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...

The song "Al Rozana (ع الروزانا)" is a folk song native to the region of the Levant or بلاد الشام, ie Syria, Lebanon, and Palestine. The story behind it is that at the height of the intense wheat famine that the region experienced at the beginning of the 20th century, and Italian ship called "The Rosanna" was said to have been sent carrying food to the starving population of the Levant. Everybody was waiting in anticipation for the ship's arrival, but when it finally landed as the story goes in the song, it was carrying nothing but apples and grapes, on of the foods that the region was actually overflowing with at that time. The people cursed the ship for this reason. Here are the lyrics. Oh the Rosanna, the Rosanna, everything good is inside her What has the Rosanna done? God punish her! Oh the Rosanna the Rosanna, all happiness is inside her What has the Rosanna done? God punish her Hey you who are going to Aleppo, my love went with you Hey you who are carryin...

This is a song from the folklore of Syria. A howdah is a large saddle for a camel or elephant that has a carriage to protect the passenger (see photo). I don't actually know the story of the song, but it seems like a girl was kidnapped while riding on a camel. As to the specifics, in Syrian and Turkish folk songs, Ottoman soldiers kidnapping women is a theme that comes up from time to time, and that would be my guess as to the idea of the song. This main verse is the core of the song but of course there are usually additional verses that vary. Anyone who happens to have additional information that would be greatly appreciated. Sabah Fakhri - Under Her Howdah Under her howdah While we fought Swords were drawn Oh woe is me Oh woe is me They took my love and went north They went afar, went afar How can I fly when I have no wings صباح فخري - تحت هودجها(يا ويل حالي) تحت هودجها وتعالجنا صار سحب سيوف ياويل حالي ياويل .... ياويل حالي أخذو حبي وراحو شمالي راحوا لبعيد .... لبعيد راحوا كيف ب...