‘Hellfire’ Song Comparison English/Greek [Hunchback of Notre Dame]
I recently rediscovered the song Hellfire from the Hunchback of Notre Dame. Seriously, I forgot how scary and impressive this song was...! I also listened to the Greek version (I think for the first time?) and realized that they changed the lyrics a lot, so that they partly have a totally different meaning. Well, I translated the Greek lyrics into English (I am half Greek btw, so I would say I did quite well) to compare them for you.
English - Greek
Beata Maria, you know I am a righteous man. Of my virtue I am justly proud.
Virgin Maria, my piousness is well known, I go to church and to the holy communion.
Beata Maria, you know I'm so much purer than the common, vulgar, weak, licentious crowd.
Virgin Maria, the pureness in my soul is an exemplar for the believers.
Then tell me, Maria, why I see her dancing there? Why her smoldering eyes still scorch my soul?
But how, your holiness? How can she dance so beautiful for them? How can her body throw flames?
I feel her, I see her. The sun caught in her raven hair is blazing in me out of all control!
I feel her, I see her. The sun sets in her hair and I lose my mind, me, who has the most of it!
Like fire, Hellfire, this fire in my skin. This burning desire Is turning me to sin...
Darkness, the wish illuminates my desire. A sign of Hades/Hell like caress on my body...
It's not my fault! I'm not to blame! It is the gypsy girl, the witch who sent this flame! It's not my fault if in God's plan he made the devil so much stronger than a man!
But I am innocent! I'm not to blame! Blame the gypsy, she is the fire which I'm going to burn! I'm not to blame that the strong one is the devil and not god!
Protect me, Maria! Don't let this siren cast her spell! Don't let her fire sear my flesh and bone! Destroy Esmeralda! And let her taste the fires of hell! Or else let her be mine and mine alone!
Virgin Maria! Don't let this witch, right here, burn souls! They call her Esmeralda! She should go and find hell! Or else let her breathe only for me alone!
Hellfire, dark fire! Now gypsy, it's your turn! Choose me or your pyre! Be mine or you will burn!
Darkness, of Hades/Hell! Heart of a gypsy! This night is the night I am going to set up an enormous fire!
God have mercy on her. God have mercy on me. But she will be mine or she will burn!
Let god be with her. She will succumb or I will throw her into the fire myself!
I my opinion, the original English version is much more passive agressive while the Greek one is really actively agressive and brutal. Just take these few examples:
It is the gypsy girl, the witch who sent this flame!
Blame the gypsy, she is the fire which I'm going to burn!
While in the first version Esmeralda is the one who ‘sent the flame’, it’s Frollo in the Greek version who immediately wants to burn her.
Choose me or your pyre! Be mine or you will burn!
This night is the night I am going to set up an enormous fire!
Here Frollo gives Esmeralda the option to choose and tells that she will burn if she doesn’t choose him. But in the Greek version he is already planning to set up a fire for her.
But she will be mine or she will burn!
She will succumb or I will throw her into the fire myself!
Personally I think that this is the most cruel statement of the song, but the Greek version is even more shocking than the English one. Frollo seriously wants to throw her into the fire. Not just let her burn, but really be the one to kill her actively. How did that movie get a G rating again?
Another main aspect which got changed is the religious one. It’s easy to see that the song is based on a religious conflict Frollo has, more or less with himself. But his mindset is compleatly different in these two versions of the song.
Hellfire, dark fire!
Darkness, of Hades/Hell!
So the first unusual thing about these lines is that they replaced the (Hell)fire with darkness. This is clearly a paradox, but it fits the song and it’s atmosphere really good, also because there are some more unusual constructions. But the main thing here is that, in the Greek version, they used the word Άδης (Hades) for hell. Hades can indeed mean hell, since he was seen as the god of the underworld in antiquity, still it’s very unusual to use this word, because the actual word for hell is κόλαση and this term is also used in the song, when Frollo says that Esmeralda should go and find hell. So this is clearly a chioce Disney was aware of and I love it how they mixed up antique Greek believes with the song sang by a christian.
It's not my fault if in God's plan he made the devil so much stronger than a man!
I'm not to blame that the strong one is the devil and not god!
These lines are literally changing the whole perspective of the song!! While in the English version Frollo says that god made the devil stronger than a man, in the Greek version he claims that the devil is stronger than god!!! I mean this is such a difference!!! It clearly states that Frollo already lost his hope and doesn’t truely believe in god anymore (There is also a theologic term for that, but I have no clue what it was again...)!!!
In my opinion the Greek version is just so much deeper and more meaningful than the English one. Frollo’s whole personality changes, he seems much more cruel and brutal since he has less sympathy for Esmeralda and no hope that anyone can help him. If you want to listen to both versions again I will put a link for an English and a Greek one with translations here. The Greek translations in that video aren’t 100% correct, but I couldn’t find a better one. Feel free to tell me your opinion about the song and it’s versions. Also, what is your favorite one?