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Why was this beautiful French song about Corfu " stolen "?
I was Idly looking through YouTube the other day , looking for things by Tino Rossi ( the 1930s and 1940s Tango singer - crooner ) and came across his rendition of " Les Roses Blanches de Corfou "
and having listened to it , thought THATS very familiar !
Which linked to several artists singing the same song , including one by Nana Mouskouri (again in French ) .
WHY in the iconic english version of the song by Nana Mouskouri is it moved to Athens , and become a sinlgle triantafilla , " The White Rose of Athens " ?
If I was from Kerkira / Corfu , I'd be very cross , what a fantastic and beautiful song about the Island ,
that is worth millions as an advertisment for tourism ,
can anyone tell me the history of this and why it was changed ?
( it cant be for Lyrical reasons , Corfu works just as well as Athens in rhyme-writing )
2 Answers
- Airpole.Lv 78 years agoFavorite Answer
Τhe song is originally named SAN SFYRIKSEIS TREIS FORES written and arranged by Manos Hatzidakis.
I remember it when it first went out in the 50's or so, when it became a big hit. In the early 60's Mouschouri left Greece for international carrer and one of the songs they performed was this one.
Obviously, the title was not easy to sing in English so they changed the lyrics to fit the Europeans. Possibly, because Corfu at that time wan the upcoming destination in Greece and therefore more known they adopted Corfu to make it an easier title.
Later Athens was also becoming the fashionable destination so the title was again changed to make it an easier hit.
Whichever of the 3 versions you prefer the music remains the same although the original is more meaningful. However, Mouschouri was never my cup of tea.
- zafirLv 78 years ago
It is the same song, just adjusted for Nana Mouskouri. When singing the French version, both Rossi and Mouskouri substitute Corfu for Athens, simply because it rhymes. While the song is based on a traditional Greek folk song, it has nothing to do with Corfu.
