Never on Sunday (song)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

"Never On Sunday" is a popular song.

The music was written by Manos Hadjidakis, with original Greek lyrics also by Manos Hadjidakis. The original Greek title is ΤΑ ΠΑΙΔΙΑ ΤΟΥ ΠΕΙΡΑΙΑ,which translates as 'The Children of Piraeus'and is the title commonly used in Greece. The original Greek lyrics do not make any mention of Sunday anywhere in the song.

The song was published in 1960, and introduced in the movie of the same name.

The original Greek lyrics and also the foreign translations in German, French and Italian are true to the character of the Illya, the female main character of the movie. Illya is a jolly woman who loves life and the town and the people of her native Piraeus. And although she earns her money as a prostitute, she longs to find some day a man who is just as full of joie de vivre as Illya herself is.

The English lyrics written by Billy Towne were written especially to match the title of the film, but they don't match the movie's spirit at all.

The original version in Greek was recorded by Melina Mercouri, who also played the leading part of Illya in the movie. The song was a hit in the USA by Don Costa, whose orchestral version hit the charts in both 1960 and 1961, and the Chordettes, whose vocal cover just missed the top ten in 1961.


[edit] Other versions

There were other versions were recorded among others in:

The song was used again in the 2005 movie 'Munich'

Preceded by
"High Hopes" from A Hole in the Head		 Academy Award for Best Original Song
1960		 Succeeded by
"Moon River" from Breakfast at Tiffany's
  This world music song-related article is a stub. You can help by expanding it.