Song Lyrics: A Song for Kastellorizo

Song Lyrics: A Song for  Kastellorizo

Lyrics: Claire Chatzigianni

When the twilight light softens on Kordoni,
it paints the houses red and the shore is golden.
In Mandraki, the boats tie up in the sheltered silence,
and a “return” from the South comes from another land.

Saint George of the Field gazes out at the sea,
sending a greeting to whoever is in that faraway land.
Saint George of the Mountain, four hundred and one steps,
shows you the great embrace of the sea.

My little Kastellorizo, a sky within memory,
every stone of yours a song, every wave a homecoming.
And if fate scatters us across lands and waters,
the heart knows the way and returns to old times.

A golden tassel on the raxini (traditional vest), a thread on the topaz.
It carries weddings, laughter. A celebration of yesteryear.
Every krepi (traditional silk scarf) and a hand that folded it long ago.
Every piece of jewellery a mother who kept it safely deep down.

An old stone, the Castello. It stands there and keeps watch.
And your Blue Grotto generates the sun in its depths.
From Kavos to Mandraki, every step a wish:
may the land have its people. To those absent, a return.

My little Kastellorizo, a sky within memory,
every stone of yours a song, every wave a homecoming.
And if a thousand roads take us. And if they take us far away,
our sea has a way of bringing us closer.

My little Kastellorizo, a red kiss in the light,
whoever left you, the homecoming is a deep longing.
From Perth to Mandraki, an invisible thread
connects the one who remembers with what binds them to the island.

And the blue-and-white flag from Ro rises early in the morning.
Forever, its Lady guards what time cannot.
And when the sun finally leaves and the land falls silent,
you’d think someone from beyond is whispering: “come back again”.

My little Kastellorizo, a red kiss in the light,
whoever left you, the homecoming is a deep longing.
And if a thousand roads take us. And if they take us far away,
our sea has a way of bringing us closer.

From Perth to Mandraki, an invisible thread
connects the one who remembers with what binds them to the island.