The words are from a poem by Samih al-Qasim سميح القاسم, an Arab Druze poet residing in Israel.
I have one comment on the phrase على كتفي نعشي / "I carry my corpse on my shoulders". This is a metaphor referring to the fact that one is proudly facing and embracing potential or imminent death or martyrdom for a cause.
Marcel Khalife - Walking Tall
I'm walking tall I'm walking with my head held high
I carry an olive branch in my hand And my corpse on my shoulders As I walk and walk
My heart is a red moon My heart is a garden Full of boxthorn and basil (I don't know if the berries that grow on boxthorn in Palestine are considered poisonous, but I think the connotation here is that he has both sweet and bitter feelings in his heart) My lips are a sky that rains fire sometimes and sometimes love
There's an olive branch in my hand And my corpse is on my shoulders As I walk and walk
مارسيل خليفة - منتصب القامة أمشي
منتصبَ القامةِ أمشي مرفوع الهامة أمشي
في كفي قصفة زيتونٍ وعلى كتفي نعشي وأنا أمشي وأنا أمشي....
قلبي قمرٌ أحمر قلبي بستان فيه فيه العوسج فيه الريحان شفتاي سماءٌ تمطر نارًا حينًا حبًا أحيان....
في كفي قصفة زيتونٍ وعلى كتفي نعشي وأنا أمشي وأنا أمشي
A 2006 release with lyrics by Saudi poet Al Nasser and composition by Dr. Abdel Rab Idriss.
Majida el-Roumi - Love and Faithfulness
Go as you like, And leave as you wish. Don’t make any more promises. Don’t wear yourself out for nothing.
You kept me in a palace, You dressed me in silk, You drowned my little wings in perfume Oh, how I lost myself in the seas Of your exciting world! And you circled ‘round me In your great prison
Oh, how I imagined for myself Brightness in our nights A flood of bliss, For our happy dream. And you built for me A castle of misery
The bracelets are useless, And the rose and the mirrors And the velvet of the curtains Dancing with the corners
And your holy silence Stealing away my youth And your unspeaking heart Dwelling there without me.
Take your beautiful palace, And the glory and the splendor, And the fine marble, And the desolation of the evenings. I’m satisfied with little Just love and faithfulness.
ماجدة الرومي - الحب و الوفاء
إِذهبْ كما تُريد وامضِ كما تشاء إِذهبْ كما تُريد وامضِ كما تشاء لا تُكثِر الوعيدْ لا تُتعِب الجفاء لا تُتعِب الجفاء إِذهبْ إِذهبْ إِذهبْ كما تريد وامضِ امض إِمضِ كما تشاء إِمضِ كما تشاء أَسْكَنْتَني القُصورْ أَلبَسْتَني الحَريرْ أغْرَقْتَ بالعطورْ جَناحِيَ الصَّغيرْ كَمْ تُهْتُ في بحورْ عالمِكَ المثيرْ وكُنْتَ بي تَدورْ في سجنكَ الكَبيرْ كَمْ تُهْتُ في بحورْ عالمِكَ المثيرْ وكُنْتَ بي تَدورْ في سجنكَ الكَبيرْ كَمْ خِلْتُني أَزيدْ لِلَيلِنا الضِّياءْ لحُلمِنا السَّعيدْ فَيضاً من الهناءْ وَكُنتَ لي تَشيدْ كُنتَ لي تَشيدْ صَرحاً مِنَ الشَّقاءْ إِذهبْ إذهب إِذهبْ كما تريد وامضِ امض إِمضِ كما تشاء إِمضِ كما تشاء ما نَفْعُها الأساورْ والوردُ والمرَايا ومَخملُ السَّتائرْ يُراقصُ الزَّوايا ما نَفْعُها الأساورْ والوردُ والمرَايا ومَخملُ السَّتائرْ يُراقصُ الزَّوايا وصَمتُكَ المُناورْ يَسلُبُني صِبايَ وصَمتُكَ المُناورْ يَسلُبُني صِبايَ والقَلْبُ لا يُحاورْ يَسكُنُهُ سِوايَ ما نَفْعُها الأساورْ والوردُ والمرَايا ومَخملُ السَّتائرْ يُراقصُ الزَّوايا وصَمتُكَ المُناورْ يَسلُبُني صِبايَ والقَلْبُ لا يُحاورْ يَسكُنُهُ سِوايَ خُذْ قَصْرَكَ الجَميلْ والجاهَ والبهاءْ آه آه آه والمرْمَرَ الأصيلْ ووَحْشَةَ المساءْ خُذْ قَصْرَكَ الجَميلْ والجاهَ والبهاءْ والمرْمَرَ الأصيلْ ووَحْشَةَ المساءْ قَنِعْتُ بالقَليل آه قَنِعْتُ بالقَليل بالحبّ والوفاءْ الوفاء الوفاء الحبّ والوفاءْ آه آه الحبّ والوفاءْ
This song was performed after Israeli forces withdrew from Lebanon in 2006
Julia Boutros - Lebanon Is Victorious
He who has sullied my land with his blood Has now gone He has run away confused and humiliated Like any coward And he has understood that so long as he remains, the stars will not shine in the sky He will never be met with anything but sorrow He has been defeated now, he has been defeated Lebanon is victorious
His spiteful face has now been smashed The oppressor was insulted because I continued to fight back And forever defend my family/people From the mountain top to the plains For the truth is more powerful than ignorance and oppression
جوليا بطرس - انتصر لبنان
من لوّث أرضي بدمائه قد رحل الآن و فرّ كذليلٍ تائه كأيّ جبان
و أيقن أنّ ببقائه .. لن يسطع نجم في سمائه لن تأتي أبداً للقائه .. إلاّ الأحزان
قد هُزِم الآن .. قد هُزِم انتصـــر لبنـــان
قد سُحِق الآن وجه الحاقد و الظالم و كان مُهان .. لأنّي ما زلت أقاوِم
و أدافع دوماً عن أهلي من قمّة جبلي إلى سهلي فالحقّ أقوى من الجهل و من الطغيــان
من لوّث أرضي بدمائه قد رحل الآن و فرّ كذليلٍ تائه كأيّ جبان
و أيقن أنّ ببقائه .. لن يسطع نجم في سمائه لن تأتي أبداً للقائه .. إلاّ الأحزان قد هُزِم الآن .. قد هُزِم
This song is based on the poem Rubbama ربما by Samih al-Qasim سميح القاسم. "Rubbama" means "perhaps" "maybe" or "might." I have translated the title as "perhaps" but in order to make the sentence more natural in english I have translate it as "you might be able to."
