Palestinian Popular Songs

[Reham Alhelsi]

Palestinian popular songs deal with different subjects, such as patriotism, love, mourning, pride, etc. A professional singer (zajjal) usually improvises the songs during an event or prepares them ahead of the event. Most of the popular songs are composed of four verses of poetry. The first three verses rhyme, but the fourth differs depending on the type of song. Watch and listen carefully and see if you can identify any of the following types of song.

'Ataba
'Ataba is the most popular song in Palestine. You can hear farmers, workers, and shepherds singing 'ataba while they are doing their jobs. However, weddings are the main environment for the songs. Usually, the singer (zajjal) starts with the long sound of (Ooaaaff) then the verses of 'ataba follow. Not only does ‘ataba require the first three verses to rhyme but also all three verses must end with homonyms. The fourth verse ends with a sound like (aab, awa...)‘Ataba is usually accompanied by a Meejana verse, which has a different rhythm and tune and ends with a sound like (na). A full Meejana composition has the same requirement as ‘Ataba.

Dal'ona
Second to 'ataba, dal'ona is the most popular song. It is easier to compose a dal'ona song than 'ataba because it does not require using homonyms in the first three verses. The fourth verse of dal’ona usually ends with a sound like (oana).
Dal'ona is the song of the Palestinian popular dance, dabka, where the dancers sing it along with the sound of shubbabah) or yarghool (flute).

Zareef eT-Tool
Zareef eT-Tool has a fair popularity and it is also used in dabka. Of course, the rhythm is different from dal'ona. The fourth verse of Zareef eT-Tool ends with a sound like (ana).

Jafra
Jafra is also used in dabka, but the dance uses different steps to suit the tune. The fourth verse of Jafra ends with a sound like (eyya).

Sahja/Saamir
This is a popular song in weddings where people stand in two lines facing each other and sing. One line of people sings a verse and the other line repeats the same verse. Sometimes, the second line starts a new verse and changes the flow of the song.

Tal’aat
Tal’ah (pl. Tal’aat) is composed of a refrain (chorus) and several stanzas. The zajjal starts with the refrain, which is then repeated by the audience as the chorus of the song.

Shurooqi and Mu’anna
Shurooqi is a poem of several verses which takes the same form of a classical Arabic poem. Mu’anna is similar to Shurooqi except it is a shorter poem. In both forms the zajjal inserts a bridge just before the last verse. The last verse is then repeated as the chorus of the song.

Source: http://www.palestine-family.net/index.php?nav=6-14&cid=5&di...

[Al-Khansa]

oh this is probably not a tradtional song......but i found a song on an arabic site ...its aobut gaza....... but when my computer crashed i love it..... i am wondering if anyone knows of alink for it...i have a translieration of the words...
Gaza ma zroa ehdodeha bel ezza wel nashma.wel -majde beeen eznodeha wel-ghasebtaht aqdamha wel al-nasser khul eynoneha moh etgh any athaba. hob al-shada elo damena ya gazat shahama...
roughly translated as rough as the transliteration Gazas boarder are painted with pride and brave men.gloryyon its sohulders and occupier beneathits feet.victory is gazas eye lines.itsseawaves singing.love for shahada is our blood.O gaza of diginty/.
That a very very rough translation and transliteration of the first chorus...
i would love any information any one has..or even cluesoh wherei could trck it down

[Iqbal Tamimi]

I wish there was a threat of sound as an example to each kind of song that one just can click on and hear what does it sound like. Such information is extremely important not just for the people who want to know about Palestinian arts from all over the world, but also for Palestinian children who were born in exile and they did not enjoy these kinds of arts. I feel extremely sad that these arts will fade a way unless the Palestinians in exile keep them alive.

[Kathleen]

I totally agree Iqbal. Over the summer, we had my mother-in –law staying with us – and it was wonderful for the children.
My children have been raised mostly on ‘Scottish’ nursery rhymes and folklore. I think if I had been Palestinian and my husband Scottish, then it would have been different as often such things are passed on via the mother.
Children like nothing better, than being told a story or sung a song My son became Um Khaleds shadow and would relay stories back to me about life in Palestine with … ‘mum, did u know……’
My husband has few memories of living in Palestine – whereas Um Khaled had a wealth of stories – all told from the viewpoint of love for her country and a sense of deep loss. It was refreshing and vital for my kids to hear these personal stories and traditions rather than just abstract (to children) political ideas. It also helped confirm their identity and give real meaning to who they are.

