There's nothing appealing about this recent testosterone-laden nationalistic videoclip (translation below video)
It's enough that you're Lebanese! Sung by Assi Al-Hilany
Cover the sun with the shade of your mighty brow
if this world asks you who you are
tell them you're Lebanese(You're) the hero of both peace and war
the bridge between East and Westto keep loving and to be loved
it's enough that you're Lebanese!Lebanese and wherever you go
you carry your homeland in your heart and spirit
and from you emanates the scent of glory
the scent of Lebanese soilLebanese and you keep spreading your love to everybody and
the hands all point to you, knowing that you're Lebanese
Lebanese, and your name is written on the edge of the withdrawn sword
the colours of the letters is the ink of hearts (blood)
they spell out one word: LebaneseLebanese and may God preserve those hands that know how to give generously
and that bring about celebration after a crisis
the celebration of Lebanese glory!Hey Hey Hey
From the military academy
with the military uniform
you've banned the fitna (divisiveness)
you've united all of us
Muslims and Christians
Your people are calling out with happiness
Lebanon will be rebuilt!
The Commander Suleiman is the republic's president
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I much prefer the fruity pan-Arab overtones of this classic:
My beloved's garden is bountiful (sung by Sabah)
My beloved's garden is bountiful
(full of:)
Lebanese apples and grapes
two-hued Egyptian mangoes
Damascene apricots, oh my
Aleppo pistachios and Sudanese peanuts
The eye is on my beloved's garden
and it is guarded by a doorman with a rifle
it is full of Saudi pomegranates
and Iraqi and Yemeni dates
My beloved's garden is at the source (of water)
at the gate two foxes stand guard
it is lined by lilies on both sides
and figs from Amman
My beloved's garden, oh my beloved
the lemons are from Jaffa and Libya
and all the fruits are fantastic
my tongue is incapable of truly describing them
My beloved's garden is to my taste
I gated it and decorated the entrance
with the pearls of the Arab Gulf
and the roses of Oran (Algeria)
My beloved's garden is bountiful (sung by Sabah)
My beloved's garden is bountiful
(full of:)
Lebanese apples and grapes
two-hued Egyptian mangoes
Damascene apricots, oh my
Aleppo pistachios and Sudanese peanuts
The eye is on my beloved's garden
and it is guarded by a doorman with a rifle
it is full of Saudi pomegranates
and Iraqi and Yemeni dates
My beloved's garden is at the source (of water)
at the gate two foxes stand guard
it is lined by lilies on both sides
and figs from Amman
My beloved's garden, oh my beloved
the lemons are from Jaffa and Libya
and all the fruits are fantastic
my tongue is incapable of truly describing them
My beloved's garden is to my taste
I gated it and decorated the entrance
with the pearls of the Arab Gulf
and the roses of Oran (Algeria)
13 comments:
I am confused a bit re the reference to the Saudi pomegranates, everything else was quite clear.
Saudis and pomegranates? Hmm...
shir hashirim... more or less. and both are wonderful.
you've banned the fitna
And you said the second one was about flora.
I don't know. I've got a fitna or two on my balcony, and quite frankly, I'm not in favor of banning them. I'd happily ban honeysuckle though - it gives me migraines.
Snoopy,
Saudis have fantastic pomegranates.. especially after a full body waxing session
Tamar,
It's true, the second one does resemble shir hashirim..
NC,
fitna? honeysuckle? Unlike you, I can actually make use of the plants that grow on my balcony.. you should see my cucumber - it's pushing 8 inches..
"Saudis have fantastic pomegranates.. especially after a full body waxing session"
That's a rather terrifying concept in your case, Nizo. What is done with the pomegranates? Are they eaten or spread on the waxed and presumably horrifically painful integument?
I wonder if pomegranates have any theological image significance in Islam as they do in Xianity (hence their frequent appearance on altar frontals).
Mac,
Indeed, the Rumman (pomegranate) is mentioned in the Quran as a fruit found in heaven:
Al-An'am
"6:141 For it is He who has brought into being gardens the cultivated ones and those growing wild and the date-palm, and fields bearing multiform produce, and the olive tree, and the pomegranate: all resembling one another and yet so different! Eat of their fruit when it comes to fruition, and give unto the poor their due on harvest day. And do not waste God's bounties: verily, He does not love the wasteful! "
I think that the flourishing of such sugary nationalistic songs is inversely proportional to national self-esteem...
I laughed at the footage of the proud Lebanese officers though.. I couldn't help but remember how they had this look of frightened kittens on their faces, when they were first deployed in South Lebanon, in the aftermath of the the Summer 06 war.. Pitiful, and pathetic.
A fruit from heaven? I think they are a fruit from hell. You could break a tooth on those monster seeds.
Damn, I'm stuck now with Jeninat Habibi and it just won't leave my head. Good one.
mac said: I wonder if pomegranates have any theological image significance in Islam as they do in Xianity (hence their frequent appearance on altar frontals).
And Jewish tradition teaches that the rimon (pomegranate) is a symbol for righteousness, because it is said to have 613 seeds, which corresponds with the 613 mitzvot or commandments of the Torah. So, many Jews eat pomegranates on Rosh Hashanah, which explains why food stores in Atlanta (where I am now) and elsewhere with Jewish clientele are now stocking (small pricey less-than-delicious) rimmoneem...
My own feelings about pomegranates (which are indeed delicious) are rather qualified by a horrific experience I had with pomegranate juice. I was being entertained at dinner at the house of the parents of a world famous Pakistani novelist in Islamabad whose name I won't here divulge. Mr H brought around a tray of drinks; I thought it prudent in the august and deeply cultivated company to avoid alcohol so I took a glass of pomegranate juice. And then in the course of answering a question about playing the pipe organ which involved miming pulling stops, changing manuals and playing the pedal board proceeded to throw it all over the tennis court-sized Persian carpet. Was I mortified? The stain is still there, it is reported to me. At the dinner table Mr H came around again with wine, red and white. I wondered if I should be trusted. Answer: "Oh think nothing of it...don't be silly...hmmm...have white."
We have an expression in Arabic that describes the feelings you experienced as the juice hit the carpet:
"Oh earth, crack open and swallow me"
My punishment was being seated at the dinner table beside a New Zealand expert on Torrens land title who proceeded to discuss that stupifyingly boring topic throughout all courses. I can't say I didn't deserve it; I in fact know all I need to know about Torrens title but needless to say I listened politely.
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