Julia Boutros - Perhaps
You might be able to rob me of my last bit of land You might be able to feed my youth to the jail
You might be able to put out my torch in the night You might be able to keep me from kissing my mother
You might be able to steal my dreams You might be able to deprive my children of a suit on a holiday Oh enemy of the sun! But I will not compromise
And until my heart's last beat, I will resist
جوليا بطرس - ربما
ربما تسلبني آخر شبر من ترابي ربما تطعم للسجن شبابي
ربما تطفيء في ليلي شعلة ربما احرم من أمي قبلة
ربما تغنم من ناطوري احلامي غفلة ربما تحرم اطفالي يوم العيد بدلة ربما ترفع من حولي جدارا وجدارا وجدارا .. يا عدو الشمس لكن لن اساوم
والى اخر نبض من عروقي ساقاوم والى اخر نبض من عروقي ساقاوم والى اخر نبض من عروقي ساقاوم
The lyrics are from a Nizar Qabbani poen. The original translation was very hastily done, but I've updated it now.
Kazem el-Saher - Love School
Loving you taught me how to be sad I've been in need for ages for a woman to make me sad For a women for me to cry in her arms like a sparrow
For a woman to gather my pieces like shards of broken crystal Loving you, milady, taught me my worst habits It taught me to open my cup at night a thousand times And try herbal medicine and knock on the doors of fortune-tellers It taught me to leave my house to comb the sidewalks And follow your face with the rains in the headlights of cars The light of your eyes is millions of stars Oh woman, you made the world spin Oh my pain!
Loving you, milady, made me enter the cities of sadness Cities of sadness that I had not entered before you I didn't ever know that tears make you human That someone without sadness is a vestige of a human
Loving you taught me to act like a child To draw your face with chalk on the walls Oh woman, you overturned my history I've been cut up as sacrifice to you From artery to artery Loving you taught me how love can change the map of time It taught me how when you love the world stops turning Loving you taught me things that were never expected
I've read childrens stories and entered the castles of the kings of the Jinn And I dreamed that the sultan's daughter (ie, her) would marry me Her eyes were clearer than the water of the gulfs Her lips were more crimson than pomegranate blossoms And I dreamed that I took her like a knight And I dreamed that I gave her bracelets of pearl and coral Loving you, milady, taught me about delirium It taught me how the years can pass without the sultan's daughter coming
كاظم الساهر - مدرسة الحب
علمني حبكِ ان احزن وانا محتاج منذ عصور لامرأه تجعلني احزن لامرأه ابكي فوق ذراعيها مثل العصفور
لامرأه تجمع اجزائي كشظايا البلور المكسور علمني حبكِ سيدتي اسوأ عاداتي علمني افتح فنجاني في الليله الاف المرات واجرب طب العطارين واطرق باب العرافات علمني اخرج من بيتي لامشط ارصفه الطرقات واطارد وجهك بالامطار وفي اضواء السيارات والملم من عينيكِ ملايين النجمات ياامرأه دوخت الدنيا ياوجعي ياوجع النايات
ادخلني حبك سيدتي مدن الاحزان وانا من قبلك لم ادخل مدن الاحزان لم اعرف ابدا ان الدمع هو الانسان ان الانسان بلا حزن ذكرى انسان علمني حبك ان اتصرف كالصبيان ان ارسم وجهك بالطبشور على الحيطان
ياامرأه قلبت تاريخي اني مذبوح فيكِ من الشريان الى الشريان علمني حبكِ كيف الحب يغير خارطه الازمان علمني اني حين احب تكف الارض عن الدوران علمني حبك اشياء ماكانت ابدا في الحسبان
وقرأت اقاصيص الاطفال دخلت قصور ملوك الجان وحلمت بان تتزوجني بنت السلطان تلك العيناها اصفى من ماء الخلجان تلك الشفتاها اشهى من زهر الرمان وحلمت باني اخطفها مثل الفرسان وحلمت باني اهديها اطواق اللؤلؤ والمرجان علمني حبك ياسيدتي ماالهذيان علمني كيف يمر العمر ولا تأتي بنت السلطان
ادخلني حبك سيدتي مدن الاحزان وانا من قبلك لم ادخل مدن الاحزان لم اعرف ابدا ان الدمع هو الانسان ان الانسان بلا حزن ذكرى انسان
Ali Al Aisawy - I'm Breaking Free from the Illusion
I'm breaking the chains of the illusion No longer am I bound to you The scream within me is a volcano When it erupts you have no honor So you stab me in the back
