full song lyrics

We've translated many an Arabic folk song here on the blog performed by various artists, but the discussion on this song is so massive and the versions so numerous that it deserves its own post. "Fog al-Nakhel (فوق النخل)" is one of the most famous Arabic songs. It originated in Iraq and quickly spread throughout the Arabic world with the advent of radio and television. One of the earliest versions was performed by Nazem al-Ghazali, but there are others by Sabah Fakhri, Ilham al-Madfai, Kazem el-Saher and many others. Of course, the verses seem to be infinite. I've always tried to understand the song, which eventually led me to discussion forums discussing the lyrics and meaning. That's when I discovered the open secret that the lyrics are not actually فوق النخل, or "above the palm trees," but rather فوق إلنا خل, ie "I've got a friend above/up there" however you want to translate it. According to a discussion among posters in this forum her...

This is a song about a guy flirting with a very pretty girl who is flirting back by rejecting him arrogantly Nazem al-Ghazali - Coming Out of Her Father's House Coming out of her father's house on her way to the neighbor's house She passed by and didn't say hi to me Perhaps this pretty girl is upset I told her, "my dear, give me some water I'm thirsty" She said, "go away you poor boy, our water does not quench the thirsty" I told her "my dear, then show me your height" (meaning her pretty stature) She told me "go away my poor boy, my height is a branch of basile" (I know this makes sense, I can't figure out how to translate it a way that makes sense. Basile was once warn by women as a perfume, although less so today, in Arabia. This line means she is tall, pretty and sweet, and not for him) I told her "my dear, then show me your eyes" She told me "go away my poor boy, my eyes are as pretty as the gazelle...