‘Upon the swing they sat and swayed’ a traditional song from the island of Lesvoes, Greece for late piano beginners with lyrics

‘Upon the swing they sat and swayed’ (‘Pano stin kounia katsane’) — A traditional song from Lesvos, Greece, for piano and voice by Piano Comics.

The song and the text below come from the textbook Music Anthology for grades 1–6 of primary school, teacher’s edition.

‘Upon the swing they sat and swayed’ is a song from Lesvos, woven into the ancient custom of the swing. In modern Greece, this rite was celebrated on Easter Sunday, Monday, or Tuesday, on Saint George’s Day, and even on May Day, depending on the region. The swing carries a deeply resurrectional spirit — a symbol of life and nature rising anew, mirrored in the rocking of the swing ever higher. The ritual unfolded like this: people would walk out into the open fields and hang swings from great branches, or within the village from tall trees. On the swing sat mainly young women, while the young men pushed it. The swing also held a ‘match-making’ purpose, for it was there that boys and girls met, and hidden feelings could be expressed through tender songs and words of praise. Songs of the swing can be found in many corners of Greece. You can listen to it here.

The text in this post is translated  by Michael Konstantinou-Rizos from Greek.

You can listen to this song here and download the free scores + lyrics at the end of this post.