If my I closed my eyes, my heart would still see You left wounds within me like no other Perhaps the wound can heal but it's mark does not go away Even if a shattered bone can heal A shattered soul does not
Let's cross the boundaries of shyness and speak openly That which was between us is gone So we'll see
علي العيساوي - اكسر قيود الوهم
اكسر قيود الوهم مابقى الك مكتوف الصرخه اللي بداخلي بركان لما يثور مالك بها فخر تطعني من ظهري
العين لو غمضت قلبي تراه يشوف خليت بيا جرح مو مثل اي مجروح يجوز يشفى الجرح بس الاثر مايروح ولو طاب كسر العظم مايطيب كسر الروح
نعبر حدود الخجل ونحكي على المكشوف ويا هو اللي بينا خسر بالتالي راح نشوف
Abdel Halim Hafez is a music legend in Egypt and aside from Om Kalthoum is probably the most prominent musician. This song is from a poem written by Nizar Qabbani. The title is literally translated as "cup reader," referring to the act of reading fortunes from the grains left in the bottom of a cup of Turkish coffee. These lyrics are the words to the poem itself and not word for word how they were performed by Abdel Halim.
This translation is by Natalie Smolenski.
Abdel Halim Hafez - Reader of Fortunes
She sat with fear in her eyes Contemplating the overturned cup.
She said: My son, do not be sad. Love is written for you. My son, he who dies for the religion of the beloved Has died a martyr.
Your cup is a terrifying world. You life: travels and wars. You will love often, my son. You will adore all the women of the world, And return as the king who has been conquered.
In your life, my son, there is a woman. Her eyes – Praise be to Him who is worshipped! Her mouth is drawn as bunches of grapes; Her laughter is music and roses. But your sky is full of rain and your path blocked. For your heart’s beloved, my son, Sleeps in a haunted castle. The castle is large, my son. It is guarded by dogs… and soldiers.
Your heart’s princess is sleeping. He who enters her chamber is lost. He who asks for her hand, He who descends the walls of her garden, Is lost. He who attempts to unbraid her hair, My son, Is lost . . . lost.
I have looked and read often, But never have I read a cup like yours. I have never known, my son, Sadness like yours. It is your destiny ever to walk In love, upon the edge of a dagger. To remain lonely as the oysters Sad as the willow It is your destiny ever to remain In the sea of love, without rescue, To love millions of times, And to return as the deposed king.
عبد الحليم حافظ - قارئة الفنجان
جَلَسَت والخوفُ بعينيها تتأمَّلُ فنجاني المقلوب
قالت: يا ولدي.. لا تَحزَن فالحُبُّ عَليكَ هوَ المكتوب يا ولدي، قد ماتَ شهيداً من ماتَ على دينِ المحبوب فنجانك دنيا مرعبةٌ وحياتُكَ أسفارٌ وحروب.. ستُحِبُّ كثيراً يا ولدي.. وتموتُ كثيراً يا ولدي وستعشقُ كُلَّ نساءِ الأرض.. وتَرجِعُ كالملكِ المغلوب
بحياتك يا ولدي امرأةٌ عيناها، سبحانَ المعبود فمُها مرسومٌ كالعنقود ضحكتُها موسيقى و ورود لكنَّ سماءكَ ممطرةٌ.. وطريقكَ مسدودٌ.. مسدود فحبيبةُ قلبكَ.. يا ولدي نائمةٌ في قصرٍ مرصود والقصرُ كبيرٌ يا ولدي وكلابٌ تحرسُهُ.. وجنود وأميرةُ قلبكَ نائمةٌ.. من يدخُلُ حُجرتها مفقود.. من يطلبُ يَدَها.. من يَدنو من سورِ حديقتها.. مفقود من حاولَ فكَّ ضفائرها.. يا ولدي.. مفقودٌ.. مفقود
بصَّرتُ.. ونجَّمت كثيرا لكنّي.. لم أقرأ أبداً فنجاناً يشبهُ فنجانك لم أعرف أبداً يا ولدي.. أحزاناً تشبهُ أحزانك مقدُورُكَ.. أن تمشي أبداً في الحُبِّ .. على حدِّ الخنجر وتَظلَّ وحيداً كالأصداف وتظلَّ حزيناً كالصفصاف مقدوركَ أن تمضي أبداً.. في بحرِ الحُبِّ بغيرِ قُلوع وتُحبُّ ملايينَ المَرَّاتِ... وترجعُ كالملكِ المخلوع
By my calculations this is the site's 600th translation. Oum Kalthoum's "El Atlal (The Ruins)" is a real classic and is considered a high point of Arabic music. The only song ever written by the legendary Ibrahim Nagi, it is one of the most complicated and esoteric works of modern Arabic music and poetry. This is the only English translation I have ever seen of the song, so if you want to post it somewhere please cite my website with a link.
