Hidden Treasures: Tino Favazza & The Oriental Roots Orchestra

I don't think I have enjoyed opera as much as I have enjoyed this.... every note just lifts your spirit

Italian

Caruso

Qui dove il mare luccica e tira forte il vento
su una vecchia terrazza davanti al golfo di Surriento
un uomo abbraccia una ragazza dopo che aveva pianto
poi si schiarisce la voce e ricomincia il canto.
Te voglio bene assaie
ma tanto tanto bene sai
h una catena ormai
che scioglie il sangue dint'e vene sai.
Vide le luci in mezzo al mare pensr alle notti l` in America
ma erano solo le lampare e la bianca scia di un' elica
senti il dolore nella musica si alzr dal pianoforte
ma quando vide la luna uscire da una nuvola
gli sembrr dolce anche la morte
guardr negli occhi la ragazza quegli occhi verdi come il mare
poi all'improvviso uscl una lacrima e lui credette di affogare.
Te voglio bene assaie
ma tanto tanto bene sai
h una catena ormai
che scioglie il sangue dint'e vene sai.
Potenza della lirica dove ogni dramma h un falso
che con un po' di trucco e con la mimica puoi diventare un altro
ma due occhi che ti guardano cosl vicini e veri
ti fan scordare le parole confondono i pensieri
cosl diventa tutto piccolo anche le notti l` in America
ti volti e vedi la tua vita come la scia di un'elica
ma sl h la vita che finisce ma lui non ci pensr poi tanto
anzi si sentiva gi` felice e ricomincir il suo canto.
Te voglio bene assaie
ma tanto tanto bene sai
h una catena ormai
che scioglie il sangue dint'e vene sai

English

Caruso

Here, where the sea shines and the wind blows
on an old terrace on the Sorrent gulf
a man hugs a girl, after she had cried
then he clears his voice and begins again to sing.
I love you very much
very very much, you know
it's become a chain
that melts the blood inside the veins, you know
He saw the lights in the middle of the sea and thought about the nights there, in America
but they were just the boats (with lights, used to fish during the night) and the white trail of a propeller
He felt pain in the music and got up from the piano
but when he saw the moon coming out from behind a cloud
even death seemed sweet to him
he looked in the eyes of the girl, those eyes green as the sea
then suddenly a tear slipped out and he thought he was going to drown.
I love you very much
very very much, you know
it's become a chain
the melts the blood inside the veins, you know
Power of lyric, where every drama is fake
and with a bit of make-up and mimic you can become another person
but two eyes, so close and so truthful, looking at you
make you forget the words and confuse your thoughts
so everything becomes small, even the nights there, in America
you turn around and you see your life as a propeller's trail
Yeah, it's life that ends, but he didn't think too much about it
on the opposite, he felt (already) happy and began again to sing
I love you very much
very very much, you know
it's become a chain
that melts the blood inside the veins, you know

ملكٌ لا يعنيني: الرد وردي على الرد

لي في القدس نبضةٌ خافتةٌ،

خفقة عمرٍ،

حفنة صلواتٍ،

زهرة ياسمين،

وصديقة...

صديقتي هذه لا أراها..

لا تسمعني،

لا أنساها...

نتحد فيسبوكياً كل قليل...

صبحيتنا صورٌ منثورة،

وكلامٌ وحروفٌ،

واشارتٌ يتردد صاداها...

لم أخبرك كل هذا؟

وأنت لا تعنيني...

تباً لذاكرةٍ تنسج الحلم،

وتفقدك الوقت والمنطق...

تذكرت...

أخبرك لأن قدسي الصديقه قد قرأت البيان!

وعلمت أنك لا تعنيني...

قدسي الصديقة أجابت

بما كان يجب أنت أن تنسجه،

تحيكه، ترسله، تعنى به...

صديقتي أنت لا تعنيها...

أنا لا أعنيها...

القدس تعنيها القضايا الكبيرة:

الحرية، الحب، والأمل...

قدسي الصديقة إبنة محمود،

ومحمود...كم افتقده،

ينشر العشق،

يرش الغزل...

إعترافي السابق كان صمتاً،

والصمت موتٌ،

وما اعتادت القدس أن تموت،

أراها تقرأ، تكتب،

صديقتي القدسية ترص بعناية الرد والكلمات،

كما ترص الحلوى ليلة الميلاد...

