Interpretation of “Those who leave and those who stay” by Yiannis Dionysiou
For this entry, I have picked an old masterpiece of a Greek song performed by a contemporary signer, Yiannis Dionysiou: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_jdymn5w-fA.
Those who leave and those who stay was originally performed by the eminent Yiannis Poulopoulos. Since I recently wrote an interpretation of “The statue” by Yiannis Poulopoulos (2024-12-09), it is time to showcase another artist; an artist who is a rising star.
Here are the original lyrics, my faithful translation of them, and further philosophical comments.
Αυτοί που φεύγουν κι αυτοί που μένουν
Ερμηνεία: Γιάννης Διονυσίου
Στίχοι: Αλέκος Καγιάντας
Μουσική: Γιώργος Ζαμπέτας
Αυτοί που φεύγουν σφίγγουν τα χείλια
πνίγουν τα δάκρυα να μη φανούν
κι αυτοί που μένουν κουνούν μαντήλια
κι αναστενάζουν γιατί πονούν
Κι αυτούς που φεύγουν
κι αυτούς που μένουν
οι μοίρες μ'απονιά
πάντα τους δέρνουν
Αυτοί που φεύγουν κάποιο λυγμό τους
παίρνουν μαζί τους και μιαν ευχή
κι αυτοί που μένουν στο σπαραγμό τους
κάνουν κουράγιο και προσευχή
Κι αυτούς που φεύγουν
κι αυτούς που μένουν
οι μοίρες μ'απονιά
πάντα τους δέρνουν
Those who leave and those who stay
Singer: Yiannis Poulopoulos
Lyrics: Alekos Kayiantas
Music: Yioryos Zambetas
Those who leave tighten their lips
drowning their tears to not show
and those who stay wave handkerchiefs
and sigh because they are hurt
And those who leave
and those who stay
the fates remorselessly
always hit them
Those who leave take some sob
with them as well as a wish
and those who stay in their heartbreak
persevere and pray
And those who leave
and those who stay
the fates remorselessly
always hit them
Life has no undo action. There is no way for us to play out some eventuality, decide whether we like it or not, and then hit some reset button to try anew with a different set of variables. Life unfolds in vivo through continuous action. There is no way for us to withdraw into a realm of abstraction where every scenario can be tested out thoroughly to derive some objectively optimal result. There is no controlled environment, no in vitro human experience. All we do, we do it based on imperfect information, in response to cases we do not fully understand or control, and no matter how prepared we are.
This starts from the very moment we assume the form of life. There is no choice to be made about that fact, the set of talents and attributes we are endowed with, nor about environmental factors such as the place of birth, the prevailing conditions therein, the immediate experiences to be had, the people to be exposed to, and so on. Before we even develop a rudimentary sense of self, we are determined without or despite our volition. What we eventually get as the inescapable sense of will is the ability to choose within overarching constraints.
Freedom is not boundless, as each choice creates its own constraints. For example, if facing a fork on a road where the path to the right leads you to the seaside while the one on the left goes mountainward, your choice in the moment necessarily conditions whether your future self will be viewing seascapes or mountainscapes, ceteris paribus. More so when other factors are not held constant and our decisions are continuously framed by—or are done in response to—evolving states of affairs. What thus unfolds as the human condition is a series of moments, a continuous presence, in which we sometimes are the participant, at others the observer, and at others still part agent and part patient of actions. Cause and effect are two sides of a singular reality, in a cosmic continuum of incessant transfiguration. What transpires is a cycle of causes leading to effects which in turn provide the impetus qua cause of yet more effects.
The song mentions the fates to remind us of the three-fold expression of fate, namely, choice, chance, and inevitability. These are poetically expressed in Greek culture as three goddesses, which jointly form what we understand as one’s destiny. We control something, but not everything. We act in relative ignorance and can only hope that things go our way. But there is no knowing how the interplay between choice and chance, choice and choices, chance and chances, will unfold. Those who leave may find a conventionally better place to call home, though it will never be devoid of the vicissitudes of this world, the moments of joy followed by times of sorrow. All we ever get is an admixture between analytical extremes. There is no purity to be had therein.
Accepting one’s powerlessness in the face of these greater magnitudes is liberating. Instead of fighting pointlessly against the forces we cannot overpower, the ridiculous situation of ignorant me arguing with the omniscient god as it were, we take what comes our way for what it is: a contribution to a life that will ultimately be neither good nor bad.
The place may change. Material possessions will come and go. Impermanence will continue to define whatever microcosm of subjectivity we are immersed in. Let us then experience yet another moment in the here or the there, in the preparation for more of the same hardship or in the expectation of a hopeful tomorrow. To what end? Nobody knows, although many pretend otherwise.
In conclusion, I have the inspiration to compose the following poem, which I will also publish in the Poems section of my website.
Admixture
Tell me about this January sunset
with its cold air and pink clouds
As the red fox approaches
one can only wonder in awe how
in every land, at each corner
there is opportunity and danger
separated only by moments