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English
Translation
A Woman's War Song
[Women and men chant several times:
Woman, Life, Liberty! 1]
Our night's passcode
The dark downing of our Mahsa 4
Is the dawn of a hundred Nedas5
Sing! Let a woman's song fill the town!
Make this land our homeland again!6
A nightghost frequenting the streets
knocks on the door, "Your turn!"
It's my brother, my stronghold7
A bright shade tree
His running, his broad chest
Is my safe sanctuary
They're flogging the bystanders
Blood of my blood, tired souls
Let him go! Land your lash
At my heart!
As the world becomes a song
Give me a chance 7
To kiss him a kiss of blood
As he enters the hall of the slain!8
She preps by tying up her hair9
Wow! What a fierce fighter!
They slew every single crime-teller
Why should we leave?10
Stay put! Take back our country
Make the tyranny lose its breath11
Sing! Let a woman's song fill the town!
Make this land our homeland again!12
- 1. A central slogan in current protests in Iran
- 2. Normal font lines are song by a group of men
- 3. Religious rulers of Iran usually begin their speech with "in the name of God". Protestors distinguish themselves by beginning with the name of those killed in the protests
- 4. Mahsa (zhina) Amini, a young Iranian Kurd girl, died after spending a couple of hours in 'morality police' detention on 16 September 2022 // https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death_of_Mahsa_Amini
- 5. Neda Agha-Soltan was a young woman killed by direct shooting during 2009 election protests in Iran // https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Killing_of_Neda_Agha-Soltan
- 6. bold lines are sung both women and men
- 7. a. b. Italic lines are sung by a group of women
- 8. Lit. becomes eternal
- 9. A short video of a young woman tying up her hair to get ready for a nightly confrontation with the police became a symbol of current Iranian protests. See the video @ 1:30
- 10. The former ruler of Iran, Mohammad Reza Shah, once said "Any Iranian who doesn't like us, should use his passport and leave this country". Some new rulers of Iran and their acolytes repeat this famous saying. The line might refer to that sentence.
- 11. The original sentence seems equivocal in Persian. It could literally mean either "take the breath out of (i.e. suffocate) their cruelty' or 'let their cruelty give you (more) breath [to continue fighting].
- 12. Bold lines are sung both by men and women
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Comments
Russia is waging a disgraceful war on Ukraine. Stand With Ukraine!
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I use slightly modified Persian orthography in my translations.