[Iqbal Tamimi]

I guess it would be a good project should one focus on reviving children's songs, or stories from Palestine. Because such stories bring with it a wealth of information about how people used to live, and what they do at weddings or during the harvest in the summer. It would be great if the children can make a comparison between 2 different geographical areas from traditions point of view.

[mary rizzo]

I love this!!! I am going to put it on PTT today, and look out to find this music myself! Thanks for sharing this, beloved Reham!

[mary rizzo]

that's so interesting! As a foreigner myself, I find that my daughter is not that interested in my culture (if you can call it that!) and I feel almost relieved I don't have to pass it along. The fact that your mother in law shared this treasure is so important, and I feel that is because she truly loves her culture and has every reason to.

[Reham Alhelsi]

Palestinian Popular Songs
All occasions in the Palestinian life have their own songs. Weddings are the most popular times when people sing and dance on the tunes of the popular songs. Usually there are certain singers (Zajjaleen) who lead the singing and the audience repeats after them. However, one can find people singing popular songs while working in the land or the factory.

As any other form of poetry, popular songs treat different aspects: love, patriotism, wisdom, and others. In addition, there are different forms of songs which differ in the tune and the way of singing as will be seen below. Most of the songs introduced in this section are men's songs in addition to the most popular women's song (Zaghareet). However, this does not mean that women do not contribute to the Palestinian folklore. Mr. Sa'ood Al-Asadi said, "The Palestinian folklore is a common excellence of women and men."

There are several popular bands and singers (Zajjaleen) who are the main source of energy for the revival of our popular songs. To list some: El-Funoun (Palestinian Popular Dance Troupe) in Ramallah, Ghassan Kanafani's Band for Dabka in Bethlehem University, Jafra Band in Ramallah, and JuThoor (Roots) Band in Bir Zeit University. There are also Islamic Art bands who introduced the Islamic concepts to the popular songs, such as: Yarmouk Band (Jordan) and Ar-rawaby Band (Jordan). As far as popular singers, one can find at least one in every village or town in Palestine. To list some: Rajeh As-salfeety (died in 1990), Hammoudeh Al-farkhaawy (Abu Bashir), Ibrahim Al-'arrany (Abu Bassam), Awni Barghouthi, Amjad Arar, Mousa Hafeth, Mithqal Al-jayyousy, and Muhareb Theeb (Rababah singer).

Few points must be added before going through the examples and forms of songs:
1. Eventhough these are men's songs, women may also use the same forms where they may change the tune or the contents of the songs.
2. The samples are written in the Palestinian dialect where I used (.gif) files for the Arabic script. I also added transliteration and translation of most of the samples.

Forms of Songs:

'Ataba
'Ataba is the most popular song in Palestine. You can hear farmers, workers, and shepherds singing 'ataba while they are doing their jobs. However, weddings are the main environment for the songs.
As with the other forms of songs, 'ataba deals with all the subjects of poetry.
Usually, the singer starts with the long sound of (Ooaaaff) then the verses of 'ataba follow. 'Ataba is composed of four verses of poetry. The first three end with the same word in sound but different meanings. The fourth verse ends with a word that usually ends with a sound like (aab, awa...)

Samples:

بتالي الليل شدوا عا رحالهم حبا بي جرح قليبي رحيلهم
وكم مكتوب من ايدي راح لهم ولا مكتوب ردوا لي جواب
________________________________________
betaali l-leyl shaddoo 'aa reHalhom
Hebaaby jarraH eqleaby raHeelhom
wa kam maktoob min eedy raH elhom
wa la maktoob raddoo lee jawaab
________________________________________
At the end of the night, they prepared for departure
My loved ones whose departure wounded my heart
How many letters, from my hand, went to them
And no letter from them to reply to mine


متى يا حبي في داري تحلين عقد نفسي بيديكي تحلين
كاسات المر بيديكي تحلين ا تحيي قلب عالهجران ذاب
________________________________________
mataa ya Hobbi fee daary taHelleen
'oqad nafsee beedeiky taHelleen
kasaat el-morr beedeiky teHalleen
o teHyee qaleb 'al-hejraan Thaab
________________________________________
When, O my love will you live in my house
And treat, with your hands, all my emotional problems
And sweeten, with your hands, the bitter drinks
And cure a heart that melted because of being distanced


