias on Ella Fitzgerald repertory. It was at the Zaki in 1958 that Mouskouri met the famous Greek composer Manos Hadjidakis. Hadjidakis was immensely impressed by Nana’s original voice and immediately offered to write songs for her. He became her mentor. In 1959 Mouskouri performed Hadjidakis' Kapou Iparchi Agapi Mou (co-written with poet Nikos Gatsos) at the inaugural Greek Song Festival. The song won first prize, and Mouskouri began to be noticed. At the 1960 Greek Song Festival, she performed two more Hadjidakis compositions, Timoria and Kiparissaki. Both these songs tied for first prize. Mouskouri soon ventured further and participated at the Mediterranean Song Festival, held in Barcelona where she performed Kostas Yannidis' composition Xypna Agapi Mou. The song won first prize. Her wins attracted interest from several international record companies. Mouskouri wound up signed a recording contract with the Paris-based Philips-Fontana axis.
In 1961, Mouskouri performed the soundtrack of a German documentary about Greece. This resulted in the German-language single Weisse Rosen aus Athen ("The White Rose of Athens"). The song was originally adapted from a folk melody by Hadjidakis. It became an enormous hit, selling over a million copies in Germany. The song was later translated into several different languages and it went on to become one of Mouskouri's signature tunes. Mouskouri married Yorgos Petsilas in 1961. Mouskouri and Petsilas have two children, son, Nicolas born in February 1968 and daughter, Hélène born in 1970. In 1974, Mouskouri and Petsilas separated and she moved to Geneva, Switzerland. In 1975, Mouskouri and Petsilas were officially divorced.
In 1962, she met renowned American song producer Quincy Jones. Jones got her to go to New York to record an album of American jazz titled, The Girl From Greece Sings. Following that she scored another hit in the United Kingdom with My Colouring Book.
In 1963, she left Greece to live permanently in Paris, France. Mouskouri performed Luxembourg's entry in the Eurovision Song Contest that year, À Force de Prier. The song became an international hit, and helped win her the prestigious Grand Prix du Disque in France. Mouskouri soon attracted the attention of French composer Michel Legrand, who composed her two major French hits Les Parapluies de Cherbourg (1964) and L'Enfant au Tambour (1965).
In 1965, she recorded her second English-language album that was released in the United States entitled, Nana Sings. Jamaican-American Calypso musician Harry Belafonte heard and liked the album. Belafonte brought Mouskouri on tour with him through 1966. They teamed for a live duo album entitled, An Evening With Belafonte/Mouskouri. During this tour, Belafonte told Mouskouri to remove her signature black-rimmed glasses when on stage. She was so unhappy with the request that she wanted to quit the show after only two days. Finally, Belafonte relented and respected her wishes to perform with her glasses.
Mouskouri's 1967 French album Le Jour Où la Colombe ascended her to superstardom in France. This album featured many of her French songs, Au Coeur de Septembre, Adieu Angélina, Robe Bleue, Robe Blanche and the French pop classic Le Temps des Cerises. Her rendition of Guantanamera was very well received. Mouskouri made her first appearance at Paris' legendary Olympia concert theater in 1967, with a repertoire blending French pop, Greek folk, and Hadjidakis numbers.
In 1968, Mouskouri turned her attention to the British market and hosted a variety show called Nana and Guests. In 1969, she released her first full-length British LP, Over and Over. It became a smash hit that spent almost two years on the U.K. charts. Mouskouri spent much of the 1970s on the road which helped to broaden her worldwide popularity to levels. In France, she released a series of top-selling albums that included Comme un Soleil, Une Voix Qui Vient du Coeur, Vielles Chansons de France, and Quand Tu Chantes. She also recorded a successful version of Habanera, from Bizet's opera Carmen. She continued to release highly received albums in Europe, including her 1975 album Sieben Schwarze Rosen which was a significant success in Germany, and her English-language album Book of Songs that sold millions of copies worldwide.
