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PHOTO CREDIT: Above photo by John Rickman Photography, San Jose, California.

Τι Τι
(Ti Ti)

(What What)

 

 

This page contains a translation into English of the lyrics to the popular Greek song "Ti Ti" (Τι Τι), which was sung by Giorgos Alkaios, whose name is sometimes written as Yiorgos Alkaios. Also included is a pronunciation guide for the Greek lyrics so you can sing along if you like.

Song lyrics are provided for educational purposes. If you like the song, please purchase either the album or a download from an authorized source.

About this Song

The original version of this song, written and performed by Cheb Khaled (who now goes by just "Khaled") was released in Arabic in 1992. It was the lead single from his album, Khaled. The original song title was "Didi". It peaked at number 9 on the French charts, and remained in the top 50 for 20 weeks, making it the first song performed in Arabic to claim a spot in the music charts in France.

ABOUT THE PHOTO: The photo shows Khaled, the original artist for the major hit song "Didi".

Since then, many artists around the world have released their own versions, with lyrics in their own local languages. (See the list below.) The version by Giorgos Alkaios was a major hit in Greece.

About Giorgos Alkaios

Giorgos Alkaios (sometimes spelled Yiorgos Alkeos) is the stage name for Yiorgos Vasiliou (Γιώργος Βασιλείου). He was born in Athens in 1971 to Greek and Portugese parents. When he was 3 years old, his parents (who were living in the U.S. at the time) divorced and his father abducted him, taking him to Greece to live.

His first television appearance occurred at age 17, when he entered a talent competition reality show titled Ela Sto Fos. Out of 1,500 entrants, he was selected to be one of the top twenty. In the summer of 1991, he went on a concert tour of Greece with a fellow singer, Christos Dantis.

In 1992, Alkaios released his debut album Me Ligo Trak, which included his Greek version of Cheb Khaled's hit song Didi. It became a massive hit in Greece, and was one of the first Greek songs to mix Oriental sounds with Western pop. His songwriting and recording career continued in the years that followed, leading to many gold and platinum albums.

Song: Ti Ti (What What), 1992

Lyrics: Evi Droutsa

Music: Cheb Khaled

Original Artist: Giorgos Alkaios

Dance: Belly Dancing

Album: Me Ligo Trak (With a Bit of Nervousness)

Has Also Been Recorded By:

In Greek:
  • Bo (original name Haralambos Xenidis), 2014. Duet with American singer Dawn Richard, in Greek and English. ("Di Di".) Greek lyrics by Bo, English by B. Sykes. Includes rapping with kemence, because Bo is a Pontian Anatolian Greek.
  • Bo, 2014. Duet with Turkish singer Melis Kar, in Greek and Turkish. ("Gitti".) Includes rapping with kemence, because Bo is a Pontian Anatolian Greek.
In Arabic:
  • Cheb Khaled, 1992. ("Didi")
  • Milk & Honey (a German duo), 2010. ("Didi"). In Arabic and English
In Turkish:
  • Tarkan, 1992. ("Kimdi"), from his album called Yine Sensiz. Turkish lyrics by Tarkan.
  • Emrah, 1993. ("Ye Kürküm") From his album Haydi Simdi. These are different lyrics than Tarkan's, and were written by Hamza Dekeli. 
In Farsi:
  • Andy Madadian, 1993. ("Laili")
In English and French:
  • Brahim Attaeb (a Moroccan/Belgian singer) with Nessa, 2005. ("Didi")
In Albanian:
  • Ilirët, 1990's. ("Ti Më Bën Xheloz")
In Russian:
  • Tatiana Parez, 2004.
In Urdu:
  • Sajjad Ali (a Pakistani singer), 1993. ("Babia")
In Hindi:
  • Sudesh Bhosle and Vinod Rathod (Indian duo), 1993, in the movie Shreemaan Aashique. ("Ladki, Ladki")
  • Arijit Singh and Ankit Tiwari, 2016, in the movie Airlift. ("Dil Cheez Tujhe De Di")
In Serbian:
  • Dragana Mirkovic, 1993. ("Baš Tebe Volim Ja")