In order to achieve a successful translation I have enlisted the help of the French translation below by Samir Megally and my roommate Albane to help me interpret that. If you want to see the whole performance you can find it in partitions on Youtube cuz it is really long.
Om Kalthoum - The Ruins
My heart, don't ask where the love has gone It was a citadel of my imagination that has collapsed Pour me a drink and let us drink of its ruins And tell the story on my behalf as long as the tears flow Tell how that love became past news And became another story of passion I haven't forgotten you And you seduced me with a sweetly-calling and tender tongue And a hand extending towards me like a hand stretched out through the waves to a drowning person You seduced me with the saliva (of a kiss) that a night traveler thirsts for But where is that light in your eyes? My darling, I visited your nest one day as a bird of desire singing my pain You've become self-important, spoiled and capricious And you inflict harm like a powerful tyrant And my longing for you cauterized my ribs (soul or insides) And the waiting was like embers in my blood Give me my freedom, release my hands Indeed, I've given you yours and did not try to retain anything Ah, your chains have bloodied my wrists I haven't kept then nor have they spared me Why do I keep promises that you do not honor? When will this captivity end, when the world is before us? He is far away, my enchanting love Full of pride, majesty and delicacy Sure-footed walking like an angel with oppressive beauty and rapacious glory Redolent of charm like the breeze of the hills Pleasant to experience like the night's dreams I've lost forever the charm of your company that radiated brilliantly I, wandering in love, a bewildered butterfly, approached you And between us, desire was a messenger and drinking companion that presented the cup to us Had love seen two as intoxicated as us? So much hope we had built up around us And we walked in the moonlit path, joy skipping along ahead of us And we laughed like two children together And we ran and raced our shadows And we became aware after the euphoria and woke up If only we did not awaken Wakefulness ruined the dreams of slumber The night came and the night became my only friend And then the light was an omen of the sunrise and the dawn was towering over like a conflagration And then the world was as we know it, with each lover in their own path Oh sleepless one who slumbers and remembers the promise when you wake up Know that if a wound begins to recover another wound crops up with the memory So learn to forget and learn to erase it My darling everything is fated It is not by our hands that we make our misfortune Perhaps one day our fates will cross when our desire to meet is strong enough For if one friend denies the other and we meet as strangers And if each of us follows his or her own way Don't say it was by our own will But rather, the will of fate
Oum Kalthoum - Les Ruines
Ne cherche pas, mon ame, a savoir qu'est devenu l'amour C'etait une citadelle imaginaire qui s'est effondree Abreuve-moi et trinquons a ses ruines Conte en mon nom l'histoire Maintenant que mes larmes ont coule Racont comment cet amour s'est transforme en passe et pourquoi il m'est devenu un sujet de douleur Je ne parviens pas a t'oublier Toi qui m'avais seduite par tes discours si doux et raffines Tendant ta main vers moi Comme celle que l'on tend Par dessus l'onde, a celui qui se noie Et comme la lumiere que recherche un errant Mais ou est donc passe cet eclat dans tes yeux Mon amour, j'avais eu un jour la joie de visiter ton nid Me voici aujourd'hui oiseau solitaire, roucoulant ma douleur Tu es devenu suffisant comme un etre capricieux et gate Tu pratiques l'injustice comme un puissant tyranique Mon desir de toi me brule l'ame et le temps de ton absence n'est que braises cuisantes
Donne-moi ma liberte et brise mes chaines Je t'ai tout donne; il ne me reste plus rien Ah! tu m'avais saigne les poignets par tes chaines pourquoi les garderai-je alors qu'elles n'ont plus d'effet sur moi Pourquoi croire a des promesses que tu n'as pas tenues Je n'accepte plus ta prison Maintenant que le Monde est a moi Il est loin mon bien-aime seduisant, tout de fierte, de majeste, et de pudeur Si sur de lui, comme un roi de beaute et avide de gloire Exhalant le charme, comme la brise des vallees, agreable a vivre comme les songes de la nuit J'ai perdu a jamais ta douce compagnie dont le charme rayonnait de splendeur pour moi Je n'etais qu'un amour a la derive, un papillon perdu qui s'etait approche de toi Entre nous, la passion etait notre messager et l'ami qui avait fait deborder notre coupe Y a-t-il jamais eu plus enivres d'amour que nous? Nous nous etions entoures de tant d'espoir Nous avions emprunte un chemin eclaire precedes que nous etions par la joie Nous avons ri comme seuls deux enfants savent le faire et nous avons couru encore plus vite que notre ombre C'est quand l'ivresse nous quitta que la lucidite revint et que nous nous sommes reveilles Mai le reveil fut sans illusion Finis les reves d'un monde imagine, voici venir la nuit, ma seule compagne
