Never on Sunday (song)
Encyclopedia
"Never on Sunday", also known as "Ta Paidia Tou Piraia" (Greek
: Τα Παιδιά του Πειραιά; English
: The Children of Piraeus) is a popular
song
by Manos Hadjidakis
. A vocal version was also released and performed by Melina Mercouri
in the film of same name
directed by Jules Dassin
and starring Mercouri. The song won the Academy Award for Best Original Song
in 1960, a first for a foreign-language picture. The film score
to the movie was first released on October 1, 1960 by United Artists Records
. The song has since been covered by numerous artists, and has gained various degrees of success throughout the world.
. Although she earns her money as a prostitute, she longs to meet a man someday who is just as full of joie de vivre
as she is herself.
In 1960, the song was nominated and won the Academy Award for Best Original Song
, a first for a foreign-language picture since the Academy began to recognize achievements in this category in 1934.
Greek alphabet
The Greek alphabet is the script that has been used to write the Greek language since at least 730 BC . The alphabet in its classical and modern form consists of 24 letters ordered in sequence from alpha to omega...
: Τα Παιδιά του Πειραιά; English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
: The Children of Piraeus) is a popular
Popular music
Popular music belongs to any of a number of musical genres "having wide appeal" and is typically distributed to large audiences through the music industry. It stands in contrast to both art music and traditional music, which are typically disseminated academically or orally to smaller, local...
song
Song
In music, a song is a composition for voice or voices, performed by singing.A song may be accompanied by musical instruments, or it may be unaccompanied, as in the case of a cappella songs...
by Manos Hadjidakis
Manos Hadjidakis
Manos Hatzidakis was a Greek composer and theorist of the Greek music. He was also one of the main prime movers of the "Éntekhno" song ....
. A vocal version was also released and performed by Melina Mercouri
Melina Mercouri
Melina Mercouri , born as Maria Amalia Mercouri was a Greek actress, singer and politician.As an actress she made her film debut in Stella and met international success with her performances in Never on Sunday, Phaedra, Topkapi and Promise at Dawn...
in the film of same name
Never on Sunday
Never on Sunday is a 1960 Greek black-and-white film which tells the story of Ilya, a prostitute who lives in the port of Piraeus in Greece, and Homer, an American tourist from Middletown, Connecticut — a classical scholar enamored with all things Greek. Ilya is a character close to the...
directed by Jules Dassin
Jules Dassin
Julius "Jules" Dassin , was an American film director, with Jewish-Russian origins. He was a subject of the Hollywood blacklist in the McCarthy era, and subsequently moved to France where he revived his career.-Early life:...
and starring Mercouri. The song won the Academy Award for Best Original Song
Academy Award for Best Original Song
The Academy Award for Best Original Song is one of the awards given annually to people working in the motion picture industry by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences . It is presented to the songwriters who have composed the best original song written specifically for a film...
in 1960, a first for a foreign-language picture. The film score
Film score
A film score is original music written specifically to accompany a film, forming part of the film's soundtrack, which also usually includes dialogue and sound effects...
to the movie was first released on October 1, 1960 by United Artists Records
United Artists Records
United Artists Records was a record label founded by Max E. Youngstein of United Artists in 1957 initially to distribute records of its movie soundtracks, though it soon branched out into recording music of a number of different genres.-History:...
. The song has since been covered by numerous artists, and has gained various degrees of success throughout the world.
Background
"Never on Sunday" was written by Manos Hadjidakis originally in Greek with the title "Ta Paidia tou Peiraia" (The children of Piraeus). The original Greek version featured lyrics also written by Hadjidakis, and was performed in the film by Melina Mercouri. The original Greek lyrics (along with the foreign translations in German, French and Italian) tell the story of the main female character of the film, Illya (Mercouri). Illya is a jolly woman who enjoys life, the town and the people of her native PiraeusPiraeus
Piraeus is a city in the region of Attica, Greece. Piraeus is located within the Athens Urban Area, 12 km southwest from its city center , and lies along the east coast of the Saronic Gulf....
. Although she earns her money as a prostitute, she longs to meet a man someday who is just as full of joie de vivre
Joie de vivre
Joie de vivre is a French phrase often used in English to express a cheerful enjoyment of life; an exultation of spirit. Joie de vivre"can be a joy of conversation, joy of eating, joy of anything one might do… And joie de vivre may be seen as a joy of everything, a comprehensive joy, a philosophy...
as she is herself.
