LYRIC TRANSLATIONS FOR 'SABRIYE MIYE MIYE'

Below you will find the translations for the lyrics from the album Sabriye Miye Miye which can be purchased here.  
My goal with the translations is that you understand the meaning of the songs, they are therefore not word for word translations.   My translations are written out in a way that I hoped would best convey the meaning of each line.  Along with the translations I've added my own personal interpretation of the song's meaning under the heading 'The way I see it'.  

SAWAH
'WANDERER'
Originally Sung by Abdel Halim 
Composed by Baligh Hamdi

The Way I See It: The song is about a man who is lost in love with a girl who is far away.  The song is full of angst but also sweetness for his lost love.  The sentiment (which I think is common in Arabic music) is ‘It hurst so good’, ie it’s bittersweet, a joy to be so in love yet painful to be separated. 

I’m a wanderer, walking through the lands, a wanderer
The distance between my love and I is far
This long journey has left me wounded
The night is near, and the day goes by

Where you see my love, say hello to her
Tell me, how is my dark girl who’s far away

Wanderer, I walk at night
Wanderer, 
I know not what I do 
Wanderer, 
The separation my precious
Wanderer, what has become of me

And the years, 
And years and I’m melting in longing and tenderness
I just want to know the way to her 
Where is the way

Where you see my love, say hello to her
Tell me, how is my dark girl who far away

Oh my eyes, 
Oh my eyes, what has become of you and what are you doing? 
Oh my worries
Oh my worries, leave me be, I’m worried enough as it is

I can’t reset, I’m lost as a wanderer

And the years, 
And years and I’m melting in longing and tenderness
I just want to know the way to her 

Where you see my love, say hello to her
Tell me, how is my dark girl who far away

E’ DELLA ALA KEFAK
'TEASE AS YOU LIKE'
Egyptian Folklore (origins unknown) 

The Way I see it:  The song is sung by a boy smitten with a girl.  It is sung to this girl in a playful way, accusing her of toying with/teasing the boy.  The boy is pleading with her to recognize his love for her, and not to be cruel with him by ignoring him and teasing him.

Tease me as you like, tease me baby 
You leave me and send me your shadow, and I will explain myself to it
Tease me baby tease me oh by the prophet 

The fire in my heart is burning and is carried off into the wind  
I asked people what to do and they told me patience is the best medicine

Where is your kindness and tenderness, where is your love oh baby

Come to me come,  or send me a message

This is your love, my soul, keep me next to you

Keep me with you,  come, come, or send me a message, come come or send me a message 

This is your love,  my soul, keep me next to you

Tease me as you like, tease me baby, 
You leave me and send me your shadow, and I will explain myself to it.
Tease me baby tease me oh by the prophet 

SAIDI MIX: BINTI BEIDA & HAWA YA HAWA
'FAIR GIRL & WIND OH WIND'
Egyptian Folklore

The Way I See it: The song is a medley of at least two songs.  The first half is from ‘Binti Beida’ which is a very flirtatious song, sung from the perspective of a man who is driven crazy by a fair skinned girl.  (note: both beida’ meaning fair/literally white and ‘samra’ meaning dark skinned are common characteristics that are hailed in Arabic song lyrics).  The second part of the medley is from Hawa Ya Hawa, Hawa meaning wind but it is also a common metaphor for love.  In this song the singer asks for help from the wind, a bird and a storm to convey to her love who is away how much she misses him in hopes of him returning.  

The fair girl, fair fair
The girl is fair, what can I do

I lost all my money on my love,
I lost all my money, what can I do

Oh boy, oh boy I love her
And her fire (alt. her pomegranates) burn/s me

Greetings to you 
(Chorus: and to you; greetings) 

And from my heart I wish you life
(Chorus: and to you; greetings)

You summer wind that caresses my soul, my love
Wind take a message to him and come back
Perhaps it will return my love to me

I miss his eyes and am afraid for him
Wind take the scarf and protect him from the sun and the heat from the sun
That traveler is my love

Oh bird do me a favor
You who fly by and stand on my loves shoulder direct him/show him the way
and promise on your life oh bird that you lean in and whisper of my longing to my love

Return me your hand
I’m love sick for him and I wish I you and I storm could go out and find him
that traveler is my love 

LEYLA (LO BAGY LEYLA) 
'IF THERE REMAINED JUST ONE/ NIGHT'
Originally sung by Abdel Rab Driss

The way I see it: This is a sweet and romantic song sung in Khaleeji dialect by a man about a woman and sometimes to that woman.  He proclaims that if he had only one night he would wish to spend it with her.  He sings to her offering praise of her beauty and importance to him. 

Night, if I have just one more night 
I want her tonight, sleepless
I’d look at her eyes the whole night,
The night of my life, the night of my life

Oh god, (chorus reply: oh god)
How beautiful you are
Oh god, (chorus reply: oh god)
How much I love you

I dream, 
I dream of you always, next to me
Even when I’m awake and sleep
The days of my life, what are they without you

Night, if I have just one more night 
I want her tonight, sleepless 
I’d look at her eyes the whole night,
The night of my life, the night of my life

Your voice, whispers through out my home 
and my journeys,
My moon and my sun, 
My nights and my days

And you, you are my eyes, 
You are my heart and eyes where ever you go
My life depends on your dark eyes

Night, if I have just one more night 
I want her tonight 
I’d look at her eyes the whole night,
The night of my life, the night of my life

The night of my life, 
Night!