جمعنا الدين بالدنيا المنا او لغير الله ما بنشكي المنا
ا مهما نعيش مرجعنا الى امنا ارضنا الغاليي ام النسب
________________________________________
jama'na ed-deen bed-donya o lamm-na
o lagheir Allah ma neshkee alamna
o mahma n-'eesh marje'na ila m-mna
areDna l-ghaalye emm en-nasab
________________________________________
Religion has contained us in life
And only to God we complain about our suffering
No matter how long we live, we'll go back to our mother
Our dear land the mother of relationships


نسيم بلادنا للجسم منعش بدون الوطن اقنع يوم ما نعيش
بيبكي الطير اذا بنطرد من عش فكيف الوطن اللي لو اصحاب؟
________________________________________
naseem eblaadna lal-jesem mon'esh
bedoon el-waTan iqna' yowm ma n-'eesh
bebky eT-Teir eTha benTarad men 'esh
fa keef el-waTan elly loo S-Haab?
________________________________________
The breeze of our homeland revives the body
And surely we cannot live without our homeland
The bird cries when it is thrown out of it's nest
So how is the homeland that has it's own people?


يا ابن ادم عشقت الوهم ما لك اتراجع غير فعل الخير ما لك
يا ما اكثر صحبتك ان زاد مالك واذا المال انفقد قلو الصحاب
________________________________________
ya bin aadam 'ishiqt el-waham maalak
itraaja' gheir fi'l el-kheir maa lak
ya makthar SoHobtak in zaad maalak
witha el-maal infaqad qallo iSS-Haab
________________________________________
O, son of Adam, what's with you loving dreams
Go back! Nothing is better for you than doing good
You will have many friends if you have money
But when money is gone, so are the friends!

Dal'ona
Second to 'ataba, dal'ona is the most popular song. It is easier to compose a dal'ona song than 'ataba because it does not require the similar sound of the ends of the first three verses. However, like 'ataba, dal'ona has four verses of poetry where the first three have similar endings and the fourth usually ends with a sound like (oana).
Dal'ona is the song of the Palestinian popular dance, dabka, where the dancers sing it along with the sound of shubbabah (flute), yarghool, or mijwiz.

Samples:

يا اللي مريتي وبيدك سلمتي اسرار المحبي ابقلبي علمتي
اسمعت صوتك لما اتكلمتي بلبل بيغني فوق الزيتونا
________________________________________
yally marreity o beidik sallamty
asraar il-maHabby ibqalby 'allamty
ismi'it Sootik lamma itkallamty
bulbul beyghanny fooq el-zaytoona
________________________________________
O, you who passed by and waved with the hand
You marked the secrets of love in my heart
I heard your voice when you talked
Like a bird singing on top of an olive tree

يا طير طاير في السما العالي سلم عالحلو العزيز الغالي
واسمك يا روحي ما ايروح من بالي امقيد عاجبيني بين العيونا
________________________________________
ya Teirin Taayir fissama il-'aaly
sallim 'al-Hilw il-'azeez il-ghaaly
wismik ya rooHy mayrooH min baaly
imqayyad 'ajbeeny bein li'yoona
________________________________________
O, flying bird in the high sky
Say "hello" to the dear sweet one
Your name, my soul, will stay in my mind
Written on my forehead between the eyes

Zareef eT-Tool
Zareef eT-Tool has a fair popularity and it is also used in dabka. Of course, the tune is differet from dal'ona.

Sample

يا زريف الطول وقف تا قللك رايح عالغربة وبلادك احسن لك
خايف يا زريف تروح وتتملك وتعاشر الغير وتنساني انا
________________________________________
ya zareef eT-Tool waqqif ta qullak
raayiH 'al-ghorbeh wiblaadak aHsanlak
khaayif ya zareef itrooH o titmallak
wit'aashir el-gheir o tinsaany anaa
________________________________________
O, zareef eT-Tool* stop so I can tell you
You are going abroad and your country is better for you
I am afraid you will get established there
And find someone else and forget me
* One of an elegant height.

Sahja/Saamir
This is a popular song in weddings where people stand in two lines facing each other and sing. One line of people sings a verse and the other line repeats the same verse. Sometimes, the second line starts a new verse and changes the order of the flow of the song.

