# Μαντινάδες



## melanina

Γειά σας
Very fond of Greek music and trying to learn some things from lyrics, I tried to translate this sentence from a Matinade.

"μα το λουλούδι στην σκιά, ανθό ποτέ δεν βγάνει, όποιος ποτέ δεν αγαπά την ομορφιά την χάνει"

but the flower in the shade, ...  (ανθο ?)  never comes out,  the one who never loves the beauty, loses it

I think I am missing something in my translation.  Does anyone have a clue ?

Ευχαριστώ


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## Astrix

το λουλούδι=flower, the whole plant(from Albanian),

το άνθος= flower, either the whole plant or the blooming part only(Greek),

o ανθός=only the blooming part(Greek)

so it goes like

the flower in the shade never blooms, the one who never loves, he loses the beauty


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## melanina

ευχαριστώ πολύ Astrix !  Beautiful.  I wonder.... can one even make it sound like this ? The flower in the shade never blooms, the one who never loves it, he loses her beauty.  Or would the Greek sentence be totally different in that case ?


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## Astrix

melanina said:


> ευχαριστώ πολύ Astrix !  Beautiful.  I wonder.... can one even make it sound like this ? The flower in the shade never blooms, the one who never loves it, he loses her beauty.  Or would the Greek sentence be totally different in that case ?



παρακαλώ, I don't think so, it is the one who never loves generally, not "it", not something specific and thus he loses the beauty generally not "her beauty", except for if the lyrics say something more specific earlier.

As far as I can understand the lyrics there should be a comma "οποίος ποτέ δεν αγαπά, την ομορφιά την χάνει", if the lyric meant the one who doesn't love the beauty then it is elusive what he loses exactly, except for the case it makes some sense for you personally that I can not grasp for the moment.


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## Astrix

melanina said:


> ευχαριστώ πολύ Astrix !  Beautiful.  I wonder.... can one even make it sound like this ? The flower in the shade never blooms, the one who never loves it, he loses her beauty.  Or would the Greek sentence be totally different in that case ?


Though someone could interpret it as "the one who never loves the beauty, he loses the beauty" , it is clearly 4 verses with rhyme so there is a comma after "αγαπά".


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## dmtrs

I believe that Astrx's first interpretation is right. 
I understand the mandinada as a parallel between the loveless person and the flowering plant that lives in the shade; as the latter does not bloom, the former loses (or lacks) beauty altogether.


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## melanina

ευχαριστώ πολύ both Astrix and dmtrs.  Your explanations clarified to me what I have to bear in mind when reading (or listening in this case) Greek texts and lyrics.


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## Astrix

melanina said:


> ευχαριστώ πολύ both Astrix and dmtrs.  Your explanations clarified to me what I have to bear in mind when reading (or listening in this case) Greek texts and lyrics.


Δεν κάνει τίποτα, the lyrics is a difficult approach due to metaphorical/allegorical meanings and poetic language, in the beginning it may be more confusing than helpful to study such form of the language. I personally have a hard time with lyrics and poetry in Greek.


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