Et puis voici la lumiere qui annonce le jour et l'aube dont le ciel s'embrase Voila la vie reelle, telle que nous la connaissons, avec ces amants qui reprennent chacun son chemin Toi qui veilles en oubliant les promesses, et te reveilles en t'en souvenant Sache que lorsqu'une blessure se referme, le souvenir en fait saigner une autre Il faut apprendre a oublier Il faut apprendre a effacer les souvenirs Mon bien-aime, tout est fatalite Ce n'est pas nous qui faisons notre malheur
Un jour peut-etre nos destins se croiseront, lorsque notre desir de nous rencontrer sera assez fort S'il arrive alors qu'un de nous renie son amant et que notre rencontre soit celle de deux etrangers Et si chacun de nous poursuit un chemin different, ne crois pas qu'il s'agira alors de notre choix mais plutot de celui du destin
ام كلثوم - الأطلال
يا فؤادي لا تسل أين الهوى كان صرحا من خيال فهوى اسقني واشرب على أطلاله واروعني طالما الدمع روى كيف ذاك الحب أمسى خبرا وحديثا من أحاديث الهوى لست أنساك وقد أغريتني بفم عذب المنادة رقيق ويد تمد نحوي كيد من خلال الموج مدت لغريق وبريق يظمأ الساري له أين في عينيك نياك البريق ياحبيبا زرت يوما أيكه طائر الشوق أغنى ألمي لك إبطاء المذل المنعم وتجني القادر المحتكم و حنيني لك يكوي أضلعي والتواني جمرات في دمي أعطني حريتي أطلق يدي ا إنني أعطيتك ما استبقيت شيئا آه من قيدك أدمى معصمي لم أبقيه وما أبقى عليا ما احتفاظي بعهود لم تصنها وإلام الأسر والدنيا لد يا أين من عيني حبيب ساحر فيه عز وجلال وحياء واثق الخطوة يمشي ملكا ظالم الحسن شهي الكبرياء عبق السحر كأنفاس الربى ساهم الطرف كأحلام المساء أين مني مجلس أنت به فتنتة تمت سناء وسنى وأنا حب و قلب هائم وفراش حائر منك دنا ومن الشوق رسول بيننا ونديم قدم الكاس لنا هل رأى الحب سكارى مثلنا كم بنينا من خيال حولنا ومشينا في طريق مقمر تثب الفرحة فبه قلبنا وضحكنا ضحك طفلين معا وعدونا فسبقنا ظلنا وانتبهنا بعد ما زال الرحيق وأفقنا ليت أنا لانفبق يقظة طاحت بأحلام الكرى وتولى الليل والليل صديق وإذا النور نذير طالع وإذا الفجر مطال كالحريق وإذا الدنيا كما تعرفها وإذ ا الأحباب كل فب طريق أيها الساهر تغفو تذكر العهد وتصحو وإذا ما الأم جرح جد بالتذكار جرح فتعلم كيف تنيى وتعلم كيف تمحو يا حبيبي كل شيء بقضاء ما بأيدينا خلقنا تعساء ربما تجمعنا أقدارنا ذات يوم بعدما عز اللقاء فإذا انكر خل خله وتلاقينا لقاء الغرباء ومضى كل إلى غايته لاتقل شئنا فإن الحظ شاء
Another great Nizar Qabbani poem sung by Kazem el-Saher.
Kathim el-Saher - Choose
I have told you to choose so choose Between death upon my chest Or on top of my notebooks of poetry Choose love, or no love For it is cowardice for you to not choose There is no middle ground Between heaven and hell
Throw in all your cards And I will be satisfied with any decision Tell me, be passionate, explode Don't stand like a nail It is not possible for me to remain forever Like straw beneath the rains Choose a fate between two And nothing is more violent than my fates
You're exhausted and scared And my journey is very long Sink in the sea, or go away There is no sea without whirlpools Love is a big opponent Sailing against the current Crucifixion, torture and tears And an exodus between the moons Your cowardice is killing me woman! Pull back the curtain I do not believe in love That does not bear the rashness of agitation That does not break down all walls That does not strike like a whirlwind Ah, If your love swallows me Pluck me out like a whirlwind
I have told you to choose so choose Between death upon my chest Or on top of my notebooks of poetry Choose love, or no love For it is cowardice for you to not choose There is no middle ground Between heaven and hell
كاظم الساهر - اختاري
إني خيَّرتُكِ فاختاري ما بينَ الموتِ على صدري.. أو فوقَ دفاترِ أشعاري.. إختاري الحبَّ.. أو اللاحبَّ فجُبنٌ ألا تختاري.. لا توجدُ منطقةٌ وسطى ما بينَ الجنّةِ والنارِ..
رمي أوراقكِ كاملةً.. وسأرضى عن أيِّ قرارِ.. قولي. إنفعلي. إنفجري لا تقفي مثلَ المسمارِ.. لا يمكنُ أن أبقى أبداً كالقشّةِ تحتَ الأمطارِ إختاري قدراً بين اثنينِ وما أعنفَها أقداري..
مُرهقةٌ أنتِ.. وخائفةٌ وطويلٌ جداً.. مشواري غوصي في البحرِ.. أو ابتعدي لا بحرٌ من غيرِ دوارِ.. الحبُّ مواجهةٌ كبرى إبحارٌ ضدَّ التيارِ صَلبٌ.. وعذابٌ.. ودموعٌ ورحيلٌ بينَ الأقمارِ.. يقتُلني جبنُكِ يا امرأةً تتسلى من خلفِ ستارِ.. إني لا أؤمنُ في حبٍّ.. لا يحملُ نزقَ الثوارِ.. لا يكسرُ كلَّ الأسوارِ لا يضربُ مثلَ الإعصارِ.. آهٍ.. لو حبُّكِ يبلعُني يقلعُني.. مثلَ الإعصارِ..