Τραγούδι: Τι Τι, 1992

Στίχοι: Εύη Δρούτσα

Μουσική: Τσεμπ Κχαλεντ

Πρώτη Εκτέλεση: Γιώργος Αλκαίος

Άλμπουμ: Με Λίγω Τρακ

Άλλοι Ερμηνευτές:

Στα Ελληνικά:
  • Bo (Χαράλαμπος Ξενίδης), 2014. Duet with American singer Dawn Richard, in Greek and English. ("Di Di")
  • Bo, 2014. Duet with Turkish singer Μελις Καρ, in Greek and Turkish. ("Gitti")
Στα Αραβικά:
  • Χαλεντ Χαντζ Μπραχιμ, 1992. ("Ντιντι")
  • Milk & Honey, 2010. ("Didi"). In Arabic and English
Στα Τουρκικά:
  • Ταρκαν, 1992. ("Κιμντι"). From his album Γενι Σενσιζ.
  • Εμρα, 1993. ("Γιε Κιουρκιουμ"). From his album Χαιντι Σιμντι. These are different lyrics than Tarkan's, and were written by Χαμζα Ντεκελι.
Στα Περσικά:
  • Αντι Μανταντιαν, 1993. ("Λαιλι").
In English and French:
  • Μπραχιμ Ατταεμπ, 2005. ("Didi")

 

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Lyrics

Numbers in parentheses refer to footnotes that appear at the bottom of the translation.

Greek Lyrics

Pronunciation

English Translation

Ότι θέλεις

oti thelis Whatever you want,

για σένα θα κάνω

ya sena tha kano I will do for you.

Ένα όχι αν μου πεις

ena ohi an mou pis If you tell me "no" once,

θα πεθάνω

tha pethano I will die.

Ότι θέλεις

oti thelis Whatever you want,

μωρό μου

moro mou my baby,
πες μου pes mou tell me.
     

Τι, τι, τι, τι,

ti, ti, ti, ti, What, what, what, what?

τι, τι, τι, ε τι, τι

ti, ti, ti, ee ti, ti What, what, what, huh what, what?

Τι, τι, ε

ti, ti, ee What, what, huh?

Τι, τι

ti, ti What, what?

τι, τι, τι

ti, ti, ti What, what, what?
 ε τι, ε τι, τι ee ti, ee ti, ti Huh, what, huh, what, what?
     

Σε βλέπω και παθαίνω

se vlepo ke patheno I see you and something happens [to me].

δεν αντέχω πια

den anteho pia I can't take it any more.

Με στέλνεις

me stelnis You send me.

μ' έχεις κάψει, είσαι μια φωτιά

me ehis kapsi, ise mia fotia You have burned me, you are a fire.

Τι θέλεις να σου κάνω

ti thelis na sou kano What do you want me to do for you?
έλα πες τι ela pes ti Come on, tell [me] what.
     

Τι, τι,

ti, ti What, what?

τι, τι, τι, ε τι, τι

ti, ti, ti, ee ti, ti What, what, what, huh what, what?

Τι, τι, ε

ti, ti, ee What, what, huh?

Τι, τι

ti, ti What, what?

τι, τι, τι

ti, ti, ti What, what, what?
 ε τι, ε τι, τι ee ti, ee ti, ti Huh, what, huh, what, what?
     

Σταμάτησε η καρδιά μου

stamatise ee kardia mou My heart stopped,

τώρα στο μηδέν

tora sto miden now at zero.

Παγώνω, τελειώνω

pagono, teliono I'm freezing, I'm finished.

αν εσύ δεν δεν

an esi den den If you don't, don't,

Πες μου τι θα γίνει

pes mou ti tha yini tell me what will happen.
έλα πες τι ela pes ti Come on, say what.
     

Τι, τι,

ti, ti What, what?

τι, τι, τι, ε τι, τι

ti, ti, ti, ee ti, ti What, what, what, huh what, what?

Τι, τι, ε

ti, ti, ee What, what, huh?

Τι, τι

ti, ti What, what?