In 1960, the song was nominated and won the Academy Award for Best Original Song
Academy Award for Best Original Song
The Academy Award for Best Original Song is one of the awards given annually to people working in the motion picture industry by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences . It is presented to the songwriters who have composed the best original song written specifically for a film...
, a first for a foreign-language picture since the Academy began to recognize achievements in this category in 1934.
Covers
The song has been covered in a number of languages since its release:- Greek (as Τα Παιδιά του Πειραιά) by Melina MercouriMelina MercouriMelina Mercouri , born as Maria Amalia Mercouri was a Greek actress, singer and politician.As an actress she made her film debut in Stella and met international success with her performances in Never on Sunday, Phaedra, Topkapi and Promise at Dawn...
, Nana MouskouriNana MouskouriNana Mouskouri , born Ioánna Moúschouri on October 13, 1934, in Chania, Crete, Greece, is a Greek singer who has sold about 300 million records worldwide in a career spanning over five decades, making her one of the best-selling music artists of all time. She was known as Nána to her friends and...
, Andy Williams, and Pink MartiniPink MartiniPink Martini is a 13-member "little orchestra" from Portland, Oregon, formed in 1994 by pianist Thomas M. Lauderdale. They draw inspiration from music from all over the world – crossing genres of classical, jazz and old-fashioned pop.-History:...
.
- English: An orchestral version recorded by Don CostaDon CostaDon Costa was an American pop music arranger and record producer, best known for his work with Frank Sinatra.-Career:...
reached number 19 on the Billboard Hot 100Billboard Hot 100The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
in 1960, while it also remained on the chart into 1961. His version also peaked at #27 in the UK Singles ChartUK Singles ChartThe UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...
. Following the success of the orchestral version as well as the Oscar win, an English languageEnglish languageEnglish is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
version of the song was commissioned to be written especially to match the title of the film. The lyrics to the English version of the song were written by Billy Towne. A vocal cover of the song by The ChordettesThe ChordettesThe Chordettes were a female popular singing quartet, usually singing a cappella, and specializing in traditional popular music. The Chordettes were one of the longest lived vocal groups with beginnings in the mainstream pop and vocal harmonies of the 1940s and early 1950s...
reached number 13 on the Billboard Hot 100Billboard Hot 100The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
chart in 1961. It was also covered by Bing CrosbyBing CrosbyHarry Lillis "Bing" Crosby was an American singer and actor. Crosby's trademark bass-baritone voice made him one of the best-selling recording artists of the 20th century, with over half a billion records in circulation....
, Done Costa, Lena HorneLena HorneLena Mary Calhoun Horne was an American singer, actress, civil rights activist and dancer.Horne joined the chorus of the Cotton Club at the age of sixteen and became a nightclub performer before moving to Hollywood, where she had small parts in numerous movies, and more substantial parts in the...
, Doris DayDoris DayDoris Day is an American actress, singer and, since her retirement from show business, an animal rights activist. With an entertainment career that spanned through almost 50 years, Day started her career as a big band singer in 1939, but only began to be noticed after her first hit recording,...
, Andy WilliamsAndy WilliamsHoward Andrew "Andy" Williams is an American singer who has recorded 18 Gold- and three Platinum-certified albums. He hosted The Andy Williams Show, a TV variety show, from 1962 to 1971, as well as numerous television specials, and owns his own theater, the Moon River Theatre in Branson, Missouri,...
, Connie FrancisConnie FrancisConnie Francis is an American pop singer of Italian heritage and the top-charting female vocalist of the 1950s and 1960s. Although her chart success waned in the second half of the 1960s, Francis remained a top concert draw...
, Petula ClarkPetula ClarkPetula Clark, CBE is an English singer, actress, and composer whose career has spanned seven decades.Clark's professional career began as an entertainer on BBC Radio during World War II...
, Lale AndersenLale AndersenLale Andersen was a German chanson singer-songwriter born in Bremerhaven, Germany. She is best known for her interpretation of the song "Lili Marleen" in 1939, which became tremendously popular on both sides during the Second World War.- Early life :She was born in Lehe and baptized Liese-Lotte...