إنّي خيرتك.. فاختاري ما بينَ الموتِ على صدري أو فوقَ دفاترِ أشعاري لا توجدُ منطقةٌ وسطى ما بينَ الجنّةِ والنّارِ
This song is a nice song about one's mother taken from a Mahmoud Darwish poem. This song is often taken to be metaphorically about Palestine, but Mahmoud Darwish has said that it is simply about his mother. Nevertheless, it is used to commemorate the Palestinian struggle as in videos such as the one supplied here.
Marcel Khalifa - To My Mother
I long for my mother's bread And my mother's coffee And my mother's touch... My childhood grows within me Day after day I love my life because If I died, I would be embarassed by my mother's tears
Take me, if i return one day As a scarf for your lashes And cover my bones with grass Baptized by the purity of your heel Tie me up With a lock of hair With a thread that points to the tail of your dress Perhaps I will become a god A god I would become If I felt the bottom of your heart Put me, if I return As feul to light your fire And a washline on your house's roof Because I've lost my strength to stand Without the prayer of your day I've grown old... return the stars of childhood So I can share with the sparrow chicks The way back To the nest of your waiting
مارسيل خليفة - إلى أمي
أحنُّ إلى خبز أُمي وقهوة أُمي ولمسة أُمي.. وتكبرُ فيَّ الطفولةُ يومًا على صدر يومِ وأعشَقُ عمرِي لأني إذا مُتُّ، أخجل من دمع أُمي!
خذيني، إذا عدتُ يومًا وشاحًا لهُدْبِكْ وغطّي عظامي بعشب تعمَّد من طهر كعبك وشُدّي وثاقي .. بخصلة شَعر .. بخيطٍ يلوِّح في ذيل ثوبك .. عساني أصيرُ إلهًا إلهًا أصير .. إذا ما لمستُ قرارة قلبك ! ضعيني، إذا ما رجعتُ وقودًا بتنور ناركْ .. وحبل غسيل على سطح دارك لأني فقدتُ الوقوفَ بدون صلاة نهارك هَرِمْتُ، فردّي نجوم الطفولة حتى أُشارك صغار العصافير درب الرجوع .. لعُش انتظارِك
This is a poem written by Nizar Qabbani and performed by Abdel Halim Hafez. I know the quality of the video is lousy, so I've gone to the other extreme and provided the highest quality mp3 as well.
Abdel Halim Hafez - Message from Underwater
If you're my friend... help me To leave you Or if you're my beloved... help me To heal from you If I had known that love was so dangerous I wouldn't have loved If I had known that the sea was so deep I would not have set sail If I had known my ending I would not have begun I longed for you... so teach me To not long Teach me how to clip the roots of your love from my depths Teach me how the tear dies in the pupils (meaning teach him how to not cry) Teach me how the heart dies and desire kills itself If you're strong... pull me out From this sea For I know not the art of swimming The blue wave in your eyes... Is dragging me to the deeps And I have no experience In love... Nor have I a lifeboat If I was dear to you, take my hand For I am in love from my head to my toes I am breathing under the water I'm drowning Drowning Drowning
عبد الحليم حافظ - رسالة من تحت الماء
إن كنتَ صديقي.. ساعِدني كَي أرحَلَ عَنك.. أو كُنتَ حبيبي.. ساعِدني كَي أُشفى منك لو أنِّي أعرِفُ أنَّ الحُبَّ خطيرٌ جِدَّاً ما أحببت لو أنِّي أعرفُ أنَّ البَحرَ عميقٌ جِداً ما أبحرت.. لو أنِّي أعرفُ خاتمتي ما كنتُ بَدأت... إشتقتُ إليكَ.. فعلِّمني أن لا أشتاق علِّمني كيفَ أقُصُّ جذورَ هواكَ من الأعماق علِّمني كيف تموتُ الدمعةُ في الأحداق علِّمني كيفَ يموتُ القلبُ وتنتحرُ الأشواق إن كنتَ قويَّاً.. أخرجني من هذا اليَمّ.. فأنا لا أعرفُ فنَّ العوم الموجُ الأزرقُ في عينيك.. يُجرجِرُني نحوَ الأعمق وأنا ما عندي تجربةٌ في الحُبِّ .. ولا عندي زَورَق إن كُنتُ أعزُّ عليكَ فَخُذ بيديّ فأنا عاشِقَةٌ من رأسي حتَّى قَدَمَيّ إني أتنفَّسُ تحتَ الماء.. إنّي أغرق.. أغرق.. أغرق
I translated "SabaaHuki sukar" as "good morning" because this is the meaning it conveys, but this is not a very literal translation. The normal way of saying good morning is "SabaaH al-kheer." "SabaaHuki sukar" literally translates as "your morning is sugar" or "may your morning be sugar" i.e. "may your morning be sweet."
