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Misirlou (Greek: Μισιρλού, "Egyptian Girl"; from Turkish Mısırlı, "Egyptian"; from Arabic مصر, Miṣr, "Egypt"), is a popular Greek song with a cult-like popularity in five very diverse styles of music: Greek rebetiko, Middle-Eastern belly dancing, Jewish wedding music (Klezmer), American surf rock and international orchestral easy listening (Exotica). Greek (el ελληνική γλώσσα or simply el ελληνικά — "Hellenic" is an Indo-European language, spoken today by 15-22 million people mainly Turkish ( tr Türkçe IPA) is a language spoken by over 63 million people worldwide making it the most commonly spoken of the Turkic languages. Arabic (ar الْعَرَبيّة (informally ar عَرَبيْ) in terms of the number of speakers is the largest living member of the Semitic language This article is about the country of Egypt For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Egypt topics. The musical legacy of Greece is as diverse as its history. Cypriot music has certain similarities to traditional Greek Music, and their Rebetiko, plural rebetika, ( Greek ρεμπέτικο and ρεμπέτικα respectively occasionally transliterated as Rembetiko Belly dance is a Western term for a traditional Middle Eastern Dance form See also Secular Jewish music Klezmer (from Yiddish כּלי־זמיר kley - instrument and zemer - song etymologically from Surf rock is a style of music that originated in the USA that mixes elements of Surf music and Rock music, and partially due to the number of Mexican Easy listening music is a style of Popular music and radio format that emerged in the mid-20th century evolving out of swing and Big band music Exotica is a musical genre named after the 1957 Martin Denny album of the same title, popular during the 1950s to mid 1960s typically with the Suburban

Contents

History

The song was first performed by the Michalis Patrinos rebetiko band in Athens, Greece in 1927. A song is a Musical composition. Songs contain vocal parts that are performed 'sung' and generally feature Words ( Lyrics) commonly followed Rebetiko, plural rebetika, ( Greek ρεμπέτικο and ρεμπέτικα respectively occasionally transliterated as Rembetiko Athens (ˈæθənz Αθήνα Athina,) the Capital and largest city of Greece, dominates the Attica periphery as one of the world's Greece (Ελλάδα transliterated: Elláda, historically, Ellás,) officially the Hellenic Republic (Ελληνική Δημοκρατία Year 1927 ( MCMXXVII) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. As with almost all early rebetika songs (a style that originated with the Greek refugees from Turkey), the song's actual composer was never identified, and its ownership rested with the band leader. Turkey (Türkiye known officially as the Republic of Turkey ( is a Eurasian Country that stretches A composer (literally meaning 'one who puts together' is a person who creates Music, usually in the medium of notation, for Interpretation and Performance The melody was most likely composed collaboratively by the group, as was often the case at the time; the initial lyrics were almost certainly written by Patrinos himself. Patrinos, being originally a Smyrniot, pronounced the song's title [musurlu], approximately similar to the Turkish pronunciation, [mɯsɯrlɯ]. İzmir, historically Smyrna, is the third most populous city of Turkey and the country's largest port after İstanbul.

The Greek word Misirlou refers specifically to a Muslim Egyptian woman (as opposed to a Christian Egyptiotissa); thus this song refers to a cross-faith, cross-race, relationship, a risqué subject at its time. A Muslim (مسلم pronounced Muslim, not Muzlim) is an adherent of the Religion This article is about the contemporary North African ethnic group A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, a monotheistic Religion centered on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth

Initially, the song was composed as a Greek zeibekiko dance, in the rebetiko style of mucis, at a slower tempo and a different key than the orientalized performances that most are familiar with today. Zeibekiko (or Zeybekiko Greek Ζεϊμπέκικο is considered an urban improvisational dance from Greece with a rhythmic pattern of 9/4 or else 9/8 (broken down as 1/8 Rebetiko, plural rebetika, ( Greek ρεμπέτικο and ρεμπέτικα respectively occasionally transliterated as Rembetiko 2266-Tetramethylpiperidine-1-oxyl or TEMPO is the Chemical compound with the formula (CH23(CMe22NO In Music theory, the term key is used in many different and sometimes contradictory ways This was the style of the first known recording by Michalis Patrinos in Greece, circa 1930 (which was circulated in the United States by Titos Dimitriadis' Orthophonic label); a second recording was made by Patrinos in New York, in 1931. Year 1930 ( MCMXXX) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display 1930 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the The Victor Orthophonic Victrola first demonstrated publicly in 1925 was the first consumer phonograph designed specifically to play "electrically" recorded disks. New York ( is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States and is the nation's third most populous Year 1931 ( MCMXXXI) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display full 1931 calendar of the Gregorian calendar.