τι, τι, τι

ti, ti, ti What, what, what?
 ε τι, ε τι, τι ee ti, ee ti, ti Huh, what, huh, what, what?
     

Instrumental

Instrumental

Instrumental

     

Ο διάβολος σε έβαλε

o diavolos se evale The devil has put you [in],

θα τρελαθώ

tha trelatho I'm going crazy.

Αρρώστησα

arostisa I got sick

απ' τον κόσμο θέλω να χαθώ

ap' ton kosmo thelo na hatho of everyone (1), I want to disappear.

Τι θέλεις, μ' έχεις λιώσει

ti thelis, m' ehis liosi What do you want? You have melted me [from exhaustion].
έλα πες τι ela pes ti Come on, say what.
     

Τι, τι,

ti, ti What, what?

τι, τι, τι, ε τι, τι

ti, ti, ti, ee ti, ti What, what, what, huh what, what?

Τι, τι, ε

ti, ti, ee What, what, huh?

Τι, τι

ti, ti What, what?

τι, τι, τι

ti, ti, ti What, what, what?
 ε τι, ε τι, τι ee ti, ee ti, ti Huh, what, huh, what, what?
     

Φίλα με, μάτια μου

fila me, matia mou Kiss me, my eyes,

και θα δεις

ke tha dis and you will see

όλα δικά σου

ola dika sou all is yours.

ένα ναι αν πεις

ena ne an pis If you say "yes" once,

Τι άλλο θέλεις, πάρ' τα όλα

ti alo thelis, par' ta ola whatever else you want, take it all.
πες τι pes ti Say what.
     

Τι, τι,

ti, ti What, what?

τι, τι, τι, ε τι, τι

ti, ti, ti, ee ti, ti What, what, what, huh what, what?

Τι, τι, ε

ti, ti, ee What, what, huh?

Τι, τι

ti, ti What, what?

τι, τι, τι

ti, ti, ti What, what, what?
 ε τι, ε τι, τι ee ti, ee ti, ti Huh, what, huh, what, what?
     

πες τι

pes ti Say what,

Τι, τι

ti, ti what, what

Τι, τι

ti, ti what, what

πες τι

pes ti Say what,

Τι, τι

ti, ti what, what

Τι, τι

ti, ti what, what

Τι, τι

ti, ti what, what

 

   

πες

pes Say
Τι, τι ti, ti what, what
  1. Literally, "from the world".

 

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Translations of
Giorgos Alkaios' Songs On This Site

Translations on this web site of songs performed by Giorgos Alkaios include:

  • Ti Ti (What What). 1992.

 

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Translations of
Songs by Cheb Khaled on This Site

These are Greek songs based on music originally used by the Algerian raï artist, Khaled. Three are based on his song "Aïcha".

  • Alithia Sou Leo (The Truth I Am Telling You). By Stamatis Gonidis. This song is based on Khaled's "Aïcha".
  • Krifa (Secretly). By Michalis Hatzigiannis. This song is based on Khaled's "Aïcha".
  • M' Aresi (I Like It). By Kostas Bigalis. This song is based on Khaled's "Aïcha".
  • Ti Ti (What What). By Giorgos Alkaios. This song is based on Khaled's "Didi".

 

 

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About the Translator

This page was contributed by Panayiota Bakis, who is happy to share her culture and music she grew up with! Here's how Panayiota describes her background:

I always love engaging with intelligent like-minded people, especially artists. I love sharing anything and everything about my Hellenic culture and upbringing, especially music and dance. A conversation with me will bring you back to America's favorite Greek-American movie by Nia Vardalos called My Big Fat Greek Wedding.

I love investigating Greek culture, history, music, and dance. Speaking of investigating, I think I missed my calling, I probably should have been an investigator. Instead, I use those skills to dig and dig and dig tirelessly, often times falling asleep on my laptop... just to find the truth. But, most importantly, accurate truth. For me personally, and other respectable folklorists, my culture and accuracy are very important. Each generation of ethnic born artists has a duty to do the best it can to pass down our traditions as was taught to us. We have been given this artistic gift to be the gatekeepers of our heritage and culture.

Panayiota

 

 

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