Kazem el-Saher is an Iraqi singer who usually sings in formal Arabic. In this song he makes a completely untenable argument that if he forgets to say "I love you" or "good morning," that it actually means he loves his girlfriend more because he loves her more than the word "love" can even convey. Dudes, take note this excuse may get you out of trouble sometime... this is from a poem by Nizar Qabbani
Kazem al-Saher - Good Morning
If a day ever passes and I don't remember to tell you good morning... good morning
If a day ever passes and I don't remember to tell you good morning Don't be saddened by my absentmindedness and silence And don't suppose that something has changed Because when I don't say "I love" That just means that I love you more (than the word love can express)
If you had not been sitting in front of me like a queen of perfume and alabaster for a long time And I closed my eyes amidst your fragrances And I ignored the complaints of the perfumed shirt (this means if he fell asleep while she was complaining about something i think) Don't describe me as having dead feelings And don't suppose that my heart has turned to stone I love you beyond "love" but Let me see you just as I imagine
كاظم الساهر - صباحك سكر
إذا مرًّ يومٌ ولم أتذكر .. به أن أقول صباحكِ سكَّرْ ..
إذا مرًّ يومٌ ولم أتذكر به أن أقول صباحكِ سكَّرْ فلا تحزني من ذهولي وصمتي ولا تحسبي أن شيئاً تغير فحين أنا لا أقول أحب فمعناه أني أحبكِ أكثر
إذ ما جلستِ طويلاً أمامي كملكةٍ من عبيرٍ ومرمر و أغمضت عن طيباتكِ عيني و أهملت شكوى القميص المعطَّر
فلا تنعتيني بموت الشعور ولا تحسبي أن قلبي تحجَّر أحبك فوق المحبة لكن دعيني أراكِ كما أتصور
Oh night how long you are... You walked me, barefoot... A scale, how heavy you are You crushed my shoulders... The grass of my heart melted away for your (yall's) sake... It melted away... And the black hairs oh my... They turned gray on our heads
ريم بنا - يا ليل ما أطولك
يا ليل ما أطولك .. مشيتني حافية ميزان ما أتقلك .. هديت لي كتافي دابت حشيشة قلبي لأجلكم.. دابت والشعرتين السود يا يما.. بروؤسنا شابوا
I love you, but I fear my implication in you, my attachment to you and my oneness with you.
Experience taught me to avoid falling in love with women and the chopping waves of the seas. But I still love you.
Let me fill in for you a cup of tea, you are legendarily beautiful this morning . Let me translate to you some of what the seats are saying to welcome you. Let me put in words what the cups are thinking of your lips.
Did you like the tea? You still make do with one piece of sugar like you used to? But for me, I make do with looking at your face which needs no sugar.
Let me say to you in all languages, those you know and those you don't know, I love no one but you.
Let me look for words that can tell how much I love you. Let me think, miss, cry and laugh on your behalf. Let me shorten the distance between imagination and reality to nothing.
************ Let me call your name with all vocatives. Let me sing your name for you to be born in my lips.
Let me build a kingdom of love for you and crown you its queen, and I be its greatest lover.
Do you still love me after what has been? I still love you in spite of what has been... I do not intend to talk about your past. It suffices me that you are here now. When you smile to me and hold my hands, my doubts turn into certainty. Yesterday, don't you ever mention. Just do your hair and eyelids and be glamorous. Your minor mistakes, I will get past them and turn the thorns into sweet basil Without love in his being, man wouldn't be a man. One year has passed, yet you are still precious to me. I couldn't get past you or my love for you. I love you, how could I burn up our history. It has got our temples, newspapers, cups of coffee and corners. We were very childish in our behavior. Our proud words are funny, how stupid they were and so were we. You would leave feeling so upset and I would be hard on you sometimes. Maybe we haven't been writing each other or giving each other gifts. No matter how much we hated each other, love is greater than our mistakes. Your eyes are like two Aprils. How possibly could I murder the April in your eyes? We were destined to be together sweetheart, in spite of what has been. The garden would have no choice if its branches sprouted leaves This love was the light inside us. It would accompany us and our talks. It has caused us sorrows. Yet, we still need it. Even though it could cause us more sorrows and tears. Hold out your hands to me, you are my lily and my love, in spite of what has been….
كاظم الساهر - أتحبني
كلمات : نزار قباني ألحان : كاظم الساهر
أتحبُني . بعد الذي كانا ؟ إني أحبُكِ رغم ما كانا
ماضيكِ . لا أنوي إثارتَهَ حسبي بأنّكِ هاهنا الآنا
تبتسمينَ .. وتُمسكين يدي فيعودُ شكّي فيكِ إيمانًا
عن أمسِ . لا تتكلمي أبدًا وتألقي شَعرًا .. وأجفانًا
أخطاؤكِ الصُغرى .. أمرُّ بها وأحولُ الأشواكَ ريحانًا
لولا المحبةُ في جوانحِهِ ما أصبحَ الإنسانُ إنسانًا
عامٌ مضى . وبقيتِ غاليةً لا هُنتِ أنتِ ولا الهوى هانا
إنّي أحبُكِ . كيف يمكنني ؟ أنْ أشعلَ التاريخَ نيرانًا
وبهِ معابدُنا ، جرادُنا أقداحُ قهوتِنا ، زوايانا
طفلينِ كنّا .. في تصرُفنا وغرورِنا ، وضلالِ دعوانا
كلماتُنا الرعناءُ .. مضحكةٌ ما كانَ أغباها .. وأغبانا
Get Angry as you wish And hurt my feelings as you wish Break the vases and mirrors Threaten to love a woman other than me For everything you do is the same Everything you say is the same And you are like children, my beloved We love them…no matter how bad they are towards us
Get angry! For you are really great when you avenge Get Angry! For if it wasn’t for the wave the oceans wouldn’t exist Be windy…be rainy For my heart is always forgiving Get angry! And I won’t answer you with challenges For you are a foolish child Full of arrogance And how could birds take revenge on their little ones?
