Interpretation of “Alkaline leaves” by Ioulia Karapataki
For this article, I have picked a beloved old song that was originally performed by Manolis Lidakis. The interpretation of Ioulia Karapataki sounds better to me, perhaps because the video is newer and its audio quality higher. Plus, Ioulia is a star in her own right: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mY7nbuSFBNs.
Below are the original lyrics, my faithful translation of them, and some further philosophical comments.
Φύλλα αλκαλικά
Ερμηνεία: Ιουλία Καραπατάκη
Στίχοι: Άλκης Αλκαίος
Μουσική: Σωκράτης Μάλαμας
Κλειστό το φινιστρίνι
και το γυαλί θαμπό
ποτέ στα όνειρά σου
δε μ'άφησες να μπω
Αν δεις λευκό καράβι
με πορφυρά πανιά
θα'ναι η δική μου αγάπη
που πάει στη λησμονιά
Μην έρχεσαι μαζί μου
μου είπες πριν χαθείς
θα μαραθεί η αγάπη
κι εσύ θα μ'αρνηθείς
Φτιάξε μαγιά στο χώμα
με φύλλα αλκαλικά
σε μια ζωή χαμένη
κανένας δε νικά
Γλυκάνισο σου στέλνω
και μέλι φοινικιάς
τις πίκρες σου να λιώνεις
και να μη με ξεχνάς
Κι αν σ'έπιασε το βράδυ
κι ο έρωτας αργεί
το πιο βαθύ σκοτάδι
είναι πριν την αυγή
Μην έρχεσαι μαζί μου
μου είπες πριν χαθείς
θα μαραθεί η αγάπη
κι εσύ θα μ'αρνηθείς
Φτιάξε μαγιά στο χώμα
με φύλλα αλκαλικά
σε μια ζωή χαμένη
κανένας δε νικά
Alkaline leaves
Singers: Ioulia Karapataki
Lyrics: Alkis Alkaios
Music: Socratis Malamas
The porthole is shut
and the glass is blurry
Never in your dreams
did you let me come in
If you see a white boat
with red sail
it will be my love
heading to oblivion
Do not come along with me
you told me before disappearing
love shall wither
and you will deny me
Make a starter in the ground
with alkaline leaves
in a forsaken life
nobody wins
I send you aniseed
and palm honey
to sooth your sorrows
and to not forget of me
And if you are caught in the night
and love is running late
the darkest hour
is before dawn
Do not come along with me
you told me before disappearing
love shall wither
and you will deny me
Make a starter in the ground
with alkaline leaves
in a forsaken life
nobody wins
The song is about the antithesis between hope and hopelessness, as well as the desire to be welcomed in a relationship as opposed to the eagerness of embarking on a solitary adventure. The contrasting tendencies are expressed through the deeds of the poetic “I” and “you”. The first person is clear about their feelings and makes an effort to act accordingly. The second person has the quality of being aloof and hard to reach. They are hidden within the confines of a cabin and are not letting anybody in. Yet the window is blurry, perhaps because “you” is standing right beside it, gazing outside towards nowhere in particular, waiting for something that is unspoken and elusive.
There are times when we are reluctant to admit what our desires are. We have been suppressing them for so long that we are not even sure what they amount to. Why hold anything back? Perhaps because we know our wishes cannot be realised. Or, maybe, we are not prepared to deal with the unlikely yet possible eventuality where our wants are indeed met. We cannot know if something we want is impossible unless we try, yet the sort of person who perennially hesitates is fundamentally not believing in the full extent of their own abilities. Even when they appear reasonably capable, confident, and successful, they have managed as much despite not giving their self enough credit. The lone wolf does have the skills to be a pack leader, after all, yet operates solo. Thus “you” remains in limbo, breathing behind the glass, safe in their private space; safe yet sorry for not being decisive enough.
The first person of the song is prepared to give up. Their calls have not been answered and their advances have been consistently denied. What else must a potential lover do? The “you” here has not shown the requisite readiness or signalled any clear intent to proceed. Perhaps because they are not sure whether what they are seeing is intended or something that could be explained away as mere coincidence. Appearances can be hard to decipher, especially for those whose default mode of hesitation primes them to think that nobody could possibly want them. They are in disbelief and denial whenever that seems to happen, opting for the explanation that it is all happenstance. The “you” figure is the kind of person who has never been prepared to meet the opportunity presented to them. Not once. Sometimes they muster the courage after the events have transpired, when it is already too late. This is about their unwillingness to try something that might, just might, stick around.
“You” is not necessarily lacking in desire. They are more confused though. Is “I” for real or are the phenomena deceptive as usual? Theirs is the sort of attitude of not staring someone in the eyes out of fear that it might result in falling in love with them. The fear of success, however unlikely success is, is what keeps “you” in their quarters, in a state of comfort with what is their current lifestyle and discomfort about what their suppressed feelings might entail.
There is a sense in which “you” does not want to be discovered because they know that pain is inevitable. Giving somebody the keys to your heart renders them the only person capable of providing you with something special but also the only one who can hurt the core of your being. It is, yet again, the manifestation of the world as one of admixture, where the potentialities of unconditional trust and treason coincide. While factually true, this may also be a rationalisation on the part of “you” to justify what their hesitant disposition has already picked as the preferable option.
What then seems more appealing, albeit constantly displeasing, is the solitary adventure. Love does not happen there, though neither does its loss. “You” would rather forsake the potential life with another in pursuit of the unknown. What would the adventure aim for? Nothing in particular. Its appeal consists in its uncertainty. Though there is also an element of wanting to preserve the pure feelings before they get corrupted by routine. By embarking on a journey, “you” is effectively telling “I” to live with the memory of love, for the feeling will not wither, if genuine, the way enthusiasm does.
The titular alkaline leaves are the appeal of “I” to ready the soil where trees can grow. To be prepared for once to meet opportunity head on. The poetic first person is trying to communicate the idea that challenges are always going to be there and that only by tending to the seed long-term does a tree eventually grow. Planting seeds is also a metaphor for committing to a place, to its people, to an idea, as opposed to always being on the move, always running away from your suppressed feelings. “You” has to make that change inside of them, to allow for such an outcome. They must prepare the ground upon which future memories can be had. Given their track record, it is unlikely they will, though strange things do happen.