Marhaba! What’s happening to the world? News of violence, crime, and hatred are flooding internet websites, Facebook posts, political talk shows, TV stations, and many other social media outlets. Day in and day out, we wake up to devastating news from almost every Arab capital in the Middle East and North Africa and just recently from a European capital. Let’s hope that this is the end of an awful nightmare for Arabs, Europeans, and people and societies in every corner of this world will someday wake up to news of peace, hope, and love. Speaking of hope and to cheer you all up, including myself, I am sharing a beautiful and positive song by Fairouz. The song is called ‘Kan el-zaman w-Kan,’ which roughly translates to ‘Those were the days.’ Similar to other musical posts, I have added the song in the form of a YouTube video and added the lyrics in Arabic so that you can follow and sing with Fairouz. I have also translated them to English so that you can learn what these beautiful lyrics mean.
فيروز– كان الزمان و كان
Fairouz- Kan el-zaman w-Kan
كان الزمان و كان في دكانة بالفي Those were the days, there was a small shop in the shade
و بنيات و صبيان نيجي نلعب عالمي and boys and girls would come and play by the water
يبقى حنا السكران قاعد خلف الدكان and drunken Hanna would be sitting behind the shop
بغني و تحزن بنت الجيران singing and making the girl next door sad,
أوعى تنسيني و تذكري حنا السكران Don’t ever forget me and remember drunken Hanna
نحنا و العصافير كنا بالحي ندور A bunch of us and a bunch of birds would roam around the street,
صوب الدكان نطير حاملين غمار زهور towards the shop we flew carrying batches of flowers,
يبقى حنا السكران ملهي و على الحيطان and drunken Hanna would be busy and on the walls,
عم بيصور بنت الجيران drawing the girl next door
حلوة ببيت الجيران راحت بليلة عيد The beauty in the next door’s house went away in a feisty night,
و انهدت الدكان و اتعمر بيت جديد and the shop was torn down, and a new house was built instead,
و بعدو حنا السكران على حيطان النسيان and drunken Hanna is still, on the walls of oblivion, drawing the girl next door
For now take care and stay tuned for upcoming posts! Happy Learning! Have a nice day!!
نهاركمسعيد
Salam everyone! Born as an American to two originally Arab parents, I have been raised and have spent most of my life in Beirut, Lebanon. I have lived my good times and my bad times in Beirut. I was but a young child when I had to learn to share my toys and food with others as we hid from bombs and fighting during the Lebanese Civil War. I feel my connection to Arabic as both a language and culture is severing and so it is with you, my readers and fellow Arabic lovers, and through you that I wish to reestablish this connection by creating one for you.