In 1941, Nick Roubanis, a Greek-American music instructor released a jazz instrumental arrangement of the song, crediting himself as the composer. Year 1941 ( MCMXLI) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (the link will display 1941 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. A Greek American (Ελληνοαμερικανοί Ellinoamerikani) is a citizen of the United States, who is of Greek heritage or origin Jazz is an American Musical art form which originated in the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States Since his claim was never legally challenged, he is still officially credited as the composer today worldwide, except in Greece where credit is variably given to either Roubanis or Patrinos. Subsequently S. Russell, N. Wise and M. Leeds wrote English lyrics to the song. English is a West Germanic language originating in England and is the First language for most people in the United Kingdom, the United States Roubanis is also credited with fine-tuning the key and the melody, giving it the oriental sound that it is associated with today. In Music, there are two common meanings for tuning: Tuning practice, the act of tuning an instrument or voice In Music theory, the term key is used in many different and sometimes contradictory ways In Music, a melody (from Greek μελῳδία - melōidía, "singing chanting" also tune, voice, or The song soon became an "exotica" standard among the light swing (lounge) bands of the day.

in 1944 maestro clovis el-hajj an arabic lebanese musician preformed this song and called it ""amal"" this is the only arabic version of this song.

In 1945, a Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, women's musical organization asked Professor Brunhilde E. Dorsch to organize an international dance group at Duquesne University to honor America's World War II allies. She contacted Mercine Nesotas, who taught several Greek dances, including Syrtos Haniotikos (from Crete), which she called Kritikos, but for which they had no music. Because Pittsburgh's Greek-American community did not know Cretan music, Pat Mandros Kazalas, a music student, suggested the tune Misirlou, although slower, might fit the dance. The dance was first performed at a program to honor America's allies of World War II at Stephen Foster Memorial Hall in Pittsburgh on March 6, 1945. Thereafter, this new dance which had been created by putting the Syrtos Kritikos to the slower Misirlou music, was known as "Misirlou" and spread among the Greek-American community, as well as among non-Greek U. S. folk-dance enthusiasts.

At the time, the 1940s and 1950s, there was a thriving Near-Eastern nightclub scene in New York and New England. Such restaurants or clubs, usually owned by Greeks, featured near-eastern style music played by Greeks, Armenians, and Arabs, and often belly dancers. The musicians played both belly-dance music to accompany the dancers and also ethnic folk music to which the club's patrons, usually Greeks, Armenians, and Arabs, would dance their traditional line dances. Eventually the Misirlou song and dance were introduced into this scene, and to the Armenian-American and Arab-American communities. This was not unusual as there were actually many new, American-made, "folk" songs and dances in this era. It became known to the Armenian-Americans as the "Snake Dance" due to its sinuous foot movements.

The song was rearranged as a solo instrumental guitar piece by Dick Dale in 1962. The guitar is a Musical instrument with ancient roots that is used in a wide variety of musical styles Dick Dale (born Richard Anthony Monsour on May 4, 1937, in Boston, Massachusetts) is a Surf rock guitarist, Dale's father and uncles were Lebanese-American musicians who were a part of the aforementioned ethnic nightclub scene. Lebanese Americans are American citizens of Lebanese descent This includes both those who are native to the United States as well as Lebanese immigrants Although they were Arab, they, like other performers, played the music of the all the main cultures which made up the nightclub patrons - that included Greek music and Misirlou. During a performance, Dale was bet by a young fan that he could not play a song on only one string of his guitar. Later that night, he remembered seeing his uncle play "Misirlou" on one string (actually one course, a double string) of the oud. The oud ( عود ʿūd, plural أعواد, a‘wād; kaban; Persian: بربط barbat; ud He tried to imitate that style on his guitar, but vastly increased the song's tempo to make it into rock'n'roll, and the result was the famous Dick Dale Misirlou. It was Dale's version that introduced "Misirlou" to a wider audience in the United States as "Miserlou". The United States of America —commonly referred to as the

The song's oriental melody has been so popular for so long that many people, from Morocco to Iran, sometimes claim it to be a folk song from their own country. Morocco (المغرب "al-Maghrib" officially the Kingdom of Morocco (المملكة المغربية is a country located in North Africa For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Iran topics. In fact, in the realm of middle eastern music, the song is a very simplistic one, since it is little more than going up and down the scale of Makam Hijaz.

