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From Lennie Clark's Web Site:Ala Dalouna
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This page contains a translation into English of the lyrics to the popular Palestinian & Lebanese folk song "Ala Dalouna". Also included is a transliteration of the Arabic lyrics into the Roman alphabet so you can sing along if you like. One of the people who has recorded this song is Tony Kiwan, another is Fairuz. The song title is sometimes spelled as "3ala Dal3auna" or "Ala Doluna". About FairouzFairouz is a legendary Lebanese vocalist, one of the most deeply respected living singers in the Arabic-speaking world. She was born in 1934. Her singing career began in the 1950's, and she achieved stardom in the 1960's. Her husband, Assi Rahbani, and his brother Mansour Rahbani, and they achieved legendary status as a composer and lyricist duo. The three worked closely together from the 1950's through 1979, with Fairouz's beautiful voice turning many of their compositions into hits. Fairouz' name is also sometimes spelled as "Feiruz", "Feirouz", "Feyrouz", "Fayrouz", "Fairoz", or "Fairuz". Song lyrics are provided for educational purposes. If you like the song, please purchase either the album or a download from an authorized source. ABOUT THE PHOTO: This photo shows the legendary singer Fairouz, one of the artists to have recorded this song. |
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Lyrics
Note from Lennie Clark: There are many, many versions of this song. The following version was taught to me by Gaby Tawil. The translation is rather vague; he explained it to me when I was first learning to sing the song. Going back, I realize that I don't remember everything he told me about the meaning.
The second version, was found on the internet by my Arabic 202 instructor at Mesa Community College, Ustaathe AbuHannoud, at my request. It was carefully translated by my tutor Hakiima, but I have not learned to sing that version. It's pretty obvious that the lyrics are full of idiom and don't always literally make sense — although Hakiima is Palestinian (originally from Al Quds Jerusalem), she is not, as she protested, "of the village". She wasn't even sure that she remembered the melody, but as soon as we started working on the translation, her mother began humming the tune.
My friend Leyla Lanty tells me that in Arab night clubs and restaurants in California, the playing of this song will usually cause most Palestinians present to jump up and dance the debke. The rhythm Gaby taught me to play for this song is malfouf, three measures to each line.
Robert, thanks for your original query about the song which led me to the following versions! I think it was you who sent me an English translation of the song which said that Dala3auuna was a girl's name. Both Gaby and Hakima emphatically deny this.
Arabic Lyrics |
English Translation |
| 3la dala3una, 3la dala3una, saluu 3an nabi la tahsiiduuna | Help us, Help us, pray to my prophet against the evil eye |
| 3la dala3uuna, leish dal3atiini | Help us, Why did you help me |
| Lakaytiinii shayib leish akhatiini | You found me an old man, why did you take me |
| Laktuubik tabik 3la waraktiini | I write you, you write messages on paper [in other words, messages that don't mean anything] |
| Waaga3al talaal'iq ahsan maykuuna | In conclusion, your coming on the scene did not make things better |
| 3la dala3una, 3la dala3una, saluu 3an nabi la tahsiiduuna | Help us, Help us, pray to my prophet against the evil eye |
| Talaat al jaabal, uu jaabal mahduud | She climbed the mountain, and the mountain no good [this means she married the rich old man but he wasn't any good] |
| Halfat ma takhuud jayrak ya Mahmoud | [I think this was something about don't change, Mahmoud, or I will always be faithful, Mahmoud.] |
| 3la dala3una, 3la dala3una, saluu 3an nabi la tahsiiduuna | Help us, Help us, pray to my prophet against the evil eye |
| 3la dala3una, 3la dala3una, saluu 3an nabi la tahsiiduuna | Help us, Help us, pray to my prophet against the evil eye |
| 3la dala3una, 3la dala3una, saluu 3an nabi la tahsiiduuna | Help us, Help us, pray to my prophet against the evil eye |
| 3la dala3una, 3la dala3una, saluu 3an nabi la tahsiiduuna | Help us, Help us, pray to my prophet against the evil eye |
Where to Get Recordings of this Song
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Artist: Tony Hanna |
Translations of
Feiruz' Songs On This Site
Acknowledgements
About the Translator
This song was translated by Ghalep "Gaby" Tawil. Gaby started his career on television and radio in Jordan. He was in so much demand that he stayed in broadcasting for a total of eleven years. He traveled to many Middle Eastern countries, including Egypt, Syria, and Lebanon, where he performed to some of the best venues with top entertainers, such as Sabah and Nadia Gamal. Gaby played with famous Middle Eastern musicians and singers at private parties for royalty, the rich, and the famous. He resided in New York and circuited the city's hottest nightclubs, including the El Darwich, Cedars of Lebanon, Sinbad's, and Aladdin. He assisted many Middle Eastern dance instructors such as Bobby Farrah and Yousry Sharif in teaching their students to understand the complex Middle Eastern rhythms. He has recorded in numerous studios with famous Middle Eastern artists such as Sabah, Bobby Farrah, and Nadia Gamal and many more. Gaby also had the honor of performing at the Cedars of Lebanon nightclub with Led Zeppelin's Robert Plant. He moved to Arizona in 1996 where he has been teaching workshops, groups, and private classes in Phoenix and Tucson. He continues to accompany belly dance instructors in their studios to teach the students Middle Eastern rhythms. Gaby played at a private party in Amman, Jordan with the very famous singer Abdel Halim Hafez. In Haleb, Syria he worked with famous singers Sabah Fakari, Mohammed Hairi, and Suad Mohammed and famous dancer Fifi Abdo. |
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About the Source
This article originally appeared on Lennie Clark's web site, "Arabic Song Translations." Lennie created this web site in 2002 as a response to discussion on the Internet regarding incidents of dancers who performed inappropriate sensual dances to religious music. Lennie's web site resided on a free web hosting service known as Geocities. When the planned October 2009 closure of the Geocities web hosting service was announced, Lennie and Shira agreed to move the contents of Lennie's site to Shira.net. To explore all the articles and song translations that once appeared on Lennie's Geocities site, visit Lennie's portal page here on Shira.net. |
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