The First Time Lyrics
ZorbaThe First Time
I hear a bouzouki…You can’t imagine how often
I’ve heard a bouzouki,
But each time is the first time.
I sniff at a woman…
You can’t imagine how often
I’ve sniffed at a woman,
But each time is the first time.
I pound on a table, I leap on a chair,
I crawl up a mountain,
to breathe in the air,
By now I’ve stopped counting
How often I’ve been there,
But each time is the first time.
I look at a flower,
I stick my nose in, or stare at,
or sleep on a flower,
But each time is the first time.
I soar like a seagull, I stamp like a bull,
I comb out my whiskers, so ladies can pull,
I chew on the mutton until my belly’s full,
But each time…
A hat, a dumbeg, a person, each time is new.
For instance, I came up and I talked to you.
Look how interesting I am!
(That’s true!)
Even if it’s not a long talk,
Even if you don’t talk the same language…
Do you want to hear a story?
(Well, I…)
Then I’ll tell you!
There was a night in Beirut
I never will forget
When I ran across the nicest man
I think I ever met
We were sitting drinking vodka
In this waterfront cafe;
I could tell he was a Turk,
But I liked him anyway!
Well, we had so much to drink
That we decided we should speak;
I’m not so good in Turkish,
He was even worse in Greek.
But we wanted to communicate,
And suddenly, by chance,
We hit upon a system,
And we both began to dance.
We couldn’t talk the language,
So we danced it all instead,
And the two of us could understand
What one another said.
So we had our conversation,
Which was crazy, I recall,
But it seemed it was the first time
I had ever talked at all!
Wait! You!
(Me?)
Show!
He says he’s from Ankara.
He says he has a wife and two small children.
He says he misses them very much!
So you see, he’s been away now for 18 months.
(No! 17!)
Say that again…
Seventeen…
(song continues…)
I walk with the Devil,
he gives me a poke,
And all 10 commandments,
go right up in smoke,
But each one I’ve broken,
I feel that I broke for the first time!
The first time!
I talk to a stranger,
You can’t imagine how often
I talk to a stranger,
But this time,
This time,
Is the first time!