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This recording includes a number from an unidentified revue, which begins with a musical phrase (0′01″–0′10″) from the song “To chasisi”, over which the lyrics “Ante re, san pethaneis ton loula ti tha ton kaneis” (“Hey man, when you die, what will you do with your hookah?”) are sung. The same segment also appears in the recording “I diathiki tou chasikli” (Odeon Go 1782 – GA 1599/ A 190414 b, Athens, 1932), performed by Giorgos Kamvysis and an unidentified male voice.
“To chasisi” is among the most prominent examples of songs referring to psychoactive substances, known collectively as hasiklidika (hashish songs), a subgenre thematically centered on hashish use. The song has been recorded in a variety of musical and lyrical versions, often under different titles. For example:
– “O Mparmpagiannis”, Kyria [Mrs.] Koula, New York, 1920 (?) (Panhellenion P167 – 5047).
– “To chasisi”, Panellinios Estoudiantina conducted by Giorgos Savaris, Athens, 1925 (Odeon Go 24 – GA-1045 / A 154033).
– “Mparmpa Giannis”, Marika Papagika, New York, February 24, 1925 (Victor C 32004 – V-68701-B).
– “I ntamira”, Antonis Dalgkas (Diamantidis), Athens, February 26, 1926 (His Master’s Voice BJ-201 – AO-165).
– “I ntamira”, Antonis Dalgkas (Diamantidis), Athens, June 24, 1927 (His Master’s Voice BF-789 – AO-201).
– “Chasiklides”, Kostas Karipis, Athens, 1927 [Columbia UK 20088 – 7724 and reissued by Columbia by UK (8017)].
– “De mou lete to chasisi pou pouliete”, Lefteris Menemenlis, Athens, 1927 (Polydor 4622AR – V 45115).
– “Oi chasiklides”, Pol Meraklis [Leopold Gad], probably Constantinople (Istanbul), 1928 (Homocord TM-857 – G. 4-32065).
– «Mparmpa-Giannis», Kostas Gkantinis Orchestra, New York, January 8, 1941 (Columbia CO 29427 – USA 7213-F).
Regarding Indian hemp, hashish, and this category of songs, Panagiotis Kounadis notes (2010, 9: 17–19):
“Indian hemp, the plant from which hashish is produced—along with a wide range of other products (plant fibers, ropes, paper, medicinal products, lamp oil, fabric for clothing and ship sails, etc.)—was widely and freely cultivated throughout Greece from the mid-19th century until 1920.
Its cultivation became systematically organized from 1880 onward. In parts of Arcadia, annual production reached 40,000–50,000 okades of hashish (roughly 50–65 metric tons). Similar conditions prevailed in Argolis, Corinthia, Elis, and later in Macedonia and Crete.
At the same time—or perhaps even earlier—it was also cultivated more extensively and intensively by farmers in Western Asia Minor, inland Smyrna, Bursa, Afyon Karahisar, and elsewhere. It was a familiar crop to Greek farmers, many of whom lived solely off its exploitation.
Its well-known euphoric properties—when used moderately—and its many beneficial medicinal qualities made it highly popular among broad social strata across both liberated and unliberated Greece. Its use was more widespread among the Muslim populations of the Ottoman Empire, the Middle East, Egypt, etc., partly due to religious prohibitions against alcohol in those regions.
A range of natural euphoric substances—some still considered such—whose use was never prohibited in Greece, such as tobacco, alcohol, coffee, etc., found their way into the themes of rebetiko and other genres. These songs are still regarded as important elements of urban folklore, and their creators were never criticized for recording, promoting, or using such themes.
In this environment of free cultivation, distribution, and use of hashish—with no restrictions or prohibitions and considered natural and legal—the first rebetiko songs referencing it were created.
From 1850 to 1922, songs—either traditional or of anonymous creation—appeared that documented the phenomenon of hashish use and the negative effects of its abuse. […]
The earliest songs with such themes naturally emerged in the major cities of Asia Minor with Greek populations, such as Smyrna and Constantinople. From there, they spread through touring music troupes to liberated Greece between 1875 and 1922, as well as among Greek immigrants in America, where many of them were recorded for the first time.
Regarding Greek-language songs that refer to addictive substances—legal and illegal—Panagiotis Kounadis notes (2008: 13):
“We’re talking about a corpus of over two thousand songs, written and performed over more than a hundred years in places where Greeks have lived and moved.
