Tahseen

Walhanaih
(Fascinated)

This page contains a translation into English of the lyrics to the Arabic song "Walhanaih", which was popularized by the Lebanese singer Najwa Karam. The title is sometimes spelled as "Walhana" or "Walhanah", and her name is often spelled by Egyptians as "Nagwa Karam". Also included is a transliteration of the Arabic lyrics into the Roman alphabet so you can sing along if you like. Najwa Karam was born February 26, 1966 in Zahle, Lebanon, with three brothers and a sister. Her career was launched in 1985 when she won a gold medal when she participated in the Layali Loubnan television program. Her first hit, which led to her popularity in the Arab world, was Ma Bessmahlak. Her favorite singers are Fairuz, Wadih Al Safi, Oum Kalthoum, and Abdel Halim Hafez. Song lyrics are provided for educational purposes. If you like the song, please purchase either the album or a download from an authorized source.

Listen to MP3 Clips of this Song

Lyrics

Where to Get Recordings of this Song

Listen to Clip

Artist: Najwa Karam CD Title: Ouyoun Albi

Translations of
Najwa Karam's Songs on this Site

Other translations of songs performed by Nagwa Karam on this web site include:

About the Translator

More than 100 song translations that appear on this web site, including this one, were created by Dr. Tahseen Alkoudsi. Together with his wife Kathe, Tahseen owned an import business in Lawrence, Kansas known as Cartouche.

Dr. Alkoudsi's imports business was his second career. His first career was in the service of the United Nations. Born in Damascus, Syria, he came to the U.S. for his M.A. and Ph.D. in economics, and worked in San Francisco. He joined the United Nations in Yemen, and worked in Saudi Arabia. He then joined the UNESCO Regonal Office for Arab States. He visited most of the Arab States in the course of his work, responsible for introducing computer sciences into educational facilities. For a time, he was stationed in Cairo, Egypt. He retired from that work in 1995.

Sadly, Tahseen died on Sunday, October 15, 2006. See this link for his obituary.

To me, Tahseen was so much more than a contributor to my web site. Even though we lived far apart, I saw Tahseen and Kathe several times over the years. I always appreciated their warmth and generosity. I first "met" Tahseen online back in 1997 on the med-dance list on the Internet, where he periodically posted messages. I knew he was in Lawrence, Kansas, so when a business trip arose requiring me to travel to the Kansas City area, I emailed him to say I'd be in the neighborhood. He and Kathe came to Kansas City for an evening get-together at Tasso's restaurant, and they invited several local dancers to join us. I saw them on follow-up visits to Kansas City. They vended at Rakkasah for several years, and it was always a pleasure to greet them there in the anteroom off to the left of the main stage. I also enjoyed encountering them in Egypt at the Ahlan wa Sahlan festival. Tahseen will be missed by many.

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