Interpretation of “Tale with sad ending” by Miltos Paschalidis

2024-11-20

For this entry I have picked a beautiful song by Miltos Paschalidis: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zj2g5N7geSg.

Below are the original lyrics, my faithful translation of them, and further philosophical commentary.

Παραμύθι με λυπημένο τέλος

Εμρηνεία:  Μίλτος Πασχαλίδης
Στίχοι:    Μίλτος Πασχαλίδης
Μουσική:   Μίλτος Πασχαλίδης


Κάποτε γνώρισα μια λίμνη
μάτια μου, μάτια μου
Κάποτε γνώρισα μια λίμνη
που 'θελε να 'ναι θάλασσα
 
Και κάθε που χαράζει
την τρώει το μαράζι
Και κάθε που χαράζει
την τρώει το μαράζι
 
Κάποτε αντάμωσα μια πέτρα
μάτια μου, αχ μάτια μου
Κάποτε αντάμωσα μια πέτρα
που 'θελε βράχος να γενεί
 
Και κάθε που χαράζει
την τρώει το μαράζι
Και κάθε που χαράζει
την τρώει το μαράζι
 
Κάποτε αγάπησα μια κόρη
μάτια μου, μαύρα μάτια μου
που ρωτούσε κάθε αγόρι
πότε γυναίκα θα γενεί

Και κάθε που χαράζει
την τρώει το μαράζι
Και κάθε που χαράζει
την τρώει το μαράζι

Έχουν περάσει χρόνοι δέκα
μάτια μου, αχ μάτια μου
η κόρη γίνηκε γυναίκα
μα εγώ απόμεινα παιδί

Και κάθε που χαράζει
με τρώει το μαράζι
Και κάθε που χαράζει
με τρώει το μαράζι

Tale with sad ending

Singer:  Miltos Paschalidis
Lyrics:  Miltos Paschalidis
Music:   Miltos Paschalidis


I once met a lake
my eyes, my eyes
I once met a lake
that wanted to be a sea

And whenever it dawns
it suffers in grief
And whenever it dawns
it suffers in grief

I once encountered a stone
my eyes, oh my eyes
I once encountered a stone
that wanted to be a rock

And whenever it dawns
it suffers in grief
And whenever it dawns
it suffers in grief

I once loved a girl
my eyes, my black eyes
who was asking every boy
when she would become a woman

And whenever it dawns
it suffers in grief
And whenever it dawns
it suffers in grief

Ten years have gone by
my eyes, oh my eyes
the girl became a woman
but I remained a boy

And whenever it dawns
I suffer in grief
And whenever it dawns
I suffer in grief

The titular tale is about the tension between our wishes and actuality. There are times when we do not live in the present of our presence: we do not appreciate what we have, longing for something entirely different instead. In the process, we do not enjoy our life; we declare indefinite absence from it, opting to find solace in an imaginary world that cannot fulfil us no matter how comfortable it may be.

Some wishes are realistic, like the girl wanting to become a woman. This is the natural course of events. Other aspirations cannot be made manifest though. We may then assume that the realistic ones are appropriate and that only the unrealistic hopes are detrimental to our being. The tale, however, correctly suggests that this is not how it is: being disconnected from our prevailing reality begets sorrow and suffering.

Fundamentally, there is a mismatch between what we can achieve in the here-and-now and what we believe we ought to be experiencing instead. It comes down to expectations, which themselves are shaped by mistaken views. If all we expect is something beyond the given milieu’s scope, we are setting ourselves up for persistent disappointment.

Being content presupposes acceptance. Admit to who you are right now in the specifics of your environment. This does not preclude who you might become in cases yet to be constituted. Accepting how things stand is not a prerequisite for them to be: it only is a precondition for you to not be labouring against forces superior to yours.

There will still be sad endings, though there may be something worthwhile to be had in them too, provided we are attuned to them. Besides, the cosmos is not about pure bliss. It is one of admixture; a blend of diverse events and the feelings they produce.

I am inspired to close this commentary with a poem of my own that just sprung to mind (I will also post it in the Poems section):

Tempests

Worry not of tempests to be
Moments cannot be embottled
Rain might wash you away
Yet time already does