Go… If one day you get bored of me And blame destiny and blame me As for me… I will be content in my tears and my sadness For silence is magnificence And sadness is magnificence Go… If remaining commands you… For the earth contains perfume and women And when you need, like a child, my caring Then return to my heart whenever you wish For you, in my life, are the air And you…for me, are the earth and the sky…
Get angry as you wish And go as you wish Go…whenever you wish You need not return the same day For indeed I know what loyalty is
The world blames me if I love him As if I created love and invented it As if I drew it on the cheeks of roses As If I’m the one who… Taught the bird in the sky And in the fields of wheat, planted it And in the waters of the ocean, melted it As if I’m the one who… Like the beautiful moon in the sky Hung it. The world blames me if I name who I love, or mentioned him As if I am love And its mother…and its sister
This love that came From where I awaited it Is different than everything I knew Is different than everything I read And everything I heard Had I known that it was A type of addiction…I would not have become addicted If I had known that it was a door full of wind…I would not have opened it If I had know that it was A match…I would not have lit it This love…is the most violent love I’ve lived And I wish that when it came to me with its Hand opened to me…I pushed it away And I wish that before it killed me...I killed it
This love that I see at night On my curtains… I see it...on my clothes And in my scent…and in my bracelets I see it…drawn on my palm I see it…carved in my emotions Had they informed me that it is a playful and noisy child, I would not have let it in And that it would break the glass in my heart, I would not have let it Had they informed me It would burn the fire in minutes And turn things upside down in minutes And paint the walls red and blue and minutes I would have expelled it.
Oh precious one that Would make God pleased with me…if I loved him This love is the most beautiful love I have lived Most wonderful love I have lived And I wish that when he came to me as a visitor With roses, I had encircled him I wish that when he came to me crying I had opened my doors for him…and kissed him.
It has never happened That I have loved with this much depth It hasn't happened... It has never happened That I have traveled with a woman To the land of desire And beat the shores of her breasts Like angry thunder or lightening For in the past I have never been in love Rather, I was playing the part of being in love
It has never happened That love has brought me a woman even to hang I did not know one before you You dominated me... you took my weapons You defeated me... inside my kingdom You tore my mask off of my face
It has never happened, my lady That I have tasted fire... and tasted the burn Be certain my lady A thousand like me will love you And you will send letters of desire But... you will not find after me A man that loves you with this honesty You will never find one Not in the west... nor in the east
كاظم الساهر - يوميات رجل مهزوم
لم يحدث أبداً أن أحببت بهذا العمق لم يحدث .. لم يحدث أبداً أني سافرت مع امرأة .. لبلاد الشوق وضربت شواطئ نهديها كالرعد الغاضب أو كالبرق فأنا في الماضي لم أعشق بل كنت أمثل دور العشق لم يحدث أبداً أن أوصلني حب امرأة حتى الشنق لم أعرف قبلك واحدة غلبتني ..أخذت أسلحتي هزمتني.. داخل مملكتي نزعت عن وجهي أقنعتي لم يحدث أبداً سيدتي أن ذقت النار.. وذقت الحرق كوني واثقة سيدتي سيحبك الآف غيري وستستلمين بريد الشوق لكنك .. لن تجدي بعدي رجلاً يهواك بهذا الصدق لن تجدي أبداً لا في الغرب..و لا في الشرق
When the martyrs go to sleep I wake up And guard them from the abyss of lamentation
I say to them: You will wake up in a country From clouds and trees From mirages and water
I greet them with peace from and event of the impossible And from the value of the overflowing bloodbath And I steal time so they can steal me away from time
Are we all martyrs?
I whispher: My friends, leave one wall For wash lines Leave a night for song
I will hang your names wherever you want, so sleep a little And sleep on the steps of the lemon vines
May I guard your dreams from the daggers of your guardians And the overturning of the book on the prophets
And be an anthem with no equal When you go to sleep tonight
I say to you: You will wake up in a country Carry it on its racehorse
And I whsiper: My friends, you will not become like us A mysterious rope of the gallows
مارسيل خليفة - تصبحون على وطن
عندما يذهب الشهداء الى النوم أصحو وأحرسهم من هواة الرِّثاء
أقول لهم : تُصبحون على وطن، من سحابٍ ومن شجرٍ، من سراب وماء
أهنئُهُم بالسلامةِ من حادثِ المُستحيل ومن قيمة المذبح الفائضة وأسرقُ وقتَا لكي يسرقوني من الوقتِ.
