Glossary entry

Greek term or phrase:

τον πόνο το μαρκάρανε

English translation:

they marked their (the) pain

Added to glossary by Magda P.
Aug 30, 2017 09:27
6 yrs ago
Greek term

τον πόνο το μαρκάρανε

Non-PRO Greek to English Other Poetry & Literature phrase from a 1995 Greek song
From the song:-Στα φορτηγά και στα γκαζάδικα

Many colleagues have helped me to make sense of this recent song but can'tfind much meaning in these words of the chorus. Can anyone here make an educated guess or is this phrase merely nonsensical? Presumably Άγγελος Πυριόχος, the author thought they made some kind of sense. But none of the the senses of μαρκάρω in Το Λεξικό της κοινής νεοελληνικής seems to fit this context.

Στα φορτηγά και στα γκαζάδικο δυο άντρες φίλοι
στης Σαλονίκης τα Λαδάδικα γίνονται μύλοι.
Με δυο φωτιές τα τσιπουράδικα, ρόγες σταφύλι
πίνουν αγάπες στα ορθάδικα, βαμμένα χείλη.

Οι ναύτες που μπαρκάρανε κι οι ναύτες που κουμάρανε (alternative text:- φουμάρανε)
απ’ το φιλί μια τζούρα
ΤΟΝ ΠΟΝΟ ΤΟ ΜΑΡΚΑΡΑΝΕ, ταξίδια σιγοντάρανε
και `πνιξαν τη χασούρα.

Στα φορτηγά τα μεσημέρια τους δυο ναύτες μόνοι
μετράνε σκόρπια καλοκαίρια τους, κάνουν τιμόνι.
Χάνουν τις νύχτες στα αστέρια τους, θεός θυμώνει
ο Ποσειδώνας τα φεγγάρια τους τα καμακώνει.

Οι ναύτες που μπαρκάρανε κι οι ναύτες που κουμάρανε
απ’ το φιλί μια τζούρα
τον πόνο το μαρκάρανε, ταξίδια σιγοντάρανε
και `πνιξαν τη χασούρα
Proposed translations (English)
3 they marked their (the) pain
Change log

Aug 31, 2017 14:27: Magda P. Created KOG entry

Discussion

Magda P. Aug 31, 2017:
Thank you! My pleasure.
Hellinas (asker) Aug 31, 2017:
Disappearance of my note to the answerer I gave a long note of comment together with thanks to all, especially Magda, for their help.
I also asked whether χασούρα here was equivalent to απώλεια/χάσιμο i.e. a general loss rather than a gambling / business loss. Moreover, i asked the moderator to award her with 4 not 3 points. All this has disappeared for some unexplained reason. Please could the moderator award this extra point?
Magda P. Aug 31, 2017:
@Dave, I agree and I like what you said about the pain being the woman they can't have. It could be about anything they can't have. Being away at sea for years, not having a normal life, causes a pain they can't really do much about... except having a cigarette, a drink and just sipping and tasting life accepting their fate but finding a way to bury the loss. A DM song just came to mind called "A pain I'm used to"... I think that's the idea. And yes, it's like ticking off a box. I thought about it too. Pain is just a fact.
Dave Bindon Aug 30, 2017:
I've just asked a couple of friends here in Athens. They are from different parts of Greece. Their idea is that the pain is "marked" as being just part of life. A bit like just ticking off a box. Their opinion, in other words, is that the pain is no big deal, just something to expect.

That, of course, is just the opinion of two drunk friends of mine in
Athens!
Dave Bindon Aug 30, 2017:
Although, having given what I think is a sensible answer, I have to say that the author probably just needed another verb ending in -αρω and didn't care too much about the meaning!
Dave Bindon Aug 30, 2017:
Looking at Magda's reply, plus my knowledge of Greek, I think this is μαρκαρω in a sense which extends from football slang. In football it's "marking" an opponent (basically doing anything to gets the ball from him and being assigned to that single opponent). In Greek slang this extends to a guy targeting and concentrating on a woman he wants. In the case of the song, I think the idea is that the πόνος is the woman they are unsuccessfully targeting.

Proposed translations

7 hrs
Selected

they marked their (the) pain

-from the kiss, a puff of smoke
they marked their pain, followed journeys
and buried the loss.


Just a thought.
Something went wrong...
4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer. Comment: "Thanks to all, especially Magda, who gave me a great deal of help, extending to correct an attempted translation I made. I value all comments made in the above discussion. Some have led me to modify my ideas of what Άγγελος Πυριόχος might have meant but I liked the rendering of these words by ΕΝ ΠΛΩ."
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