"Darla dirladada" is a song recorded by French singer

Dalida Iolanda Cristina Gigliotti (; 17 January 1933 – 3 May 1987), professionally known as Dalida, was an Italian-French singer and actress born in Egypt. She sang in eleven languages and sold millions of records internationally. Her best known son ...

, first released on single during summer of 1970. It was a #1 hit in France. The song is based on Greek folk song "Dirlada" (

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

: ), originating from the island of

Kalymnos Kalymnos ( el, Κάλυμνος) is a Greek island and municipality in the southeastern Aegean Sea. It belongs to the Dodecanese island chain, between the islands of Kos (south, at a distance of ) and Leros (north, at a distance of less than ): t ...

in Greece.

Origins

It was conceived as a song that sponge divers would sing when traveling with their ''

caïque A caïque ( el, καΐκι, ''kaiki'', from tr, kayık) is a traditional fishing boat usually found among the waters of the Ionian or Aegean Sea, and also a light skiff used on the Bosporus. It is traditionally a small wooden trading vessel, br ...

'' boats across the seas. The song's

lyrics Lyrics are words that make up a song, usually consisting of verses and choruses. The writer of lyrics is a lyricist. The words to an extended musical composition such as an opera are, however, usually known as a "libretto" and their writer, a ...

contain words of encouragement and the opportunity awaiting the crew. One of the most notable recordings is that performed by Pantelis Ginnis, a Kalymnian sponge diver captain, who, in his version, is making a reference to another respected diver captain, Manolis (Emmanuel) Theodosiou, whose nickname was 'Kobalis'. Ginnis, in his version, relates the time Kobalis walked into a coffee shop where Ginnis was singing Darla dirladada.

Modern versions

Dionysis Savvopoulos Dionysis Savvopoulos ( el, Διονύσης Σαββόπουλος) (born 2 December 1944) is a prominent Greek singer-songwriter. Career Savvopoulos was born in the city of Thessaloniki, Greece (December 1944) in a middle-class family. He pass ...

sang "Dirlada" on his 1969 album ''To Perivoli tou Trelou''. In 1970 the song was recorded by French singer

. It was released as a single from her album '' Ils ont changé ma chanson'', on which it features as the sixth track. Dalida also recorded the song in Italian, German, and English-language versions. In the same year it was also recorded by Cypriot-American-Israeli singer Trifonas Nikolaidis in Israel and released as an EP with 2 additional songs on the B-side. It was the inspiration for the 1971 pop song

Loop di Love "Loop di Love" is a schlager pop song written by German musicians Dieter Dierks and Michael Schepior, based on the traditional Greek song " Dirlanda". It was first recorded in 1971 by Rolf Steitz (born in Cologne, Germany, 7 January 1952) perform ...

by Juan Bastós. The famous Greek songstress

Marinella Marinella ( el, Μαρινέλλα) (born 20 May 1938, Thessaloniki) is one of the most popular Greek singers whose career has spanned several decades. She has sung professionally since 1957. Since the beginning of her career, she has release ...

recorded two spirited cover versions of the song in 1971. One appeared on a compilation LP with various artists entitled ‘’ Ena Karavi Yemato Tragoudia / A Boat Full of Songs’’. The other more known version appears as the last track of her studio album ‘’ Enas Mithos/A Story’’ In 1973, Chilean singer José Alfredo Fuentes recorded an adaptation of the song in

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Cana ...

, released as "Dirladada". The song has been covered by the Belgian-Flemish singer

Marva Marva (Hebrew: מרווה) is a two-month Israel Defense Forces basic training program for young Jews from the Diaspora which offers an opportunity to experience the IDF and Israeli life. The program is based at Sde Boker. History Marva, origina ...

. The most notable cover version, so far, is that of G.O. Culture in 1993, which became a huge hit in

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

. The song is popular in

Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...

as well, recorded with Finnish lyrics by Kai Hyttinen in 1972. Erkki Pälli, a Finnish music producer and a journalist, heard this rousing song on a holiday in

Rhodos In Greek mythology, Rhodos/Rhodus () or Rhode (), was the goddess and personification of the island of Rhodes and a wife of the Solar deity, sun god Helios. Parentage Various parents were given for Rhodos. Pindar makes her a daughter of Aphro ...

back in 1971–72 and brought it back home with him. He offered it to Kai "Kuju" Hyttinen, who got a hit single of it. Pälli had just misheard the song and in Finland it is known as "Dirlanda" or "Dirlandaa". Finnish music group Jean S. has also re-covered the song. In 1995, for their fifth album, the Macedonian rock band "Memorija", recorded a version of this song, titled "Dirlada". In 2018, the Romanian band D-l Goe covered the song to honour the 1st of March holiday, using an electro rock approach for the Romanian lyrics, previously used by singer Margareta Paslaru

Dalida version

Track listings

; 7" single # "Darla dirladada" — 3:15 # "Diable de temps" — 2:30 ; 7" maxi - 1996 release # "Darla dirladada" (disco 96 mix) — 6:55 # "Darla dirladada" (sirtaki mix) — 4:04

G.O. Culture version

In 1993, the band G.O. Culture covered the song in a House music, house and

techno Techno is a genre of electronic dance music (EDM) which is generally produced for use in a continuous DJ set, with tempo often varying between 120 and 150 beats per minute (bpm). The central rhythm is typically in common time (4/4) and often ch ...

version. In France, this version was a success in

discothèque A nightclub (music club, discothèque, disco club, or simply club) is an entertainment venue during nighttime comprising a dance floor, lightshow, and a stage for live music or a disc jockey (DJ) who plays recorded music. Nightclubs gener ...

s and in terms of sales. Lyrics are completely changed and refer to

Patrice Leconte Patrice Leconte (; born 12 November 1947) is a French film director, actor, comic strip writer, and screenwriter. Life and career Leconte grew up in Tours, and began making little amateur films at 15. He went to Paris in 1967 and studied at Insti ...

's film, ''Les Bronzés''.Elia Habib, ''Muz hit. tubes'', p. 274 () The single was the major summer hit in France and stayed for 29 weeks in the top 50, 22 of them in the top ten. The music video shows the singers performing the song on a beach and on a boat. Several remixes were produced by French band Pleasure Game. This cover version has been covered in turn by K.O. Culture in 2006 in a remixed version.

Track listings

; CD single ; CD maxi # "Darla dirladada" (tropical club mix radio edit) # "Darla dirladada" (tropical club) # "Darla dirladada" (techno dance mix) # "Powe a Wanda" ; Cassette # "Darla dirladada" # "Powe a Wanda" ; 12" maxi # "Darla dirladada" # "Darla dirladada" (maxi version) — 5:39

Certifications and sales

Charts

References

{{authority control Greek songs 1970 singles Dalida songs G.O. Culture songs 1993 debut singles Number-one singles in France Kalymnos Year of song unknown Songs with lyrics by Boris Bergman