Lyrics Afta Ta Dedra - Grigoris Bithikotsis

Afta ta dendra (These trees)

Av'ta' ta' dhe'ndra dhe' volev'ondai me' ligo'tero ou'rano',
(These trees cannot grow healthily unless they're under open skies,)
Av'te's oi' pe'tres dhe' volev'ondai ka'tou a'p᾿ ta' xe'na vi'mata,
(These rocks cannot settle comfortably.
Under the jackbooted heels of strangers,)
Av'ta' ta' pro'sopa dhe' volev'ondai para' mo'no sto'n i"lio,
(These faces cannot smile.
Cheerfully unless they're bathed in sunshine,)
Av'te's oi' kardhie's dhe' volev'ondai para' mo'no sto' dhi'kio.
(These hearts cannot beat comfortably unless there is justice.)
E'tou͂to to' topi'o i'͂nai skliro' sa'n ti' siopi',
(This landscape is harsh and as merciless as silence,)
Sfi'ngi sto'n ko'rfo tou ta' pirome'na tou
Litha'ria, (It hugs its blazing rocks tightly to its bosom,)
Sfi'ngi sto' fo͂s ti's o'rfane's e'lie's tou kai' t᾿ a'mbe'lia tou,
(It hugs its orphaned olive groves and vineyards in the sunlight,)
Sfi'ngi ta' dho'ndia. (It clenches its teeth.)
Dhe'n i'pa'rkhi nero'. Mona'kha fo͂s.
(There is no water, only a blinding light,)
Dhe'n i'pa'rkhi nero'. Mona'kha fo͂s.
O' dhro'mos kha'netai sto' fo͂s (The
Road ahead vanishes into that light,)
Ki o' i"skios ti͂s ma'ndras i'͂nai si'dhero.
(And the shadow of the barbed-wire fence is a shadow of steel.)