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 us | sammaʿna elli ma kanš sāmeʿ | سمعنا اللي ما كنش سامع |
| All barriers were shattered | w-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 dream | nemši we-nsīb ḥelmenā | نمشي 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 |
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| A screen short from the video clip. Graffiti on the wall reads "The street is ours" |
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