Sofia Vembo, the national voice of Greece during the Greek-Italian war and the Axis occupation. The singer and actress became a major inspiration for the soldiers fighting at the war front and for the people in general. Her most famous song that encouraged the Greek soldiers during the Greek-Italian War and was “Children of Greece, Children,” written after the Italian attack on Greece, on 28. October 1940.
The song still remains popular and is to hear at every anniversary of 28. October 1940, the Oxi Day.
The lyrics were written right at the beginning of the war and became the most popular during that period.
The music of the song was adopted from song “Zechra” (1938) composed by Michalis Souyoul.
Writer and lyricist Mimis Traiforos changed the lyrics in 1940 and the title to “Children of Greece, Children!”
An unknown background detail about the song is that Traiforos (Vembo’s long time partner) had originally written the last verse as “If you don’t come back victorious, never come.”
Sofia Vembo found that verse “particularly cruel and unfair” for the Greek soldiers fighting in the front and changed it into ”