Thursday, May 6, 2010

Old School Fairuz

Fairuz is the Middle Eastern equivalent of -- well, no one. Roll up Madonna with Celine and Britney Spears, triple their discographies, and add a little bit of Cher. That's Fairuz. She’s been singing since the 40s.
This song is super old school, but it's one of the most beautiful songs in the Arabic language. And sadly, this video is the best YouTube has to offer. It's called “Ishar”. According to my brother-in-law, that doesn't just mean "stay", it means "stay the night", and Hans Wehr concurs. I love that Arabic has a specific word for that. Sahira. It also means to watch over something. An evening vigil.
Following I've added my own very rough translation.




Stay


Stay the night
And again, stay
It will help you find your way
[repeat]
The neighbors are here
They'll leave in a while
And we'll have all the sweetness
Of the moon in our house
And the flowers and poet's tales
So just stay, stay
[repeat]
The night won't let you go back
Your house is too far
And we are the most worthy
Of your company
[repeat]
I open the doors
And call to my friends
I say the moon is here
And the world will snow
News of your return
Just stay, stay the night
[refrain]
And sleep,
who wants it but the children?
Their holidays are sleep
As long as you are here
A dream that fills the universe
What does it matter if the night flies away
And you lose just one day?
Just stay, stay. 

4 comments:

  1. Thank you so much for translating the lyrics to this beautiful song.

    ReplyDelete
  2. You're welcome - thanks for stopping by!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Iv been a long time Fairuz fan though my Arabic does not go beyond the very basic. For some months I have been haunted by this song and wanted to know what Ishar meant. And destiny lead me to the entire poem! Thank you!

    ReplyDelete