28/06/2025
Where Ruins Feel Alive
In Athens, where the ruins breathe and columns kiss the sky
A city etched in paradox, where marble ghosts still cry
Omonia’s veins pulse rhythmically through nights that never sleep
While graffiti screams on battered walls, where broken angels weep
Exarcheia, rough and restless, where rebels carve their dreams
Addicts haunt the corners here, lost in fractured schemes
Looking around, we could be in Los Angeles or in a war torn land
But lucky for us we're in Athens, where the ancient gods still stand
Athena’s wisdom lives in streets that twist like ancient lore
And where philosophers once argued on the market floor
In a city that debates itself, streets are filled with riots, fuelled by passion and pride
No wonder minds ignited here, no wonder hearts collide
In the taverna they’ll offer up an olive branch and pour bitter wine in your glass
They’ll share their troubles freely with you to let old sorrows pass
They'll give you the shirts off their backs, even after all was lost in two-thousand and nine
They’ll share their stories in raki and song, as if it all was fine
Athens keeps her hopes alive within her timeless limestone wall
And safeguards her people cradled in her mountains, that's why the Greeks will never fall!
Athens greets the summer crowds as they chase the island sun
They briefly glimpse her hidden wonders before they hurry on
Tourists miss the spirit of this wondrous land
They only come here with cameras in hand
But true Atheneans know her secrets well, they'd never dream to stray
Athens, a mecca where dreamers, poets and revolutionaries all come to play
Beauty blooms in every crack, in shadows cast by stone
The birthplace of democracy still calls its children home
Although I was born in Montreal, my roots run deep and wide
The moment my plane lands I know that I'm where my ancestors reside
My dad left Athens as a young man but he returns from time to time
He packed his bouzouki to chase big dreams in his youthful prime
I grew up far from family, missed the gatherings and cheer
No cousins here to play with, no aunties that were near
No uncles I could count on or call when things went wrong
I grew up without my family away from where I belong
That’s why I return to reclaim what’s mine
To teach my "kseno" husband and sons my bloodline
Because Athens lives in me and in all of us who stand for what's right and true
Its spirit of freedom and justice carries on in everything we do
Welcome to Athens, where ruins feel alive again, and myths and history walk side by side
Athens, a place so magical, it overflows with pride
In every twist of alleyways, a secret waits to bloom,
A story sung by sirens Echoes through in every room
This is the cradle of the West, the sun’s unbroken dome —
Athens, fierce and flawed and true — forever my second home!