وترسل التالي: 

احقا لا اعنيك؟

يا امراة اشعلت قنديلا في قلب السماء
وانبتت بخطاها زهرا يملأ الارجاء
وعلى ثغرها الباسم ارتاحت شفتاي

ان كنت حقا لا اعنيك،
لم سطرت الحروف بيانا،
وتكلفت كل هذا العناء؟

لا تهربي وراء دفاعاتك
فما بيننا لا يعنيه أي دفاع
تسللت اليك، الى لائحتك المقدسة
علني المس روحك واحلق بها في كل مكان

لا تظلميني وتظلمي الها
تضرعت له أن يحميك من كل بلاء

ما بيننا يا عزيزتي
لا تمحوه ثورة غضب
سرعان ما تتلاشى عند اللقاء

أجل بلا انا اعنيك وانت تعنيني
فسارعي الى تغيير هذا البيان

ن. ج.

 ...هذا ردي على الرد

...من بيروت

...يا صديقة الدرب

،بيانك نطق بما تتوق الروح أن تسمعه

ولا تسمعه

،ردك نطق بما لا يقال

...وما أردته أن يقول

تمنيته فقط أن يعنى قليلا...

ويهتدي إلى ما اشعلت في السماء قنديلا...

قدسي الصديقة...

ما همني السماء،

والأرض باردةٌ...

وما همني زهر الخطى،

ولا خطى نحوي تسير...

لكن رنات أفكارك تهون العسير...

قدسي الصديقة...

قدسي الصديقة...

اعذريني... تاهت الفكرة،

فالهاتف يخفق

رنةً

رنة

قدسي الصديقة...

من فضلك لحظة...

حتى أعود،

ورجاءً اعتذري من الرائع محمود...

كلمةٌ، حرفٌ، سكونٌ

شدة

نفسٌ، توترٌ، جملةٌ،

همسة...

قدسي الصديقة،

ها أنا ذا...أمسك بالقلم،

عدت أبشرك،

بياناتنا يبدو حركت قلباً

في الروح ينبت،

في العقل رسم...

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.

Hidden Treasures: Le Trio Joubran, Magicians from Nazareth, Palestine

ما ظننت يوماً أن الأذن تبكي،

تبتسم، تبتهل تأملاً...

فكل العلوم تقسم أن الأذن تسمع،

وأن العين ترى، وهي التي تدمع...

ما تعلمنا أن الصوت يلمس،

يدغدغ، يمسح جبيننا...
 

 كنت أجهل أن للصوت هوية،

ورائحة الزيتون،

ولون القمح،

و ملمس أجراس الناصرة...

وعمر فلسطين...

كنت...كنت...

صماء...

حتى سمعت الثلاثة...

سمير، وسيم، عدنان...

سحرة العود...

الثلاثي جبران...

 

It never occurred to me that one’s ear cries,

Smiles, prays meditatively,

All science swears that one’s ear listens

One’s eye sees, and it is an eye that sheds tears…

We were never taught that sound strokes,

Tickles, Wipes our forehead…

I was ignorant of sound having an identity,

the scent of olives...

the color of wheat...

the texture of Nazareth’s bells,

and the age of Palestine

I was… I was…
deaf…

Till I heard Three,

Samir, Wassim and Adnan

the Oud magicians,

Le Trio Joubran 

For more hidden treasures click here  

Special thanks go to river, my sister in music for introducing me to these wonderful artists!

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.

ملكٌ لا يعنيني

،أنت لا تعنيني
،لا بل لا يعنيني أنك لا تعنيني
...و لا يعنيني إن كنت تعلم أو لا تعلم أنك لا تعنيني


،لا ترمق كلماتي بهذه النظرات

،ما أنا بممازحة
،أنا لا يعنيني أن أطلق دعابةً
،فأنا أعرف أن الدعابات
،و كل ما يرسم إبتسامةً فوق وجهي

،ويزرع الضحكات في صوتي

...لا يعنيك


...بياني هذا، أيضاً لا يعنيك

،لكنني جادةٌ كل الجدية التي تعنيك
،بأنك لا تعنيني
،و لا أريدك أن تعنيني
،ما يعنيك لا يعنيني


