Vimto12
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Translation
Smell the Jasmine
Smell the jasmine
Taste the molasses
And remember to remember me
Brother don't forget me
My love, my prize
I would have liked to keep you near me
Introduce you to my parents, have you crown my heart
Cook your food, sweep your home
Spoil your kids, be your housewife
But you're in your house, and I'm in another house
God, I wish I had never let you go
Smell the jasmine
And remember to forget me
Mashrou’ Leila: Top 3
| 1. | اننى منيح (Inni Mnih) |
| 2. | شم الياسمين (Shim el Yasmine) |
| 3. | فساتين (Fasateen) |
Comments
Vimto12
Sun, 18/11/2012 - 11:52
danliofer
Sat, 23/02/2013 - 00:52
Thank you for your reply. Just the word "brother" is a bit intriguing there :-) So, is there brother in the original Arabic text? Would a loving woman call her beloved "brother" in the Arabic context?... Yes, the Middle East has been changing fast but still some traditions remain, don´t they? :-)
m.habib.turki
Mon, 30/09/2013 - 09:49
Because it is not supposed to be sang by a woman, the M.E. is in indeed changing , it's a gay song !
danliofer
Sun, 24/02/2013 - 03:22
Clearer now. :-) Otherwise it wouldn´t make much sense to me. Can I ask how it is with gay relationships in the Middle East at the moment? As I know in some Arabic countries, coming out can be pretty dangerous if not just self-excluding from the society. I am going to watch one Palestinian movie on that theme soon...
danliofer
Mon, 25/02/2013 - 04:10
I can imagine the misinterpretation. If even in some European countries, it is still a sort of tricky issue. Do you know then how was this song publicly accepted in Lebanon? You said Lebanon was more liberal on this subject. To which extent? Recently, I have seen an Iranian movie where they (the imams) rather supported homosexuals to have transsexual surgery than to lead sort of gay life. Pretty tough...
hafsa.kamous
Sat, 02/03/2013 - 05:41
For the translation (11th line)
والله يا ريتك ما بعمرك فليت
=>God, I wish I had never let you go (subject: I)
I think a more accurate translation would be:
=>God, I wish you never left (subject: you)
Thanks a lot :)
hafsa.kamous
Tue, 05/03/2013 - 04:14
I think you can. Your welcome ;)
hafsa.kamous
Wed, 06/03/2013 - 03:36
There is indeed. It is comparable, in my point of view, to the difference between a wish (nothing you can do about it) and a regret (resulting from an action or the lack of action).
hafsa.kamous
Wed, 06/03/2013 - 03:59
Other minor points:
5th line:
يا حبيبي يا نصيبي
is translated into : My love, my prize.
While نصيبي means my share, the share it is destined for me to receive (by God)
Muslims believe ALLAH wrote everything we experience and get in life way before we were born in a book. And this is our destiny. There is a dichotomy of choice and absence of choice though depending on the situations.).
So it might be more accurate to translate it into: My love, my destiny.
_____
9th line:
دلع ولادك أعمل ست بيتك
Spoil your kids, be your housewife
It is litterally :
Spoil your kids, do your housewife
And I imagine it means:
Spoil your kids, play the role of your housewife (some argue that the song describes a homosexual relationship.)
By the way, the song "the girl with the jacket" criticize how people see a homosexual or a girl dressing in a manly way)
_______
اليسمينة
The jasmine (Title) : in singular, and it is feminine noun
(just in case it has a particular meaning or indication, maybe somebody who is middle eastern or Lebanese could explain it to us)
=> Sorry, I can go on for hours about translations and never get bored :p
danliofer
Wed, 06/03/2013 - 21:27
No problem at all! :-) It´s the same with me and talking about languages and comparative linguistics :-) Those minor points seem to be pretty major. It seems to me like filing a diamond. Each facet can cast better light on the core of the story. Btw. changing dresses is a part of any culture during certain occasions like carnivals as an exchange gender roles... Probably only the author knows what he wanted to say. Without his explanation, it is just provoking our imagination :-) and that is called art :-)
hafsa.kamous
Thu, 07/03/2013 - 05:14
You're right. Mystery makes the package a lot more intriguing and appealing. This reminds me of a movie critic talking about one of Spielberg movies and saying that not handing all the answers to the audience makes a good movie (I totally agree).
PS: The diamond metaphor is a very good one :)
PS: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CAKS3rdYTpI
danliofer
Fri, 08/03/2013 - 02:34
Oh, thank you a lot for this link. I like Terry Gilliam. I adore his 12 Monkeys. And what he says about holocaust quoting Kubrik is just awesome. A bit of concealed makes one think and ask questions though he can get many (even contradictory) answers but then he can at least decide what is closer to his life philosophy, to his nature...
hafsa.kamous
Sun, 10/03/2013 - 05:33
Exactly, it makes you own the movie by relating it to yourself.
It was my pleasure ;)
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