"Gülbahar" is a popular folk song in Greece. The song was composed in the early 1950s by composer Vasilis Tsitsanis, with lyrics credited to lyricist Eftihia Papayiannopoulou. Stelios Kazantzidis is among the song's famous interpreters, recognized in Greek music.
The song's lyrics concern the beauty of love and nature's renewal. The Gülbahar season refers to spring, which comes after winter and signals nature's reawakening. The song's words celebrate spring's arrival and the natural beauty reawakened with it, as well as love's renewal.
Gülbahar is a widely used Turkish female name. It means "rose of spring." In the 15th century, two different Ottoman sultans each had wives with this name.
Gülbahar Hatun was the Empress consort of Sultan Mehmed II, married to him in 1446. She was also the mother of Sultan Bayezid II. Some academics believe her father was a Muslim from the Black Sea region and a convert — a former Greek who joined the Turkish army.
The second Ottoman Empress bearing this name was the second Gülbahar Hatun, whose birth name was Ayşe. She married Süleyman II, son of the first Gülbahar's son, Sultan Bayezid II.
This song's name Gülbahar appears not to reference either Ottoman empress. It seems to apply to an imaginary woman named Gülbahar.
About Vasilis Tsitsanis
Vasilis Tsitsanis composed this song. While some sources claim he was also the lyricist, others credit the lyrics to Eftihia Papayiannopoulou.
Tsitsanis was a versatile musician who learned violin, mandola, mandolin, and bouzouki. To record his compositions, he collaborated with several singers, accompanying them on bouzouki. His music helped many of his collaborators launch into fame and successful careers.
About Lyricist Eftihia Papayiannopoulou
This song was written by the highly acclaimed lyricist Eftihia Papayiannopoulou, who used the pen name EE Gria (old woman).
The legendary Eftihia Xatzigeorgiou (Papayiannopoulou) was born in 1893 in the city of Aydın near Smyrna (known today as İzmir in Turkey). As a Greek refugee from Anatolia, her life was marked by suffering and hardship. From the 1950s to 1960s, her talents as a lyricist captured the attention of some of that era's greatest Laiko and Rebetiko artists. Her collaborations included Apostolos Kaldaras, Stelios Kazantzidis, Vasilis Tsitsanis, and Manos Hadjidakis, Manolis Hiotis, and Babis Bakalis, among others.
Eftihia became embroiled in disputes with Stelios Kazantzidis and Vasilis Tsitsanis over songwriting and intellectual property rights. In that era, women received scant respect or recognition. Men always held sway and had the last word. Many of these men preferred that others not know that a woman stood behind their successful songs.
Because Eftihia was a passionate gambler, many judgments and criticisms were directed at her. The successive loss of her husband and daughter drove her toward this path. Gambling is an addiction and should not be judged. Out of desperate need for quick money, she felt driven to sell her songs' rights rather than retain commission claims.
In December 2019, a new Greek film recounting her life story was released. It sold many tickets and proved highly popular.
About Rena Dalia
Rena Dalia was born in Patras in 1934 as Eleftheria Papakosta. One of eighteen children whose roots lay in Greece's Epirus region, she became one of the greatest singers of Laiko style. She first displayed her vocal talents singing in her high school choir. At eighteen, she came to Athens with her mother to work as a typist, supporting them both. She met radio producer Kostas Zafiris in a tavern beneath the apartment building where they lived. Zafiris encouraged her to enter a radio talent competition, which she won.
This was followed by work as a singer in a tavern, launching her singing career. There, Yiannis Papaioannou, impressed by her voice and beauty, drew her into the sphere of other major musicians of the Greek music profession. Soon after, she began to know other major musicians in the Greek music field. Gülbahar, her first major hit, was composed for her by Vasilis Tsitsanis.
In addition to a successful singing career in Greece, Dalia experienced touring success both among diaspora Greeks and in Arabia.
About Eleftheria Arvanitaki
Eleftheria Arvanitaki, one of the artists who recorded this song, is a Greek folk singer known for performing rebetiko, laiko, and jazz styles. Born in 1957, she began her singing career as a member of the Retrograde Company (Opisthodromiki Kompania), an ensemble that performed rebetiko music. She later left in 1984 to launch a solo singing career under her own name. She toured extensively, performing at festivals and other live music events. Arvanitaki performed at the closing ceremony of the 2004 Summer Olympic Games in Athens.
