This song comes from the Greek town of Nigrita.

The name of this song, "Γερακίνα" translates to "buzzard", though it's clearly the name of a girl in the song. We asked Katerina if there is any connection to the girl's name and a "buzzard" (the bird). Here's her reply:

"The Buzzard song owes its name to a girl called "Buzzard" whose history it recounts. "Buzzard" was a real female person who lived around 1860 in Nigrita Serron. This is a true story and the song is dedicated to the memory of the girl who drowned in the well. Every year there's a festival called the Yerakinia where a lot of events take place. The well where Yerakina drowned is still there in the neighborhood where she lived.

The buzzard is also a bird of prey. Often the old Greeks used for the names of people, birds or animals names, to emphasize certain characteristics of the person, such as 'Buzzard eyes'!"

Γερακίνα - Greek Children's Songs - Greece - Mama Lisa's World: Children's Songs and Rhymes from Around the World - Intro Image

Notes

Transliteration

i is always pronounced like the i in ill
e is always pronounced like the e in egg
a is always pronounced like the a in access
ou is always pronounced like the u in ultra
h is always pronounced like the h in hand
s is always pronounced like the s in song
d is always pronounced like the th in there
y is always pronounced like the y in yellow

Kinise i Yerakina
yia nero
krio na feri

droumou droumou droumou
droumou droumou droum
ta vrahiolia tis vrodoun
(Repeat Verse)

Ki epese mes to pigadi
Ki evale foni meyali (light y sound - barely heard)

droumou doumou droumou
droumou droumou droum
ta vrahiolia tis vrodoun
(Repeat Verse)

Yeraki, Yerakina tha se paro
ke yineka, yineka mou tha se kano

droumou doumou droumou
droumou droumou droum
ta vrahiolia tis vrodoun
(Repeat Verse)

Comments

This is the version of this song that's normally sung by children.

Listen

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MP3: Katerina Giannikou

Thanks and Acknowledgements

Many thanks to Katerina Giannikou for sharing this song, for translating it, commenting on it and for singing it for us!

Ευχαριστώ πολύ!