YA BAHIYA
‘OH BAHIYA’
Originally sung by Mohamed Al Azab
Composed by Baligh Hamdi

The way I see it:  The song is about a girl named Bahiya, which also means young girl, so in a sense the song is directed to/about all young girls.  It’s a flirtatious warning to Bahiya to guard her beauty and charms, (in particular the charm carried in her eyes) because she’s driving people crazy with her beauty and is making others jealous.  

Close the doors Bahiya, 
Otherwise they will hold you back
Hide your eyes young woman,  so people won’t envy you

Bahiya, and the the eyes of Bahiya  
The whole story is of the eyes of Bahiya

Oh Bahiya, tell me, what do they have to do with you 
Your eyes, young woman are full of love

All those mad with love, say it’s her, Bahiya! 
All those full of love, blame her, Bahiya
All of them blame her eyes

The whole story and the whole tale is of Bahiya’s eyes

Close the doors Bahiya, 
Otherwise they will hold you back
Hide the eyes young woman,  so people won’t envy you

There is no one who has passed or slowed down by her
with out talking about her eyes, (chorus: the eyes of Bahiya) 
They spoke of her, they wronged her

There is no affection in her eyes, 
Unfair, say the boys 
They wronged her

They say about Bahiya that she has no darling or love
Her eyes kill 
(against them)There is no medicine, no doctor 
They spoke about the girl
All who were taken by her
They wronged her, by my eyes

The whole story and the whole tale is of Bahiya’s eyes

Many, many oh many hearts 
Have been melted by the girl
By the eyes of Bahiya

All all the guys to the end of the earth
Pine for the girl, many many 

All the girls even the mirror, 
Envy Bahiya and her eyes.

The whole story and the whole tale is of Bahiya’s eyes

ZAY AL ASAL
‘LIKE HONEY'
Originally sung by Sabah
Composed by Baligh Hamdi

The way I see it:  The song is sung from the perspective of person (originally a woman) who is worldly and has seen much.  She is singing to a man that has surpassed all who have come before him.  Nothing, matters to her but this man, he is like honey to her heart. 

I’ve done a lot, they spread silk on the floor for me
And I’ve seen a lot, but never never like my love, a prince

I don’t want, I don’t want anyone except him, I don’t want
There is no point, if it’s not him there is no point

From a distance I love him, nearby I love him
Like honey his love fills my heart

If the brought me the high, high moon
And put the stars there for me
I will sing and say, ‘what do I care, what do I care’
I can’t leave my precious love

This moon is my love,
And these stars are my love’s eyes
And what is the world without love, my darling

From a distance I love him, nearby I love him
Like honey his love fills my heart

EHDOON AL AYAM/ OHDOON AL AYAM 
'EMBRACE THE DAY'
Originally sung by Warda Al Jazzaeriah
Composed by Baligh Hamdi

The way I see it: The song starts off telling about the tempting sweetness of love.  When the rhythm kicks up, the lyrics show how the tides changed and that love has burned us instead.  The verse in the second rhythm change  laments how, with loving we bring this pain onto ourselves, then shifts and asks that god compensate lovers for their suffering and the very last crescendo the singer and chorus declare that god will make things well again. 

They made us taste honey
In sugar they melted us 

And after we loved them 
And after we pleased them

They drenched us with bitterness 
And sold us cheaply
Sold us  sold us

Oh by our hands Oh we burn 

When we are plagued with love
We are plagued with their forgetting and our love ends
But right when tomorrow comes
May god compensate us 

God compensate us
The world is still well
God compensate us

ALF LEYLA WA LEYLA
'A THOUSAND AND ONE NIGHTS'
Originally Sung by Oum Kolthoum 
Composed by Baligh Hamdi

The way I see it: A classic and epic love poem sung originally by a woman to her lover. It is important to note that the word ‘hawa’ in Arabic means wind/weather but also love.  I’ve chosen to translate it as wind, but as a metaphor for love. 

Oh my love, oh my love
The night and it’s sky
And it’s stars and the moon
And the moon it is sleepless 
And you and me

Oh my love, (and) I
Oh my life, (and) I
All of us, all of us in love together

And the wind 
Oh from/by the wind
The wind is sleepless and quenches us with sweetness 
and tells us of tenderness

Oh my love, let’s live
By the eyes of the night, let’s live
By the eyes of the night
By the stars and the sun, let’s live

We will tell the sun
Come, come oh my sun, come
Come, come, beauty, come (but)
After a year 
Not for another year

By the night my love is beautiful
For a thousand and one nights
For a thousand and one nights
For a thousand and one nights 

In all my life they say 
What is life but a night like this night
Like this night!