Marhaba! In the past I have introduced you all to one my favorite musicians and artists, the one and only Ziad Rahbani. If you remember correctly, Ziad is the son of Fairouz! He is a musical genius and today I am sharing one my favorite songs by Ziad. It’s called Bala Wala Shi (بلا ولا شي), which literally translates to Without Anything Else. As always, I have added the song in the form of a YouTube video as well as the lyrics in Arabic. Similar to other musical posts, I have added the lyrics in Arabic so that you can follow and sing with Joseph Sakr (artist that worked with Ziad on many ballads), and translated them to English so that you can learn what these beautiful lyrics mean.
Image by Novalib2 via Wiki Commons (CC BY 3.0)
زياد الرحباني – بلا ولا شي
Ziad Rahbani – Bala Wala Shi
بلا ولا شي بحبك Without anything else, I love you
بلا ولا شي Without anything else
ولا في بهالحب مصاري And there is no money in this love,
ولا ممكن فيه ليرات And there are no pennies
ولا ممكن في اراضي And there are no lands (meant landownership)
ولا فيه مجوهرات And there is no jewelry
تعي نقعد بالفي Come, let’s sit in the shade
مش لحدا هالفي This shade belongs to nobody
حبيني وفكري شوي Love me, and think a little
بلا ولا شي…وحدك Without anything else, just you
بلا ولا شي Without anything else
بلا كل انواع تيابك Without any types of clothes you own
بلا كل شي في تزيين Without any decorative accessories
بلا كل اصحابي.. صحابك Without any of my friends.. Or your friends
السؤلا والمهضومين The annoying ones, and the likeable ones
تعي نقعد بالفي… مش لحدا هالفي Come, let’s sit in the shade, this shade is for nobody
حبيني وفكري شوي Love me, and think a little
تعي نقعد، تعي نقعد… Come, let’s sit, come, let’s sit…
بلا جوقة امك بيك Without your mother and father’s choirs
ورموش ومسكرة Without eyelashes or mascara
بلا ما النسوان تحيك Without all the women’s weaving [gossiping and stories]
بلا كل هالمسخرة Without all this mockery…
تعي نقعد بالفي… مش لحدا هالفي Come, let’s sit in the shade, this shade is for nobody
حبيني وفكري شوي Love me, and think a little
بلا ولا شي Without anything else
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.
