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Billadhi Askara
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This page contains the translation to the song lyrics of "Billadhi Askara" a muwashaha (art song) that has been recorded by many artists, including Fairouz around 1960. Maqam: Bayati 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. Music & Lyrics by: Lissan al-Din al-Khatib & Nicolas Fayyad |
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Listen to MP3 Clips of this Song
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Instrumental performance by Jordi Savall |
Lyrics
Arabic Lyrics |
English Translation |
| Billadhi askara min 'arf el-lama | The one who intoxicates by the scent of her dark lips |
| Kulla ka'sin tahtasihi wa habab | Each cup she sips, and the pearl-like teeth |
| Walladhi kahhala jafnayka bima | The one who has darkened your eyelids with kohl |
| Sajada-ssehru ladayhi wa-qtarab | Magic bowed down toward him and got close |
| Walladhi ajra dumu'i andama | And the one who made my tears flow like red dye |
| Indama a'ratta min ghayri sabab | When you shunned me for no reason |
| Di 'ala sadri yayumnaka fama | Put your right hand on my breast |
| Ajdara-l-ma'a bi-itfa el-lahab | It is more suitable than water to put out the flames. |
Where to Get Recordings of this Song
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Artist: Jordi Savall |
Translations of
Feiruz' Songs On This Site
About the Contributor
This translation was done by Dr. George Sawa for Yasmina Ramzy of Arabesque Academy of Toronto, Canada. I'd like to thank Yasmina for making this translation available to you via my web site.
Yasmina Ramzy has been performing, teaching, and choreographing Middle Eastern dance since 1981. She has toured extensively throughout Egypt, Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, Greece, England, Mexico, the United States, and Canada as a soloist and with her company, sometimes performing for royalty and heads of state in many of these countries. She is the Artistic Director of Arabesque Academy, School of Culture-Specific Dance and the Arabesque Dance Company. Although Yasmina has dedicated her life to Middle Eastern dance, she also produces Gypsy and Dancenet which are culture-specific dance and music events with an educational slant. She is also a member of Canadian Alliance of Dance Artists and serves of the board of directors for Dance Ontario.
About the Translator
Dr. George Sawa was born in Alexandria, Egypt. He has over 50 years of experience in Arabic music performance, history and theory, and has performed and lectured extensively worldwide: Canada, USA, Brazil, Mexico, Europe (Spain, Italy, Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Greece) and the Middle East (Egypt, Algeria, Tunisia, Syria, Lebanon, Kuwait, United Arab Emirates). He studied qanun, theory and voice at the Higher Institute of Arabic Music. After immigrating to Canada, Dr. Sawa studied ethnomusicology at the University of Toronto, and obtained his doctorate in historical Arabic musicology. He has taught graduate and undergraduate courses on medieval, modern, and religious music of the Middle East at the University of Toronto and at York University. Dr. Sawa is the author of:
Dr. Sawa has published over 50 articles on Arabic music in refereed journals and encyclopedias, and is frequently invited to give lectures and concerts worldwide. In 2005, he received the prestigious Lifetime Achievement Award from the Egyptian Ministry of Culture for his research in Arabic music history. |
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George has been the musical director for several productions of the Toronto-based Arabesque Dance Company, and taught hundreds of dancers at the Arabesque Academy and Hannan's Bellydance Studio in Toronto, as well as studios in Canada, USA, Brazil and Mexico. His first CD release, The Art of the Early Egyptian Qanun, Vol. 1, was nominated for a JUNO Award in World Music in 2009. A subsequent volume, The Art of the Early Egyptian Qanun, Vol. 2, was released in 2009. His book Egyptian Music Appreciation and Practice for Bellydancers has won international acclaim and serves as an invaluable - one of a kind - companion to bellydancers all over the world. (It is available in English, Chinese, French, Greek, Japanese, Russian, Spanish, German and Portuguese). A companion set of two DVDs produced with Lulu Hartenbach in Brazil includes over 50 tracks of dancing instruction from his CDs and book: Lulu and George Dimitri Sawa. Apreciação de Música Árabe para Bailarinas - Teoria & Prática 2 vols. Sao Paulo: Ventreoteca. Produzido por Kaleidoscopio de Ideias. Shimmie, 2015. Presently Dr. Sawa is working on a book Erotica, Love, and Humor in Arabia which will be published by McFarland in 2016. For more information on Dr. Sawa's books, musical recordings, and videos, see his web site at www.georgedimitrisawa.com . |
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