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.
Caruso
Nana Mouskouri Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
E tira forte il vento
Sulla vecchia terrazza
Davanti al golfo di surriento
Un uomo abbraccia una ragazza
Dopo che aveva pianto
Poi si schiarisce la voce
Te voglio bene assai
Ma tanto tanto bene sai
E' una catena ormai
Che scioglie il sangue dint'e vene sai
Vide le luci in mezzo al mare
Penso alle notti la in America
Ma erano solo le lampare
E la bianca scia di un'elica
Senti il dolore nella musica
E si alzo dal pianoforte
Ma quando vide uscire
La luna da una nuvola
Gli sembro piu dolce anche la morte
Guardo negli occhi la ragazza
Quegli occhi verdi come il mare
Poi all'improvviso usci una lacrima
E lui credette di affogare
Potenza della lirica
Dove ogni dramma e un falso
Che con un po'di trucco e con la mimica
Puoi diventare un altro
Ma due occhi che ti quardano
Cosi vicini e veri
Ti fan scordare le parole
Confondono I pensierei
'cause diventa tutto piccolo
Anche le notti la in America
Ti volti e vedi la tua vita
Dietro la scia di un'elica
Ma si, e la vita che finisce
E non ce penso poi tanto
Anzi, si sentiva gia felice
E ricomincio il suo canto
Te voglio bene assai
Ma tanto tanto bene sai
E una catena ormai
Che scioglie il sangue dint'e vene sai
Nana Mouskouri's song Caruso tells the story of a man singing alone on a terrace overlooking the Gulf of Sorrento. The lyrics describe the beauty of the sea, the strength of the wind, and the man embracing a woman who had just cried. The song speaks of the power of music and how, through the passion of the singer, the emotion in the audience is so strong that it can't be contained. The lyrics convey the idea that music has the ability to touch people's hearts, and that even with death, music continues to live on.
The lyrics then describe how the man remembers seeing lights on the ocean, thinking they were nights back in America, but realizing they were only the lamps on a boat. He stops playing the piano as he sees the moon emerge from a cloud, feeling the sweetest death, and the power of the music overwhelms him. He then looks into the eyes of a young woman, and her green eyes remind him of the sea. He suddenly starts crying, thinking he might drown. The lyrics then proclaim the power of lyrics in which every drama is a fake, and with a little makeup and mimicry, one can become someone else. But someone's eyes can quickly summon the conscious awareness and make an individual forget their egos, diverting them from their intended path.
Line by Line Meaning
Qui dove il mare luccica
Here, where the sea shines
E tira forte il vento
And the wind blows strong
Sulla vecchia terrazza
On the old terrace
Davanti al golfo di surriento
In front of the Gulf of Sorrento
Un uomo abbraccia una ragazza
A man embraces a girl
Dopo che aveva pianto
After she had cried
Poi si schiarisce la voce
Then he clears his throat
E ricomincia il canto
And begins to sing again
Te voglio bene assai
I love you very much
Ma tanto tanto bene sai
But you already know that
E' una catena ormai
It's a chain now
Che scioglie il sangue dint'e vene sai
That melts the blood in the veins, you know
Vide le luci in mezzo al mare
He saw lights in the middle of the sea
Penso alle notti la in America
He thought of nights in America
Ma erano solo le lampare
But they were only lanterns
E la bianca scia di un'elica
And the white wake of a propeller
Senti il dolore nella musica
He feels the pain in the music
E si alzo dal pianoforte
And he got up from the piano
Ma quando vide uscire
But when he saw
La luna da una nuvola
The moon from behind a cloud
Gli sembro piu dolce anche la morte
Death even seemed sweeter to him
Guardo negli occhi la ragazza
He looked into the girl's eyes
Quegli occhi verdi come il mare
Those eyes green as the sea
Poi all'improvviso usci una lacrima
Then suddenly a tear came out
E lui credette di affogare
And he felt like he was drowning
Potenza della lirica
The power of the lyrics
Dove ogni dramma e un falso
Where every drama is fake
Che con un po'di trucco e con la mimica
That with a bit of trick and mime
Puoi diventare un altro
You can become someone else
Ma due occhi che ti quardano
But two eyes that look at you
Cosi vicini e veri
So close and true
Ti fan scordare le parole
Make you forget the words
Confondono I pensierei
Confuse your thoughts
'cause diventa tutto piccolo
'Cause everything becomes small
Anche le notti la in America
Even the nights in America
Ti volti e vedi la tua vita
You turn around and see your life
Dietro la scia di un'elica
Behind the wake of a propeller
Ma si, e la vita che finisce
But yes, it's life that ends
E non ce penso poi tanto
And I don't think about it too much
Anzi, si sentiva gia felice
Actually, he already felt happy
E ricomincio il suo canto
And he began to sing again
Te voglio bene assai
I love you very much
Ma tanto tanto bene sai
But you already know that
E una catena ormai
It's a chain now
Che scioglie il sangue dint'e vene sai
That melts the blood in the veins, you know
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: LUCIO DALLA
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
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