Vassilis Tsitsanis sings Sinnefiasmeni Kiriaki, a famous Greek song which translates to Cloudy Sunday. It is probably one of the songs – trademarks of the Greek composer.
Sinnefiasmeni Kiriaki was written during the German occupation in Thessaloniki and was recorded for the first time in 1948 by Tsaousakis and Sotiria Bellou.
Tsitsanis once said that he created this song under the inspiration of the tragic events that took place during these years. He composed the music which reflects the melancholy of those years.
However, what is interesting is the story behind the lyrics, since there is a huge controversy which has not been resolved yet.
According to one version, the lyrics of Sinnefiasmeni Kiriaki are written by Tsitsanis himself, based on a sad incident that he witnessed a few years after the civil war.
There is a different story though, according to which the lyrics of Synnefiasmeni Kyriaki were written by Alekos Gouveris, a man from Larisa.
We will analyze the controversy behind Synnefiasmeni Kyriaki in a separate post, since things are quite complicated.
No matter who wrote the lyrics, it does not take anything away from the importance of the song and the music genius of Tsitsanis, who was composing music that sounded as if it was ahead of his time. Synnefiasmeni Kyriaki is one of the most important laika songs in Greece.
Different spellings of Sinefiasmeni Kiriaki
You will fiend the song title written with many different spellings in English:
- Sinnefiasmeni Kiriaki
- Sinefiasmeni Kiriaki
- Synnefiasmeni Kyriaki
- Synefiasmeni Kyriaki
The third spelling is closer to the title of the song in Greek: Συννεφιασμένη Κυριακή, συννεφιασμένη = cloudy, Κυριακή=Sunday. However the spelling with “i” instead of “y” is closer to the sound of these words in Greek: seennafiasmenee keeriakee.