Dinata

"Dinata"
Song by Eleftheria Arvanitaki from the album Meno Ektos
Released	1991
Genre	Laika
Label	PolyGram/Polydor
Meno Ektos track listing
"Kima To Kima" (5) "Dinata" (6) "Omorfi Mou Agapi" (7)

Dinata or Dynata is a song from the album Meno Ektos; its music was composed by Ara Dinkjian, its lyrics written by Lina Nikolakopoulou and it was first sung by Eleftheria Arvanitaki while Arto Tuncboyaciyan features in non verbal singing and percussion in some versions and performances of it; it mixes the influence of Balkan, Greek and Armenian music with electronics. This song, among the others on Meno Ektos, made Arvanitaki a big name in Greece; a notable performance of it by her was at the closing ceremony of the 2004 Athens Olympics, during the fireworks and after the flame had been extinguished.

Song title meaning and etymology

The Greek word δυνατά, dinata or alternatively dynata, can be interpreted as either a neuter plural adjective meaning "strong", "powerful", "possible" or "loud", or as an adverb meaning "strongly", "powerfully", "loudly"; although this word in this song has probably as per the lyrics context and at least in some verses, the sense of possible, being sung loudly at the refrain it can be thus understood as acquiring at that point the (meta-)meaning of loud or loudly; hence possibly the various differing attested translations. The word shares a linguistic root with English words like dynamo and dynamic, i.e. they are all derived (at times through dynamis) from the ancient Greek verb δύνασθαι, dynasthai, i.e. "to be able, strong enough to do".^[1]

Lyrics

The lyrics in Greek followed by a somehwat free English translation thereof are:

Σαν γυναίκα γεννά
στο χώμα η νύχτα το πρωί
κι όλα αντέχουν ξανά
και γίνονται ζωή.

Ποια παλιά κιβωτός
μέσα απ’ του χρόνου τις στοές
βγάζει ακόμα στο φως
ζευγάρια αναπνοές.

Δυνατά, δυνατά
γίναν όλα δυνατά τ’ αδύνατα
δυνατά, δυνατά
σ’ ένα θέαμα κοινό
δυνατά, δυνατά
κι όπως πάνε του χορού τα βήματα
με τα χέρια ανοιχτά
όλα τα περιφρονώ.

Μα σαν γυναίκα γεννά
στο χώμα η νύχτα το πρωί
κι όλα αντέχουν ξανά
και γίνονται ζωή.

Ποια παλιά κιβωτός
μέσα απ’ του χρόνου τις στοές
βγάζει ακόμα στο φως
ζευγάρια αναπνοές.

Δυνατά, δυνατά
γίναν όλα δυνατά τ’ αδύνατα
κι αναμμένο πετά
σπίρτο η γη στον ουρανό
δυνατά, δυνατά
κι όπως πάνε του χορού τα βήματα
με τα χέρια ανοιχτά
όλα τα περιφρονώ.

Κι όλο κάτι λέω
κάποια αγάπη κλαίω
κι όλο μέσα μου θρηνώ χαλάσματα
με τα χρόνια μου
στα σεντόνια μου
σαν φαντάσματα.

Μα σαν γυναίκα γεννά
στο χώμα η νύχτα το πρωί
κι όλα αντέχουν ξανά
και γίνονται ζωή.

Δεν υπάρχουν πολλά
που να τα ελπίζουμε μαζί
κοίτα, κοίτα ψηλά
κι άλλος αιώνας ζει.

Ποια παλιά κιβωτός
μέσα απ’ του χρόνου τις στοές
βγάζει ακόμα στο φως
ζευγάρια αναπνοές.

Δυνατά, δυνατά
γίναν όλα δυνατά τ’ αδύνατα
κι αναμμένο πετά
σπίρτο η γη στον ουρανό
δυνατά, δυνατά
κι όπως πάνε του χορού τα βήματα
με τα χέρια ανοιχτά
όλα τα περιφρονώ.

Like a woman the night birth gives
on the ground in the morning
and everything yet again endures
and becomes life.

Which old ark
through the tunnels of time
still brings out to the light
pairs of breath?

