Nana Mouskouri (Greek: Nάνα Μούσχουρη, pronounced [ˈnana ˈmusxuri]), born Iōánna Moúschouri (Greek: Ιωάννα Μούσχουρη [ioˈana ˈmusxuri]) on October 13, 1934, in Chania, Crete, Greece, is a Greek singer. She was known as "Nána" to her friends and family as a child.
She has recorded songs in many languages, including Greek, French, English, German, Dutch, Italian, Portuguese, Spanish, Hebrew, Welsh, Mandarin Chinese, Corsican, and Turkish.
Nana Mouskouri's family lived in Chania, Crete, where her father, Constantine, worked as a film projectionist in a local cinema; her mother, Alice, worked in the same cinema as an usherette. When Mouskouri was three, her family moved to Athens.
Mouskouri's family sent her and her older sister Eugenía (Jenny) to the Athens Conservatoire. Although Mouskouri had displayed exceptional musical talent from age six, Jenny initially appeared to be the more gifted sibling. Financially unable to support both girls' studies, the parents asked their tutor which one should continue. The tutor conceded that Jenny had the better voice, but Nana was the one with the true inner need to sing. Mouskouri has said that a medical examination revealed a difference in her two vocal cords and this could well account for her remarkable singing voice (in her younger years ranging from a husky, dark alto, which she later dropped, to a ringing coloratura mezzo), as opposed to her breathy, raspy speaking voice.
Nothing will change my mind,
I think I told you
Many things I was never shown,
I won't be like you
Many I'll never see, nobody told me
Want to throw my life down the drain,
And walk in the rain
Not a next day, only today
Not tomorrow, here and right now
I want to forget it, not think it over
I don't want to be a lawyer, only murderer
[Chorus:]
On the brink of madness
I'm with my back to the wall, but I'll be strong
Empty eyes, in anguish
Here today gone tomorrow, I'm getting cold
Not scared, just cold
I can't make up, for lost time now
Just look out which way the wind blows
For the last time, for the last day
No more to gain, madness remains
You can run, you can hide, be guilty or innocent
Try to scream and struggle
Wherever you go, it will find you someday
You can't paint the town red,
Be loaded or restitute
Try to leave and forget,
Whatever you do, it will find you someday
On the corner, two blocks away
From up above, close to you
You can move, heaven and earth,
Be a big name or small fry
Try to pray and repent