For many years, it was believed—and still is by many—that songs referencing prohibited substances (banned under the 1932 and 1936 laws), like hashish, heroin, and cocaine, were only found in the rebetiko songs that dominated the interwar period.
But now that we have a more complete picture of Greek discography from the era of ‘free creation,’ i.e., before the preventive censorship of the 4th of August dictatorship, we know that a significant number of creators and performers from operetta, revue, and light song genres also contributed to and presented works with such themes. A particularly noteworthy observation is that most of these songs praised the use of these substances—legal or not—which was not always the case in rebetiko.
Research into the popular music themes of other countries shows that Greek songs about substances—especially banned ones—constitute the richest corpus of urban folklore worldwide.”
Of particular interest is the observation made by Panagiotis Kounadis regarding the appearance of musical phrases from the song in earlier Greek-language recordings. Commenting on the song “To chasisi”, he notes (2010, 3:42):"Musical phrases from 'To chasisi' appear in 'Otan se vlepo ki erchesai', as well as in the song 'To gelekaki', composed by Spyros Ollandezos."
The first song, “Otan se vlepo ki erchesai” was recorded by Takis Nikolaou—one of the pseudonyms used by Tetos Dimitriadis—in New York on April 25, 1927 (Victor CVE 38493 – 68812-B).
“To Gelekaki,” composed by Spyros Ollandezos with lyrics by Giannis Theodoridis, appears to have been recorded for the first time in 1932. By 1953, it had been recorded seven more times, totaling nine versions. This number of recordings clearly reflects the song's popularity and partially explains its inclusion in the Sephardic repertoire (for more on “To Gelekaki” and its variations in the Sephardic repertoire, see here).
A particularly illustrative example of the relationship between the aforementioned songs can be found in the recording “To parapono tou magka” (Odeon Go 1908-2 – GA 1658 / A190473 b, Athens, 1933), with music by Giorgos Kamvysis and lyrics by Minos Matsas, performed by Petros Kyriakos and Giorgos Kamvysis. This recording likewise includes an excerpt from an unidentified revue, beginning with the same melody and opening with the first words from the refrain of “To Gelekaki”: “Ante re, to malono, to malono” (Come on man, I scold it, I scold it).
This recording includes a number from an unidentified revue, which begins with a musical phrase (0′01″–0′10″) from the song “To chasisi”, over which the lyrics “Ante re, san pethaneis ton loula ti tha ton kaneis” (“Hey man, when you die, what will you do with your hookah?”) are sung. The same segment also appears in the recording “I diathiki tou chasikli” (Odeon Go 1782 – GA 1599/ A 190414 b, Athens, 1932), performed by Giorgos Kamvysis and an unidentified male voice.
“To chasisi” is among the most prominent examples of songs referring to psychoactive substances, known collectively as hasiklidika (hashish songs), a subgenre thematically centered on hashish use. The song has been recorded in a variety of musical and lyrical versions, often under different titles. For example:
– “O Mparmpagiannis”, Kyria [Mrs.] Koula, New York, 1920 (?) (Panhellenion P167 – 5047).
– “To chasisi”, Panellinios Estoudiantina conducted by Giorgos Savaris, Athens, 1925 (Odeon Go 24 – GA-1045 / A 154033).
– “Mparmpa Giannis”, Marika Papagika, New York, February 24, 1925 (Victor C 32004 – V-68701-B).
– “I ntamira”, Antonis Dalgkas (Diamantidis), Athens, February 26, 1926 (His Master’s Voice BJ-201 – AO-165).
– “I ntamira”, Antonis Dalgkas (Diamantidis), Athens, June 24, 1927 (His Master’s Voice BF-789 – AO-201).
– “Chasiklides”, Kostas Karipis, Athens, 1927 [Columbia UK 20088 – 7724 and reissued by Columbia by UK (8017)].
– “De mou lete to chasisi pou pouliete”, Lefteris Menemenlis, Athens, 1927 (Polydor 4622AR – V 45115).
– “Oi chasiklides”, Pol Meraklis [Leopold Gad], probably Constantinople (Istanbul), 1928 (Homocord TM-857 – G. 4-32065).
– «Mparmpa-Giannis», Kostas Gkantinis Orchestra, New York, January 8, 1941 (Columbia CO 29427 – USA 7213-F).
