Σερενάτα [Serenata] [English translation]

As if we were just joking, we said, “Let’s unpair.”

I received the turntable, and you took our Frigidaire1.

I claimed the begonia, you the sheets off the bed,

Since our sudden separation three Christmases have sped.

I don’t want to see you again.

Like silly lambs, we were such a messy blend.2.

I merely write you these few lines

To say this evening the cat bore kittens.

She gave birth to two amazing little tigerletts,

Then she just left them there alone on the kitchen tiles.

At first, the poor little bambini seemed very weak.

I picked one puss up and named it after you, Panayioti.

I don’t want to see you again.

Like silly lambs, we were such a messy blend.

I merely write you these few lines

To say this evening the cat bore kittens.

I wonder where you are, wonder if you still hear

What you were vowing to the cat, “Serenata3, never fear!

As long as I live, you’ll always be my cat-kins!

I’ll never give to another feline my soul’s affections."

I don’t want to see you again.

Like silly lambs, we were such a messy blend.

I merely write you these few lines

To say this evening the cat bore kittens.

Inside the chest of drawers she became a mother,

Then she just left her two babies at my place without succor.

Apparently, she went away from me to come to you.

I myself feel lost now too. Please, tell me, Pano4, what to do.

PS - Unpleasant news about Serenata,

To whom you lovingly fed red mullet marinata.

Careless, you left her like some overplayed jazz LP5.

Now she’s gone, flattened by some f---ing6 kamikaze!

I don’t want to see you again.

Like silly lambs, we were such a messy blend.

I merely write you these few lines

To say this evening the cat bore kittens.

My love, goodbye. This absurdity is ending.

I went out and bought a brand new fridge early this morning.

Go get yourself some new dishes and find another cat.

Now and then, I hope you think fondly of Serenata.

I don’t want to see you again.

Like silly lambs, we were such a messy blend.

I merely write you this one fact:

On this sad evening we both lost a cat.

1. Frigidaire is a brand name for a refrigerator. It may not be known universally, but this brand name (with a long "a" in the final syllable) helped the line work rhythmically and offered better chances for a rhyme than "refrigerator." Also, the brand name pretty effectively calls to mind the correct kitchen appliance.2. τα κάναμε σαλάτα is a Greek idiom meaning "we made a mess." English has a similar culinary idiom for mess-making, "we made a hash of it." "Messy blend" was my approximation based not only on meaning, but also on meter and rhyme.3. Σερενάτα translates literally to "serenade"in English. But since this is the name of a cat (with only indirect resonances with "serenade," a song sung at night to a lover in the open air), I chose to transliterate the word rather than translate it.4. Πάνο/Pano is the short form of the masculine Greek name Παναγιώτη, which appears in verse three. Clearly, every line here is delivered with Παναγιώτη as the assumed recipient/audience.5. A lot of poetic license was used here both in order to get the correct number of syllables in the line and to make a decent rhyme with "kamikaze." LP is short for "long playing," a term used back in the age of vinyl records, which were destined to die thanks to the advent of CD's then MP3s. In further defense of this choice, Arleta released this song in 1984, before the digital music revolution. In fact, the first verse mentions a πικάπ /turntable. A vinyl LP would have been the object spinning on that turntable. But again, the choice was made mainly for the sake of meter and rhyme.6. την πάτησε translates into something very salty in English.

I thought it best to aim for a PG13 rating in the translation. But I wanted to indicate the saltiness because I think it makes great sense in the overall context of this song, which reaches its emotional climax in this line. The language of the song is intelligent, playful, but emotionally restrained up until this point, at which the speaker relays a very painful fact to her ex-lover: their beloved cat has just been crushed to death in the street.

• Artist:Arleta