The Beach Boys recorded a Dale-inspired "Miserlou" for the 1963 album Surfin' USA, forever making "Miserlou" a staple of American pop culture. The Beach Boys is an American rock band Formed in 1961 the group gained popularity for its close vocal harmonies and lyrics reflecting a California Youth culture Surfin' USA is the second album released by The Beach Boys and was released in early 1963 Hundreds of recordings have been made to date, by performers as diverse as Agent Orange and Connie Francis. Agent Orange is a punk band from Placentia, California. They are a surf-punk band from the 1980s who first gained attention with their song Bloodstains Connie Francis (born December 12, 1938 in Newark New Jersey) is an American Pop singer best known for international hit songs

In 1994, Dale's version of "Misirlou" was used on the soundtrack of the motion picture Pulp Fiction, thanks to a suggestion to Quentin Tarantino from his friend Boyd Rice. Quentin Jerome Tarantino (born March 27, 1963) is an Academy Award - BAFTA Award - and Palme d'Or -winning Emmy - and Boyd Blake Rice (born July or December 1956 is an American experimental sound artist under the monicker of NON since the mid-1970s Archivist, Actor More recently, the song was selected by the Athens 2004 Organizing Committee as one of the most influential Greek songs of all time, and was heard on venues and the closing ceremony it was performed by Anna Vissi. The 2004 Summer Olympic Games, officially known as the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad, was an International Multi-sport event which was celebrated Anna Vissi ( Greek: Άννα Βίσση; born December 20, 1957) is a Cypriot - Greek Singer, famous mainly In March 2005, Q magazine placed Dale's version at number 89 in its list of the 100 Greatest Guitar Tracks. Q is a Music Magazine published monthly in the United Kingdom, with a circulation of 130179 as of June 2007 In 2006, his version once again found popularity, this time as the basis of The Black Eyed Peas' single "Pump It. The Black Eyed Peas is an American hip hop group from Los Angeles. " Pump It " is a song by The Black Eyed Peas that heavily incorporates music from the Dick Dale version of the song " Misirlou " (known " Dale's version would also be used in the reggaeton song "Dame Un Kiss" by Franco "El Gorilla".

Lyrics

Greek

Μισιρλού μου, η γλυκιά σου η ματιά
Φλόγα μου 'χει ανάψει μες στην καρδιά
Αχ, για χαμπίμπι, αχ, για χαλέλι, αχ

Τα δυο σου χείλη στάζουνε μέλι, αχ

Αχ, Μισιρλού, μαγική, ξωτική ομορφιά
Τρέλα θα μου 'ρθει, δεν υποφέρω πια
Αχ, θα σε κλέψω μέσα από την Αραπιά

Μαυρομάτα Μισιρλού μου τρελή
Η ζωή μου αλλάζει μ' ένα φιλί
Αχ, για χαμπίμπι ενα φιλάκι,άχ
Απ' το γλυκό σου το στοματάκι, αχ

Translation

My Misirlou (Egyptian girl), your sweet glance
It's lit a flame in my heart
Ah, ya habibi, Ah, ya haleli, ah[1]
(Arabic: Oh, my love, Oh, my night)
Your lips are dripping honey, ah

Ah, Misirlou, magical, exotic beauty
Madness will overcome me, I can't take any more
Ah, I'll steal you away from the Arab land

My black-eyed, my wild Misirlou
My life changes with one kiss
Ah, ya habibi, one little kiss, ah
From your sweet little lips, ah

Other notable recordings

Use in video game soundtracks

External links

Footnotes

  1. ^ The Arabic verse in the song is badly mispronounced - "ya leli" would be more correct. This is probably because (a) Patrinos and his audience did not speak Arabic and/or (b) "ah yahaleli" needs to have exactly 5 syllables to fill the verse. The same sentence is very frequently used in Greek rembetiko songs (orientalism is a frequent theme) and is more frequently rendered "ah yahabibi ah yaleleli".
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