, and The ChordettesThe ChordettesThe Chordettes were a female popular singing quartet, usually singing a cappella, and specializing in traditional popular music. The Chordettes were one of the longest lived vocal groups with beginnings in the mainstream pop and vocal harmonies of the 1940s and early 1950s...
, plus as an instrumental by Herb AlpertHerb AlpertHerbert "Herb" Alpert is an American musician most associated with the group variously known as Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass, Herb Alpert's Tijuana Brass, or TJB. He is also a recording industry executive — he is the "A" of A&M Records...
and the Tijuana Brass.
- Italian (as Uno A Te, Uno A Me) by DalidaDalidaDalida , born with Italian name of Iolanda Cristina Gigliotti, was a world-famous singer and actress born in Egypt with Italian origins but naturalised French with the name Yolanda Gigliotti. She spent her early years in Egypt amongst the Italian Egyptian community, but she lived most of her adult...
and MilvaMilvaMaria Ilva Biolcati , known as Milva, is an Italian singer, actress and television personality. She is also known as 'La Rossa', , due to the colour of her hair, and additionally as the 'Panther of Goro', which stems from the Italian press having nicknamed the three most popular Italian female...
.
- French (as Les Enfants du Pirée) by Melina MercouriMelina MercouriMelina Mercouri , born as Maria Amalia Mercouri was a Greek actress, singer and politician.As an actress she made her film debut in Stella and met international success with her performances in Never on Sunday, Phaedra, Topkapi and Promise at Dawn...
, Darío MorenoDarío MorenoDarío Moreno was a Turkish polyglot singer of Jewish origin, as well as an accomplished composer, lyricist and guitarist, who was born in Aydın, Turkey, in 1921, and who attained fame and made a remarkable career centered in France which also included films, during the fifties and the...
and Dalida.
- German: Lale AndersenLale AndersenLale Andersen was a German chanson singer-songwriter born in Bremerhaven, Germany. She is best known for her interpretation of the song "Lili Marleen" in 1939, which became tremendously popular on both sides during the Second World War.- Early life :She was born in Lehe and baptized Liese-Lotte...
scored a number one hit in 1960 with the German language version of the song titled "Ein Schiff wird kommen".. It was also covered by Dalida, Lys AssiaLys AssiaLys Assia born Rosa Mina Schärer on 3 March 1924, Rupperswil, Aargau, Switzerland) is a Swiss singer who won the first Eurovision Song Contest in 1956. When Lys Assia was a young girl she was a dancer. In 1940, however, she stood in for a female singer...
, Nana MouskouriNana MouskouriNana Mouskouri , born Ioánna Moúschouri on October 13, 1934, in Chania, Crete, Greece, is a Greek singer who has sold about 300 million records worldwide in a career spanning over five decades, making her one of the best-selling music artists of all time. She was known as Nána to her friends and...
, and Melina Mercouri.
- Yiddish (as Af zyntik - neyn) by The Barry SistersThe Barry SistersThe Barry Sisters can refer to:* The Barry Sisters * The Barry Sisters * The Barry Sisters...
.
- Czech (as Děti z Pirea, 1962) by Milan Chladil & Yvetta Simonová.
- Spanish (as Los Niños del Pireo) by Dalida. "Nunca en Domingo" by Xiomara AlfaroXiomara AlfaroXiomara Alfaro is a Cuban coloratura soprano. Her interpretation of Cuban composer and pianist Ernesto Lecuona's Siboney was the composer's favorite. She was a star of the Cuban music scene of the 1950s. She became famous as a singer of bolero music in part due to the way she sang them with her...
.
- Serbian (as Деца Пиреја) by Lola Novaković and Ljiljana Petrović.
- Croatian (as Nikad nedjeljom) by Ksenia Prohaska.
- Slovenian (as Otroci Pireja) by Helena Blagne.
- English/Spanish (as No Tengo Dinero) by Los Umbrellos, based on the melody.
- Dutch (as Waarom ben jij nooit op zondag vrij) by Mieke Telkamp, based on the melody.
- Cantonese (as 兩爺仔) by Andy LauAndy LauAndy Lau MH, JP is a Hong Kong Cantopop singer, actor, and film producer. Lau has been one of Hong Kong's most commercially successful film actors since the mid-1980s, performing in more than 160 films while maintaining a successful singing career at the same time...