In 1979, Mouskouri had another English-language album named Roses and Sunshine. This album was very well received in Canada. She scored a worldwide hit in 1981 with Je Chante Avec Toi, Liberté, which was translated into several languages after its widespread success in France. The momentum from this album also helped boost her following German album, Meine Lieder Sind Meine Liebe. In 1984, Mouskouri returned to Greece for her first live performance in her homeland since 1962.
In 1986, Mouskouri recorded Only Love, the theme song to a BBC TV series that went on to top the U.K. charts. The song was also a hit with its French version, L'Amour en Héritage. That same year, Mouskouri made a play for the Spanish-language market with the hit single Con Todo el Alma. The song was a major success in Spain, Argentina and Chile. She released five albums in different languages in 1987, and the following year returned to her classical conservatory roots with the double LP The Classical Nana (aka Nana Classique), which featured some of her favorite opera excerpts.
Mouskouri's 1991 English album, Only Love: The Best of Nana Mouskouri became her best-selling release in the United States. She spent much of the 1990s with her rigorous global touring schedule. Among her early 1990s albums were spiritual music, Gospel (1990), the Spanish-language Nuestras Canciones, the multilingual, Mediterranean-themed Côté Sud, Côté Coeur (1992), Dix Mille Ans Encore, Falling in Love Again: Great Songs From the Movies. Falling in Love reunited her with Harry Belafonte on two songs.
She recorded several more albums over 1996-1997, including the Spanish Nana Latina (which featured duets with Julio Iglesias and Mercedes Sosa), the English-language Return to Love, and the French pop classics, Hommages. In 1997, she staged a high-profile Concert for Peace at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in New York. This concert was later released as an album, and aired as a TV special on PBS in the U.S.
Mouskouri was appointed a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador in October 1993 [1]. She took over from the previous ambassador, American actress Audrey Hepburn. Mouskouri's first U.N. mission took her to Bosnia to draw attention to the plight of children affected by Bosnian war. She was deeply moved by her experience in Bosnia and went on to give a series of fund-raising concerts in Sweden and Belgium.
Mouskouri represented Greece in the European Parliament from 1994 until 1999 as a member of the largely conservative New Democracy party.
In 1993, Nana recorded a new album, Hollywood. It was produced by Michel Legrand. Hollywood was a collection of famous film songs. It served was not only a tribute to the world of cinema, but also as a personal reference to childhood memories of sitting with her father in his projection room in Crete.
Between December 11-14, 1997, Mouskouri gave four triumphant performances at the Olympia in Paris to celebrate the 40th anniversary of her singing career. Also in 1997, Mouskouri resigned from her position as a European MP. She explained that a fervent pacifist, she refused to back wars.
Mouskouri currently lives in Switzerland with her second husband, André Chapelle whom she married on January 13, 2003. She still performs about 100 concerts each year. In 2004, her French record company released an unprecedented 34-CD box set of more than 600 of Mouskouri's mostly French songs.
For 2005 and 2007, she plans a farewell concert tour of Europe, Australia, Asia, South America, the United States, and Canada. During an interview with The Australian newspaper, when asked why this would be her final concert series, Mouskouri said she wanted to retire on a high note. "I never thought that I would grow that old. It is better really to stop while you are standing well on your feet. I just want to be proud and in very good form and thank the audience for all this love," she said.
