Monday, February 21, 2011

The Voice of Freedom, Loud and Clear From Egypt



The year 2011 was destined to be one fateful year in the modern history of the Arab world. Before the year started, the spark was ignited in Tunisia, and then the flag of freedom was raised high in Egypt. Millions of Arabs around the world were captivated and glued to their television sets holding their breath, hoping, wishing and praying for the outcome that everyone was dreaming about, to materialize. We all felt we were part of history, even if many of us did nothing really but to be alive at this time, to witness history being made before our own eyes. We were all Tunisians. Then we were all Egyptians. Then we are all Bahraini, Yemeni and Libyan. And we continue to be all of the above and more, all at the same time. Many of us are still trying to understand what all of this means. Many of us are still extremely anxious about the events as they continue to unfold in many areas of the Arab world. One thing is starting to come into focus, however, and that is, the voice of freedom has now become loud and clear in the Arab world. This is the message of this song from Egypt.

The revolution of Egypt taught the entire world what liberation means in Arabic: Tahrir. Some of the images you will see in the video appear to be from the renowned Tahrir Square (Liberation Square) of Cairo, which is one of the many places in Egypt where Egypt's heroes peacefully "fought their battle" for freedom. The song was recorded and filmed before former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak stepped down. In the table below, you'll find the Arabic lyrics of the song (which are in the Egyptian dialect), along with a transliteration and an English translation. The credits for the song (as listed in the YouTube music video) are listed at the bottom of this page as well. The lyrics in bold below are verses from an Egyptian-dialect poem by Egyptian poet Abdurrahman Al-Abnoudi, and they appear in the song recited in the poet's own voice. They are from the poem titled "The Poem of The Square" (qasīdat al-mīdān قصيدة الميدان) (the square being of course, Tahrir Square).



Voice of Freedom
ṣot el-ḥorriyya
صوت الحرية
I went down and said I'm not coming back
nezelt w-ʼolt ʼana meš rāgeʿ
نزلت وقلت أنا مش راجع
I wrote with my blood in every street
we-katabt b-dammi f-kull šāreʿ
وكتبت بدمي في كل شارع 
We brought our voice to everyone who was not hearing ussammaʿna elli ma kanš sāmeʿ
سمعنا اللي ما كنش سامع
All barriers were shatteredw-takassaret kull el-mawaneʿ
وتكسرت كل الموانع
Our weapon was our dreams
silāḥna kān aḥlāmna
سلاحنا كان أحلامنا
Tomorrow was clear before us
we-bokra wāḍeḥ ʼoddāmna
وبكرا واضح قدامنا
We've been waiting for so long
men zamān be-nestanna
من زمان بنستنى
We were searching, unable to find our place
be-ndawwar meš lāʼyīn makannā
بندور مش لاقيين مكانا
In every street of my homeland .. the voice of freedom is calling
fe kulle šāreʿ fe blādī .. ṣot el-ḥorriyya b-īnādī
في كل شارع في بلادي .. صوت الحرية بينادي
In every street of my homeland .. the voice of freedom is calling
fe kulle šāreʿ fe blādī .. ṣot el-ḥorriyya b-īnādī
في كل شارع في بلادي .. صوت الحرية بينادي
We raised our head up high in the sky
rafaʿna rāsna fe s-samā
رفعنا راسنا في السما 
Hunger was no longer our concern
weg-gūʿ ma baʼāš bi-yhemmenā
والجوع ما بقاش بيهمنا
The most important thing was our right
ʼahamm ḥāga ḥaʼʼenā
أهم حاجة حقنا
And to write our history with our blood
we-nekteb tarīḫna b-dammenā
ونكتب تاريخنا بدمنا 
If you were one of us
law kont wāḥed mennenā
لو كنت واحد مننا 
Stop rambling and telling us
balāš terġi we-tʼollenā
بلاش ترغي وتقلنا 
To leave and abandon our dreamnemši we-nsīb ḥelmenāنمشي ونسيب حلمنا



And stop saying the word "I"
w-baṭṭal teʼūl kelmet anā
وبطل تقول كلمة أنا
In every street of my homeland .. the voice of freedom is calling
fe kulle šāreʿ fe blādī .. ṣot el-ḥorriyya b-īnādī
في كل شارع في بلادي .. صوت الحرية بينادي
In every street of my homeland .. the voice of freedom is calling
fe kulle šāreʿ fe blādī .. ṣot el-ḥorriyya b-īnādī
في كل شارع في بلادي .. صوت الحرية بينادي
Tan Egyptian hands of distinction ayādi maṣreyya samra .. līha fet-tamyīz أيادي مصرية سمرا ليها في التمييز
Extended out amidst the roar .. shattering the frames mamdūda weṣṭ ez-zaʼīr be-tkassar el-barawīz ممدودة وسط الزئير بتكسر البراويز
The marvelous youth went out .. and turned the automn [of Egypt] into spring ṭeleʿ eš-šabāb el-badīʿ .. ʼalabu ḫarīfha rabīʿ طلع الشباب البديع قلبوا خريفها ربيع
They brought about the miracle .. they brought the murdered back to life we-ḥaʼʼaʼu l-moʿgeza .. ṣaḥḥu l-ʼatīl me l-ʼatl وحققوا المعجزة صحوا القتيل من القتل
Kill me .. By killing me you won't get your regime back ʼeʼtelni .. ʼatli mā ḥayʿīd dawletak tāni اقتلني قتلي ما هيعيد دولتك تاني
With my blood, I destine my homelands to a second life bakteb be-dammi hayāh tanya le-awṭāni بكتب بدمي حياة تانية لأوطاني
Is this my blood or is it spring .. Both are green in color dammi da walla r-rabīʿ .. le-tnain be-lon aḫḍar دمي ده ولا الربيع الاتنين بلون أخضر
Do I smile of my happiness or my sorrows we-babtesem men saʿādti walla aḥzāni وببتسم من سعادتي ولا أحزاني
In every street of my homeland .. the voice of freedom is calling fe kulle šāreʿ fe blādī .. ṣot el-ḥorriyya b-īnādī في كل شارع في بلادي .. صوت الحرية بينادي
In every street of my homeland .. the voice of freedom is calling fe kulle šāreʿ fe blādī .. ṣot el-ḥorriyya b-īnādī في كل شارع في بلادي .. صوت الحرية بينادي
In every street of my homeland .. the voice of freedom is calling fe kulle šāreʿ fe blādī .. ṣot el-ḥorriyya b-īnādī في كل شارع في بلادي .. صوت الحرية بينادي
In every street of my homeland .. the voice of freedom is calling fe kulle šāreʿ fe blādī .. ṣot el-ḥorriyya b-īnādī في كل شارع في بلادي .. صوت الحرية بينادي
In every street of my homeland .. the voice of freedom is calling fe kulle šāreʿ fe blādī .. ṣot el-ḥorriyya b-īnādī في كل شارع في بلادي .. صوت الحرية بينادي
In every street of my homeland .. the voice of freedom is calling fe kulle šāreʿ fe blādī .. ṣot el-ḥorriyya b-īnādī في كل شارع في بلادي .. صوت الحرية بينادي

A screen short from the video clip. Graffiti on the wall reads "The street is ours"
Credits: Sout Al Horeya - Hany Adel. Amir Eid; Guitar: Hawary; Keyboard: Sherif Mostafa; Composition & Lyrics: Amir Eid; Music Producer & Sound Engineer: Hany Adel

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