, Anita MuiAnita MuiAnita Mui Yim-fong was a popular Hong Kong singer and actress. During her prime years she made major contributions to the cantopop music scene, while receiving numerous awards and honours. She remained an idol throughout most of her career, and was generally regarded as a cantopop diva...
, Sandra NgSandra NgSandra Ng Kwan-yu is a Hong Kong film and television actress.-Biography:The daughter of Ng Kam-chuen, Ng was born in Hong Kong, where she attended St. Stephen's Girls' College. Encouraged by her parents, she began her entertainment career at the age of 16. She is most known through her comic...
, Ronald ChengRonald Cheng-Biography:Originally intending to work behind the scenes as a composer and record producer, Cheng did odd jobs at his father ’s company EMI— which included doing back-up vocals for the likes of Alan Tam and Priscilla Chan — during summers as a youth...
, Gordon Lam, Suzanne Chung, Cherrie YingCherrie YingTing Man , better known as Cherrie Ying or Ying Choi-yi, is a Hong Kong actress. She moved to New York City at a young age, and later moved to Hong Kong...
and Lam Chi-chung in the film Dance of a DreamDance of a DreamDance of a Dream is a 2001 Hong Kong film co-produced and directed by the film's cinematographer Andrew Lau and starring Andy Lau, Sandra Ng and Anita Mui.-Cast and roles:* Andy Lau - Namson Lau* Anita Mui - Tina Cheung* Sandra Ng - Kam...
(愛君如夢). The title song roughly translates "Father and son".
- Mandarin (as 別在星期天) by Teresa TengTeresa TengTeresa Teng , was an immensely popular and influential Chinese pop singer from Taiwan. Teresa Teng's voice and songs are instantly recognized throughout East Asia and in areas with large Asian populations...
. The title translates as "Never on a Sunday."
- Polish (as Dzieci Pireusu) by Maria Koterbska and duo of actors Hanna Śleszyńska & Jacek Wójcicki.
Other appearances
- The song was used again in the 2005 movie MunichMunich (film)Munich is a 2005 historical fiction film about the Israeli government's secret retaliation attacks after the massacre of Israeli athletes by the Black September terrorist group during the 1972 Summer Olympics. The film stars Eric Bana and was produced and directed by Steven Spielberg...
. - James Hill, a Canadian ukuleleUkuleleThe ukulele, ; from ; it is a subset of the guitar family of instruments, generally with four nylon or gut strings or four courses of strings....
player, recorded a version of the song on ukulele for his album A Flying Leap. - Nia VardalosNia VardalosAntonia Eugenia "Nia" Vardalos is a Canadian-American actress, screenwriter, director, singer and producer. Her most notable work is the 2002 Academy Award–nominated film My Big Fat Greek Wedding.-Personal life:...
sang a snippet of the GreekModern GreekModern Greek refers to the varieties of the Greek language spoken in the modern era. The beginning of the "modern" period of the language is often symbolically assigned to the fall of the Byzantine Empire in 1453, even though that date marks no clear linguistic boundary and many characteristic...
version in her 2009 film My Life in RuinsMy Life in RuinsMy Life in Ruins is a 2009 romantic comedy film set amongst the ruins of ancient Greece, starring Nia Vardalos, Richard Dreyfuss, Alexis Georgoulis, Rachel Dratch, Harland Williams and British comedy actor and impressionist Alistair McGowan...
. - Los UmbrellosLos UmbrellosLos Umbrellos was a Latin pop dance group. It was formed by record producer Kenneth Bager, in 1997 in Denmark, and split up in 1999.The group released only one album in 1997, entitled Flamenco Funk. Their single, "No Tengo Dinero", went to #33 in the UK Singles Chart, and peaked at #42 on the...
, a DanishDenmarkDenmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
musical group, used it as a base for their 1998 signature songSignature songA signature song is the one song that a popular and well-established singer or band is most closely identified with or best known for, even if they have had success with a variety of songs...
, "No Tengo DineroNo Tengo Dinero"No Tengo Dinero" is a début single of Danish musical group Los Umbrellos, considered to be their signature song. It was released by FLEX Records, EMI Music and Virgin Records on 30 March 1998...
". - This song was sung on the Muppet Show by Miss Piggy and Greek pigs, complete with smashing plates.