Regarding Indian hemp, hashish, and this category of songs, Panagiotis Kounadis notes (2010, 9: 17–19):
“Indian hemp, the plant from which hashish is produced—along with a wide range of other products (plant fibers, ropes, paper, medicinal products, lamp oil, fabric for clothing and ship sails, etc.)—was widely and freely cultivated throughout Greece from the mid-19th century until 1920.
Its cultivation became systematically organized from 1880 onward. In parts of Arcadia, annual production reached 40,000–50,000 okades of hashish (roughly 50–65 metric tons). Similar conditions prevailed in Argolis, Corinthia, Elis, and later in Macedonia and Crete.
At the same time—or perhaps even earlier—it was also cultivated more extensively and intensively by farmers in Western Asia Minor, inland Smyrna, Bursa, Afyon Karahisar, and elsewhere. It was a familiar crop to Greek farmers, many of whom lived solely off its exploitation.
Its well-known euphoric properties—when used moderately—and its many beneficial medicinal qualities made it highly popular among broad social strata across both liberated and unliberated Greece. Its use was more widespread among the Muslim populations of the Ottoman Empire, the Middle East, Egypt, etc., partly due to religious prohibitions against alcohol in those regions.
A range of natural euphoric substances—some still considered such—whose use was never prohibited in Greece, such as tobacco, alcohol, coffee, etc., found their way into the themes of rebetiko and other genres. These songs are still regarded as important elements of urban folklore, and their creators were never criticized for recording, promoting, or using such themes.
In this environment of free cultivation, distribution, and use of hashish—with no restrictions or prohibitions and considered natural and legal—the first rebetiko songs referencing it were created.
From 1850 to 1922, songs—either traditional or of anonymous creation—appeared that documented the phenomenon of hashish use and the negative effects of its abuse. […]
The earliest songs with such themes naturally emerged in the major cities of Asia Minor with Greek populations, such as Smyrna and Constantinople. From there, they spread through touring music troupes to liberated Greece between 1875 and 1922, as well as among Greek immigrants in America, where many of them were recorded for the first time.
Regarding Greek-language songs that refer to addictive substances—legal and illegal—Panagiotis Kounadis notes (2008: 13):
“We’re talking about a corpus of over two thousand songs, written and performed over more than a hundred years in places where Greeks have lived and moved.
For many years, it was believed—and still is by many—that songs referencing prohibited substances (banned under the 1932 and 1936 laws), like hashish, heroin, and cocaine, were only found in the rebetiko songs that dominated the interwar period.
But now that we have a more complete picture of Greek discography from the era of ‘free creation,’ i.e., before the preventive censorship of the 4th of August dictatorship, we know that a significant number of creators and performers from operetta, revue, and light song genres also contributed to and presented works with such themes. A particularly noteworthy observation is that most of these songs praised the use of these substances—legal or not—which was not always the case in rebetiko.
Research into the popular music themes of other countries shows that Greek songs about substances—especially banned ones—constitute the richest corpus of urban folklore worldwide.”
Of particular interest is the observation made by Panagiotis Kounadis regarding the appearance of musical phrases from the song in earlier Greek-language recordings. Commenting on the song “To chasisi”, he notes (2010, 3:42):"Musical phrases from 'To chasisi' appear in 'Otan se vlepo ki erchesai', as well as in the song 'To gelekaki', composed by Spyros Ollandezos."
The first song, “Otan se vlepo ki erchesai” was recorded by Takis Nikolaou—one of the pseudonyms used by Tetos Dimitriadis—in New York on April 25, 1927 (Victor CVE 38493 – 68812-B).
“To Gelekaki,” composed by Spyros Ollandezos with lyrics by Giannis Theodoridis, appears to have been recorded for the first time in 1932. By 1953, it had been recorded seven more times, totaling nine versions. This number of recordings clearly reflects the song's popularity and partially explains its inclusion in the Sephardic repertoire (for more on “To Gelekaki” and its variations in the Sephardic repertoire, see here).
A particularly illustrative example of the relationship between the aforementioned songs can be found in the recording “To parapono tou magka” (Odeon Go 1908-2 – GA 1658 / A190473 b, Athens, 1933), with music by Giorgos Kamvysis and lyrics by Minos Matsas, performed by Petros Kyriakos and Giorgos Kamvysis. This recording likewise includes an excerpt from an unidentified revue, beginning with the same melody and opening with the first words from the refrain of “To Gelekaki”: “Ante re, to malono, to malono” (Come on man, I scold it, I scold it).
© 2019 KOUNADIS ARCHIVE
