Darla Dirladada famous song from Kalymnos
In the 1970s, “Darla Dirladada” was the most famous Greek song even though it was sung in several other languages. It was written by the captain of a sponge-diving boat from the Dodecaneses Island Kalymnos.
Legend has it that Pantelis Ginis from Kalymnos
was holding the rudder with one hand and writing the lyrics with the other.
It is also said that Ginis had gone to Athens to record his first 45rpm record with traditional Greek musician Domna Samiou.
Savvopoulos heard “Darla Dirladada” and put it on his album “The Garden,” saying it was a traditional song.
Ginis went to the courts and proved that it is his own song. After dying at a relatively young age, his family in Kalymnos inherited the copyright for the song.
Source Greek ReporterThank you Gasha James Dio
Sponge Diving Kalymnos
Visit the Nautical & Folklore Museum in Pothia, (capital Kalymnos) located on the seafront.
The display of traditional regional dress and the history of sponge diving is worth a visit.
The exceptional bravery carried out by the divers time after time diving to the bottom of the sea to feed their families
IMAGINE, if you can, sliding down an inclined plank from a boat into the sea, clinging firmly to a large, flat stone.
You plummet vertically, clearing your ears against a primitive nose-clip while trying to judge the approach of the bottom - a difficult task, as you have no mask.
Using the rock as a crude hydroplane, you angle it upwards to avoid a high-speed crash, and so arrive on the seabed to begin work.
The depth is 20m, and your task is to locate and cut free as many sponges as you can before your breath runs out.
This is a job made doubly difficult by the fact that you have no fins. Your only luxury is a light line tied around your wrist.
One sharp tug will get you a free ride back to the surface. After a short rest, down you go again.
This was the ancient way of sponge-diving, or 'naked diving'.”
(Frank Alen , Diver Magazine, June 1997)
“Darla Dirladada”
was conceived as an uplifting song to raise the spirits of the crew who were facing great difficulties.
Crewmen started singing the song and soon became a “hit” among seamen at first and then it was adopted by a wider public.
When Greek ship crews were landing on foreign lands they were taking the infectious song with them.
The lyrics speak about the life of seamen and islanders, like the people from Kalymnos, famous throughout the world for diving for sponges.
They are humorous and slightly bawdy. But it is the rhythm that made the song irresistible. It is said that the rhythm originated from the North African peoples.
G.O. Culture sings Darla Dirladada
In 1993, the band G.O. Culture covered the song in a house and techno version. In France, this version was a success in discothèques and in terms of sales.
Lyrics are completely changed and refer to Patrice Leconte's film, Les Bronzés. The single was the major summer hit in France and stayed for 29 weeks in the top 50, 22 of them in the top ten.
The music video shows the singers performing the song on a beach and on a boat. Several remixes were produced by the French band Pleasure Game.
This cover version has been covered in turn by K.O. Culture in 2006 in a remixed version.
Source Wikipedia
“Darla Dirladada”
The magnitude of this song is shown by the many different artists that recorded the song:
French artist Dalida
French orchestra and choir Paul Mauriat
Greek artist Marinella
and the list goes on.
