From '' Summer Surf ''
Label: Capitol Records -- ST 2111
Format: Vinyl, LP, Album
Country: US
Released: 1964
Tracklist
A1 Summer Surf
A2 Feel So Good
A3 Surfin'
A4 Spanish Kiss
A5 The Star
A6 Banzai Washout
B1 Glory Wave
B2 Surfin' Rebel
B3 Never On Sunday
B4 Mama's Gone Surfin'
B5 Tidal Wave
B6 Thunder Wave
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\"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.
Written by Hadjidakis, 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.
Background
The original Greek version featured lyrics also written by Hadjidakis 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 Piraeus.
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.
An orchestral version recorded by Don Costa reached number 19 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1960, while it also remained on the chart into 1961.
Following the success of the orchestral version as well as the Oscar win, an English language 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 Chordettes reached number 13 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in 1961.
Lale Andersen scored a number one hit in 1960 with the German language version of the song titled \"Ein Schiff wird kommen\".
In 2010, a remixed dance version of the song was released by newly formed group Aroma (consisting of Raf Marchesini, Max B and Ilario Drago) under the title \"The Children of Piraeus\". English, Greek, and French versions of the song were released, with the English and Greek versions feature vocals by Fame Story 3 contestant Katerina Bourneli, while the French version features vocals by In-Grid. The song was co-produced by Ego Music Italy and Planetworks Records Greece.
Covers
The song has been covered in a number of languages since its release:
Greek (as Τα Παιδιά του Πειραιά) by Melina Mercouri, Nana Mouskouri, Andy Williams, and Pink Martini.
English (as Never on Sunday) by Bing Crosby, Done Costa, Lena Horne, Doris Day, Andy Williams, Connie Francis, Petula Clark, Lale Andersen, and The Chordettes.
Italian (as Uno A Te, Uno A Me) by Dalida and Milva.
French (as Les Enfants du Pirée) by Melina Mercouri, Darío Moreno and Dalida.
German (as Ein Schiff wird kommen) by Dalida, Lale Andersen (a German #1 single), Lys Assia, Nana Mouskouri, and Melina Mercouri.
Czech (as Děti z Pirea, 1962) by Milan Chladil & Yvetta Simonová.
Spanish (as Los Niños del Pireo) by Dalida. \"Nunca en Domingo\" by Xiomara Alfaro.
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 Lau, Anita Mui and Sandra Ng in the film Dance of Dream (愛君如夢). The title song roughly translates \"Father and son\".
Mandarin (as 別在星期天) by Teresa Teng. 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 Munich.
James Hill, a Canadian ukulele player, recorded a version of the song on ukulele for his album A Flying Leap.
Nia Vardalos sang a snippet of the Greek version in her 2009 film My Life in Ruins.
Los Umbrellos, a Danish musical group, used it as a base for their 1998 signature song, \"No Tengo Dinero\".
This song was sung on the Muppet Show by Miss Piggy and Greek pigs, complete with smashing plates.