Sample

واللي يحبك يجيلك عالقدم ماشي وللي ما يحبك ايقولك ما دريناش
الرمل ما ينعجن والشوك ما ينداس والسر ما ينطلع على جميع الناس
والصاحب اللي توده وتتعشم فيه كثر عليه بالاسى تكشف اعيوبه فيه
يا احباب يا احباب كيف الحال وكيف انتو
احنا على حالنا ما اتغير الا انتو
________________________________________
* willee yiHibbak yijeelak 'al-qadam maashy
willee mayHibbak eequllak ma direenashy
* ir-ramil ma yin'ijin wish-shoak ma yindaas
wis-sirr ma yintala' 'ala jamee' in-naas
* wiS-SaaHib illy tiwiddoh o tit'ash-sham feeh
kath-thir 'aleeh bil-asa tikshif i'yoobo feeh
* yaHbaab yaHbaab keef el-Haal o keef into
iHna 'ala Haalina matghayyar illa into
________________________________________
* The one who likes you will walk [to your wedding]
And the one who dislikes you will tell you he didn't know
* Sand is not to be made into dough and thorns are not to step on
And a secret is not to be told to all people
* The friend who you like and have hopes for
Put some pressure on him and you will find his bad side
* O, loved ones, how are you?
We are the same, but you have changed

Zajal
Zajal is usually performed by a singer who makes up the song on the spot. Those singers (one is zajjal) are professionals in singing and people invite them to sing in weddings and most of them get paid for singing. The audience will follow the zajjal with whatever songs he sings.

Sample

اللازمة:
امي الله ايخليها ابتعطف واتجود
ابترمي الحب ابايديها وابنجني اورود
***
تحت اغصان الزيتوني نام الفلاح
اشو هالنومي مزيوني نايم مرتاح
والكرمي والليموني اوكرم التفاح
ارض ابلادي خلوني ازرع واجود

ومن النبعة الصبية بتعبي مي
والحطة والكوفية ما اجمل هالزي
والسهرات الشعبية في وسط الحي
والقهوة العدنية عالكل اترود
________________________________________
immy Allah eykhalleeha ibti'Tif witjood
ibtirmy il-Habb ibeedeiha wibnijny iwrood
* * *
tiHt ighSan izzaytoony naam il-fallaaH
ishoo hannawmy mazyoony naayim mirtaaH
wilkarmeh willaymoony o karm ittoffaaH
arD iblaady khalloony azra' wa jood
* * *
wimn innab'a iSSabiyyeh bit'abby mayy
wilHaTTa wilkoofiyyeh majmal hazzay
wissahraat isha'biyyeh fee wasT il-Hayy
wilqahweh il-'adaniyyeh 'alkoll itrood
________________________________________
May God protect my mother; she gives generously
She throws the seeds, and we harvest flowers
* * *
The farmer slept under the olive tree
What a wonderful sleep and rest
The grape vines, the lemon trees, and the apples
Made me plant my land and give
* * *
The young lady brings water from the spring
The kufiyya is the best fashion
The popular evenings in the middle of the neighborhood
While everybody is drinking Arabic coffee

Zaghareet
Zaghareet (one is zaghroot)are the most popular women songs which can be compared to the men's 'ataba. The way a woman sings this form is that she starts with a loud (heey eeeh) or (Aweeeha) sound, then the words follow. When the woman says the last word the rest of the women join with a loud (lololololololeeeeey) sound. There are other forms of women songs, but the lack of resources caused me to only mention this type.

Samples:

يا مرحبا يا اعزازي من فوق حمرا بتزازي
واللي ما تفرح ابطلعتكم يا تنكسر مثل لقزازي
________________________________________
ya mirHaba ya i'zaazy
min fooq Hamra bitzaazy
willy ma tifraH ibtal'itkom
ya tiniksir mithil liqzaazy
________________________________________
Hello my dear ones
From the top of a shiney red horse
The one who is not happy for your coming
May she get broken like a glass


واشوف بو خالد اهو قاعد على الكرسي
لمن لحظتو بعيني قلت نابلسي
يا نجمة الصبح طلي في السما وارسي
لو كان غيرو عسل ما طاقتو نفسي
________________________________________
washoof bukhalid oho qa'id 'ala il-korsy
lammin laHaTHto ib'eeny qolt nabilsy
ya nijmit il-SobiH Tolly fissama wirsy
law kaan gheero 'asal ma Taaqato nifsy
________________________________________
I see (Abu Khalid) while he's sitting on the chair
When I looked at him, I said he could be from Nablus *
O, morning star, appear in the sky and be stable
If others were honey, I will not care for them
* Men from Nablus are considered classy


http://www.barghouti.com/folklore/songs/zaghroot2.html

[Iqbal Tamimi]

Great post Reham, thank you dear. I'm sure Cathleen will be happy to read it for her children.