Story Behind The Song
3rd in Thom's Grandfather cycle; based on Terry Paul's ancestors coming from Missalonghi in Greece; but imagery almost entirely from Nikos Kazantzakis's Freedom or Death.
Song Description
Greek shepherd from Roumelia is content to work for his Turkish masters until one of them attacks his best friend. No more Mr. Nice Guy.
| Song Length |
3:51 |
Genre |
Folk - Rock, World - Middle Eastern |
| Tempo |
Medium (111 - 130) |
Lead Vocal |
Duet Male/Female |
| Mood |
Exultant, Aggressive |
Subject |
Country, Nation, Judgement |
| Language |
English |
Era |
1800 - 1899 |
Lyrics
The mighty Turk has died and gone forever,
he is perished by the road and in his hall.
No more our children crucified in anger,
hanging dead and naked on his castle wall.
Niko was my friend, a dear companion;
we watched the flocks together and were pleased
to roam the bogs and hillsides for our masters?
oh, a shepherd, they say, will die upon his knees.
One day there came a-riding on his stallion
a mighty Turk as young and strong as me;
but Niko's song just took him wrong and galled him:
"Oh, someday this Christian land of ours be free!"
His whip up high, he drove his horse between us;
Niko caught the lash and lost an eye.
A Turkish laugh was all he gave to me?
though a short one, I swore it's longer than his life.
One yellow night in autumn I remember,
a year and one day later in the fall:
with ladders long and a vow as strong to bind us,
oh, we marched ourselves up to his castle wall.
No locks and bolts nor links of chain could hide them,
we were breaking up the hammer on this anvil land,
and the yellow night was red enough by morning,
oh, to show the world to those who lived and ran.
The mighty Turk has died and gone forever,
he is perished by the road and in his hall.
No more our children crucified in anger,
hanging dead and naked on his castle wall.