Thursday, December 31, 2020

It's Me ! ... Singing ! ... In Arabic !



I don't usually post videos (especially not of me singing!), so when I posted this one on my social media accounts a couple days ago, I was really shocked and surprised at the overwhelming reception it got. In less than two days on Twitter alone, my little video of me singing a snippet of a popular love song in Arabic was "trending" and was viewed more than 50 thousand times! I certainly didn't expect that.

And then this morning, someone messaged me that my video had been on Saudi TV!!!


I first learned this song more than 40 years ago shortly after I met my husband in Arizona. The original hit song was composed and sung by beloved Saudi singer, the late Talal Maddah. The lyrics come from a poem written by Prince Badr ibn Abdulmohsin Al Saud, one of the most famous poets of Saudi Arabia. The name of the song is "Zaman As Samt," which means "Time of Silence." To hear the song in its entirety sung  by Talal Maddah (with English translation), CLICK HERE.  

For those of you interested in what the lyrics of the song actually mean, such beautiful haunting poetry often doesn't translate well from Arabic to English.  So just the lines that I sing here say something like this -

My lover, oh, my lover
I have engraved your name on my voice
I have engraved it on the wall of time
On the color of the tranquil sky, on the valley
On my death and on my birth
On the color of the tranquil sky
My lover, oh, my lover
I shall spend my life waiting for you
Do not deprive me of your presence
For my life is yours
And so it departs

FYI - I've only ever posted one other video of myself in all these years, and that one was of me explaining why I wasn't allowed to drive in Saudi Arabia, back before women finally achieved that right in June 2018.

Linking to -  OUR WORLD TUESDAY   and  My Corner of the World 

21 comments:

Tom said...

...you are brave!

Marie Smith said...

I loved it. Well done!

Bill said...

Very nice indeed, I love it.

eileeninmd said...

Hello,

Congrats, you have a lovely singing voice. I am glad you included the English lyrics. It is beautiful song. Take care, enjoy your day!

Anonymous said...

Truly beautiful! You sang that song with such feeling!

EricaSta said...

Nice to meet you here on this link party... it's a great pleasure to hear you sing. May I interview you for a Post one day? I love to speak with woman around the World. To give us a voice.

Stay healthy and well.
Heidrun xxx

Naush said...

Hi Susie. Nice to hear you sing in Arabic. We moved from Dubai to Canada, last year and have settled in Toronto. We host a link party every Monday thru till Thursday.
Would love for you to share your post at Meraki Link Party at https://doodlebuddies.net/2020/08/31/meraki-link-party-3/
Much love
Naush

betty-NZ said...

How awesome is that, you're a star!!!! Thanks for sharing. You just never know what might explode on the internet.


I'm so excited to see you at 'My Corner of the World' this week!! Thanks for linking.

PerthDailyPhoto said...

Oh my gosh I can't believe up until three years ago you weren't allowed to drive Susie, still better now than never 😊

PerthDailyPhoto said...

P.s.was excellent to see and hear you singing Susie 💜

Lady Fi said...

I love it!

Sharon said...

This is fantastic. I love it.

Stevenson Q said...

Ok dearest Susie, i wasn;t really scrolling yet when I played your video and honestly, I was swaying my hand and doing beats with claps as you sing! beautiful song, then I read about it trending then saw the TV shot! OMG! I am so proud of you! Well you did really good with the song and it deserves the attention! Love it!

Yogi♪♪♪ said...

That's awesome, you are a celebrity!!

Denton said...

Bravo!

Handmade in Israel said...

This is fabulous! So pleased to have come across your blog. So much to learn about a country I am not familiar with.

Tine de Jong said...

Hello Susie, Now You are very famous 😃 do you post another time a love song again? Best regards of the Netherlands.

magiceye said...

Wow! Well done!

Spare Parts and Pics said...

Congratulations, and I enjoyed seeing you sing. I guess this is what they call your 15 minutes of fame? Although in your case, it's lasting more than 15 minutes, which is very cool!

Pisi Prkl said...

Everyone will be famous for 15 minutes. -Andy Warhol-

I guess it´s your time. Enjoy! :)

Gattina said...

That's about the only word I still remember in arabic "habibi" I knew a few more which I used daily in Egyptn but I have forgotten !
What happened to your date you are in advance I read December 30 !! today is the 11th ! How is life oveer there ? Do you also have this nice Coronavirus ? We live our second lockdown and Christmas will be very sad ! Only one person allowed to invite !!