The official history but also the short, human stories, personal events, as well as everything that moved or shocked the public opinion and had an impact and an influence on the psyche of the people and inspired the creators, were directly or indirectly part of the themes of Greek music.

In parallel with the developments and changes that take place in society, Greek music, as a social mirror but also as a field of symbolic recording and projection of the fierce controversies that express the deeper social demands of each era, records, and sometimes comments not only the important political, military and social events that have determined the course of Hellenism, but also almost all aspects of private life, hoarding the collective memory and capturing the paths of formation of national identity.

Τhe declaration of war by fascist Italy and its victorious confrontation by the Greek army in Albania mobilized the forces of Greek music. From October 1940 to April 1941, the creators of Greek songs of all genres recorded the events in new songs or adapted lyrics with similar themes to older hits. One such case is the song "Akou Ntoutse mou ta nea".

It is an adaptation of lyrics to the melody of the popular song "Varvara", refers to the Greco-Italian war of 1940-41 and satirizes Italian dictator Benito Mussolini, founder and leader of the Partito Nazionale Fascista (National Fascist Party).

Panagiotis Kounadis (2010, 11: 64) notes about some of the key-words of the lyrics:

Cavallero: Ugo Cavallero was an Italian general who became the commander of the Italian forces in Greece, replacing General Ubaldo Soddu in December 1940.

Gayda: Virginio Gayda, journalist, spokesman for the fascist party

Lupi: one of the elite infantry divisions of the Italian army. Its full name was "Lupi di Toscana" ("Wolves of Tuscany")

Palazzo: The Italian word palazzo means palace, mansion but also apartment building. In this case, the word clearly refers to the Palazzo Venezia, a former consulate in Rome, the headquarters of Mussolini from whose balcony he announced the attack on Greece

Centauro: the 131st armored division of the Italian Army

Bersaglieri: elit unit of the italian army

The musical theme of Karots(i)eris, which was extremely popular in the Greek-speaking repertoire, appears as a small transient theme within the recording, as in other songs (see for example: "Fotia kai niata", "I Marika i daskala", "Tampachaniotikos manes" [shift], "To kalokairi tora", "Varvara", "Romaiiko glenti"). Apart from its Romanian origin and its strong ties with the local repertoire, the tune of "Karotsieris" also found in other repertoires, such as Jewish (for more see the recordings of "Karotseris" or "Karotsieri".

Panagiotis Tountas shows his compositional skill, often using themes from other songs, many times coming from a variety of repertoires, and incorporates or uses them as an "occasion" for the birth of new songs.

It seems that this tune is one of the most popular choices not only in the Greek-speaking urban folk-popular repertoire but also in others, something which highlights the cosmopolitanism and syncretism in which popular musicians lived and acted. Like other tunes, which eventually became what we would now call a “hit”, this one also puts emphasis on the interplay between the various repertoires which were discussants in a large geographical area. Thus arises an exciting network that includes repertoires from Eastern Europe, the Balkans and the Mediterranean, which, on the one hand, came from three great empires: the Ottoman, the Austrian and the Russian. On the other hand, repertoires from Italy the Canzone Napoletana, the French chansons, the Spanish world and other sub-networks,were also very active, but also repertoires from two large worlds that were constantly on the move: the gypsy and the Jewish (mainly Yiddish) one. Discography is not only embedded in this context, but plays a key role in its transformation.

Research and text by: Leonardos Kounadis and Nikos Ordoulidis