Possible, possible | loudly or ...
every impossible thing has become possible | idem
possible, possible | idem
in a common spectacle
possible, possible | idem
and as the steps of the dance go
with arms open
no thing I mind.

But like a woman the night birth gives
on the ground in the morning
and everything yet again endures
and becomes life.

Which old ark
through the tunnels of time
still brings out to the light
pairs of breath?

Possible, possible | idem
every impossible thing has become possible | idem
and a lit match
the earth to the sky throws
possible, possible | idem
and as the steps of the dance go
with arms open
no thing I mind.

And I always something utter
and I always about a love cry
and I always the ruins within me mourn
through my years
on my bedsheets
the ghostlike.

But like a woman the night birth gives
on the ground in the morning
and everything yet again endures
and becomes life.

There is not much
hoped for together
look, look up
yet another aeon lives.

Which old ark
through the tunnels of time
still brings out to the light
pairs of breath?

Possible, possible | idem
every impossible thing has become possible | idem
and a lit match
the earth to the sky throws
possible, possible | idem
and as the steps of the dance go
with arms open
no thing I mind.

Alternative versions

"Homecoming"
Song by Night Ark from the album Picture
Released	1986

Various versions of Dinata exist. The song or rather the music was first published in 1986 as an instrumental piece by Night Ark (see below), whence its "official" English title, i.e. Homecoming.^[2]

Night Ark

Ara Dinkjian is a founding member of the band or instrumental jazz quartet Night Ark; their most famous piece is Homecoming which can be first found on their 1986 album Picture.

French

French version of the song was released by Demis Roussos on the 1997 album Mon Ile with French lyrics by Koraz.^[3]

Track listing

• French single

1. "Dinata" (Radio Edit) - 3:37
2. "Dinata" - 4:12
3. "Mon Ile" - 4:16

Antique

"Dinata Dinata"
Single by Antique
from the album Mera Me Ti Mera
Released	11 November 1999
Format	CD single
Genre	Laïko, Eurodance
Length	3:17
Label	Bonnier Music, Virgin Schallplatten
Writer(s)	A. Dinkjian, L. Nikolakopoulou
Producer(s)	C&N Project & Adebratt
Certification	Gold
Audio sample file info · help

"Dinata Dinata" was covered by Greek-Swedish duo Antique. It was released in November 1999 as the second single from their debut album, Mera Me Ti Mera. It reached the top 10 in Romania and Sweden.

Track listing

• German and Swedish single

1. "Dinata Dinata" (Radio Edit) - 3:17
2. "Dinata Dinata" (Extended Version) - 4:25
3. "Westoriental Trip" - 4:07

• Swedish single

1. "Dinata Dinata" (Radio Edit) - 3:17
2. "Set Your Body Free" - 5:28

• Swedish promo single

1. "Dinata Dinata" (C&N Project Mix) - 7:45
2. "Dinata Dinata" (Jonas S. Club Mix) - 5:06
3. "Dinata Dinata" (L.O.L. Brothers on a Mission Mix) - 5:14
4. "Dinata Dinata" (Radio Edit) - 3:18

Charts

Chart (1999)	Peak position
Norway (VG-lista)[4]	19
Romania (Romanian Top 100)	8
Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[5]	8

Turkish

A Turkish version of the song was released by Sezen Aksu with the title Sarışınım on the 1988 album Sezen Aksu'88.

References

1. Lemmas "dynamic"."dynamo". Online Etymology Dictionary. Lemmas "δυνατός". Missing or empty |title= (help)"δύναμη". Babiniotis dictionary. Lemmas δυνατός, δύναμις, δύνασθαι. Liddell, Henry George; Scott, Robert; A Greek–English Lexicon at the Perseus Project.
2. Meneshian, Raffi (2007). "Ara Dinkjian". Life in the Armenian Diaspora.
3. http://www.discogs.com/release/4977435
4. "Norwegiancharts.com – Antique – Dinata". VG-lista.
5. "Swedishcharts.com – Antique – Dinata". Singles Top 100.

External links

• Lyrics of the song translated into English at lyricstranslate.com
• Lyrics of the song translated into English at stixoi.info