Attic Toys
Nana Mouskouri Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Teddy bears and flying saucers
Brik-a-brak and broken souvenirs
Christmas lights and covered wagons
Paper kites and Chinese dragons
Mingle in the shadows of the years
Attic toys in great profusion
Cut into the memory like a knife
Smiling dolls and faded cotton
Dusty world I had forgotten
Tell again the story of my life
Smiling dolls and faded cotton
Dusty world I had forgotten
Tells again the story of my life
Gone the time and dead the season
Now I ask the rhyme and reason
Why my little world got left behind
Here among this helter skelter
Taking stock and taking shelter
I may find a moments peace of mind
Attic toys in great profusion
Vanished hopes and disillusions
Peel away the memories like a knife
Broken dreams and paradoxes
Side by side in cardboard boxes
Recollect the story of my life
Broken dreams and paradoxes
Jungle up in cardboard boxes
Tell again the story of my life
Attic toys of pain and pleasure
Lying here like buried treasure
Measure up the story of my life
The song "Attic Toys" by Nana Mouskouri is a poignant reflection on the passage of time and the enduring hold that memories have on our lives. The lyrics describe a cluttered attic filled with various toys and trinkets from the past, including rocking horses, teddy bears, and paper kites. These objects serve as potent reminders of the singer's childhood and the people and experiences that have shaped her life over the years.
However, the attic is also a source of confusion and pain, as the singer struggles to make sense of why these cherished items have been relegated to a forgotten corner of her life. She reflects on the passing of time, wondering why her "little world got left behind," and seeks solace and understanding amidst the chaos of the attic's contents. Ultimately, she recognizes that these attic toys represent both the pleasures and pains of her life, and embraces them as part of her story.
The lyrics of "Attic Toys" are beautifully crafted and full of vivid imagery, capturing the bittersweet nostalgia of looking back on one's life. The song is a reminder to cherish our memories, even the painful ones, as they are an integral part of who we are and the story we have to tell.
Line by Line Meaning
Rocking chairs and rocking horses
Old and nostalgic toys like rocking chairs and rocking horses.
Teddy bears and flying saucers
Other toys that are reminiscent of childhood, like teddy bears and flying saucers.
Brik-a-brak and broken souvenirs
Assorted odds and ends that hold sentimental value, and the things that were once whole but now are broken and useless.
Christmas lights and covered wagons
Holiday decorations and toys that invoke memories of Christmas.
Paper kites and Chinese dragons
Toys from other cultures that were once exciting.
Mingle in the shadows of the years
These toys still exist, but only as shadows or memories of the past.
Attic toys in great profusion
An abundance of nostalgic toys stored in the attic.
Lying here in strange confusion
These toys are jumbled together in confusion and disarray.
Cut into the memory like a knife
These toys cut deep into the memory, evoking strong emotions of nostalgia and longing.
Smiling dolls and faded cotton
Dolls that used to bring joy, now faded and forgotten with time.
Dusty world I had forgotten
The attic is a world that was forgotten and ignored until now.
Tell again the story of my life
These toys tell the personal story of one's life, evoking emotions of joy and pain.
Gone the time and dead the season
Time has passed and seasons have ended, leaving the toys forgotten.
Now I ask the rhyme and reason
Wondering why these once treasured possessions are now abandoned in the dark corners of the attic.
Why my little world got left behind
Questioning why the world of childhood was left behind as one moved on to adult life.
Here among this helter skelter
Feeling lost among the chaos of these old and forgotten toys.
Taking stock and taking shelter
Finding peace in taking a moment to reflect, and finding solace in these old toys.
I may find a moments peace of mind
These toys may hold the key to a moment of peace and contentment in an otherwise chaotic life.
Vanished hopes and disillusions
Toys that once held memories of excitement and hope, but now serve as reminders of lost dreams and disillusionment.
Peel away the memories like a knife
The memories and emotions these toys evoke are painful to revisit, often feeling sharp and cutting like a knife.
Broken dreams and paradoxes
Toys that represent lost dreams and seemingly contradictory ideas, like happy memories attached to broken toys.
Side by side in cardboard boxes
Stored away and forgotten, these toys may be in disparate states, but they are all together in the same box.
Attic toys of pain and pleasure
Toys that invoke both painful and pleasurable emotions.
Lying here like buried treasure
These toys may be forgotten and overlooked, but they hold value and importance like buried treasure.
Measure up the story of my life
These toys are a measure of one's life and experiences, a tangible reminder of a past that is faded but not forgotten.
Contributed by Mila M. Suggest a correction in the comments below.