،لا يعنيني أنك لا تعتني إلا بما يعنيك

هل أخبرتك أن ما يعنيك لا يعنيني؟


،ولا يعنيني أن أكثر ما يعنيك

،هو أن تذكرني

 ،توشم ذاكرتي

...بأن ما يعنيني لا يعنيك


،أنت لا تعنيني
و لا يعنيني أن العناية الإلهية التي أؤمن بأنها تعتني بي

  ،لا تعنيك
 ...لأن إلهاً آخر يعنى بك و يعنيك


،لا يعنيني أن عنايتي الإلهية لا تعينني عليك
،و لا تعينني حتى لا تعنيني
،و لا تعينني حتى يصبح ما يعنيني يعنيك
...ويمسي ما يعنيك يعنيني 


،أنت لا تعنيني

،و لا يعنيني أن كلماتي هذه
،الملغمة بحروف العين و الياء و النون
دليل قاطعٌ عبثيٌ رنانٌ
...على أنك تعنيني

تسألني ماذا يعنيني؟
يا لوقاحتك يا من لا تعنيني...

يعنيني أنه رغم محاولاتي
لاثبت أنك لا تعني لي شيئاً...
تسللت إلى لائحتي السرية المقدسة
التي تحوي بعناية،
كل ما يعنيني...

بدأت بتسلقها بنداً، بنداً،
بحنو، بعنف،
تارةً تحشر نفسك بين الأحرف...
و طوراً تدمر بعنجهية الواثق
ما أنت متأكدٌ أنه لا يجب أن يعنيني ...

بندٌ يمحى،
كلمات تذبح...

احتمي وراء دفاعاتي التي لا يعنيها
أن تحميني،
لكنك تتقدم في مجزرتك...
تقدمت حتى كدت أن تعني لي كل شيء...
كدت، اقتربت، وما وصلت...

لا يعنيك أن تصل...

،يعنيني، أكثر ما يعنيني
،أنك أكثر من أريد أن أعنى به

أن اعتني به،
أن يعنيني...

لو أنك...

يا من تتربع ملكاً
على عرش لائحةٍ تعنيني،

تعنى قليلاً،

قليلاً فقط،

بما يعنيني...

كتابة: أمل

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.

10 Things u must CHANGE today!

Well here are we are again! This is another episode if what you can call the  10 series, in which I present 10 things I discover to be interesting, impressive, or inspiring. You can read a previous post from the 10 series here. Now, I have had this post drafted since Oct 15th, but never really had the heart, energy or even the words to finish it until today. I felt there was something missing but with the events that have happened lately: Jeita, Lebanon vs. Korea soccer game, Allouch vs. Shokr's boxing match, university student related incidences and elections, GEW, $32 million paid to STL, power blackouts across Lebanon, MEA strike, and of course the consistent dismissal of citizens rights to a law that protects them against violence, have all left me thinking that this post can not be put off any longer. So here they are, in no particular order, 10 things we can no longer afford to maintain.

1. Ignorance: We can no longer afford not to know. Not nowadays and not anymore! You cannot live in a certain part of the world, and not understand what laws govern it, and how they might impact you. You cannot open a bank account without learning what the regulations and fees required are, purchase a product online without reading the fine print, or marry someone without meeting the family or friends. Since we were all born with the cells, nerves and blood circulation that enables each of us to learn, ignorance is therefore a choice. I firmly believe that you have the right to freely choose anything you want; however, I also believe that your choice is flawed if you have not considered its implications before hand. Ignorance is costly because it results in giving up your free will and ability to decide on your own. Lack of information means that you hand over different aspects of your life to someone else more knowledgeable than you, like a bank, a politician, a firm, an airline, MTCtouch, Alfa, a cab driver, the car dealer and so on and so forth… That’s a lot of people/ organizations controlling what should be YOUR life. You do not need to transform yourself into a Mr. / Mrs. Know_it_all, but at least be aware and constantly search for information and assess its credibility prior to taking or holding back action.

2.  Indifference: There is nothing more irritating than carelessness. You might think that you are only one person, and so you cannot cause a lot of harm or result in any good. But you and I both know that this in not true. Ghandi, Fairuz, John Lenon, and your teacher, each one of those is one person and yet they influenced you and the world in more ways than I can list here. I am not saying that you go on hunger strike, but while simple acts of compassion or consideration cannot cause radical change, they can incrementally make the world around you a little bit better and make you a bit more integrated with your community around you. We are social beings after all, social being derived from society, and therefore it’s simply unnatural to go around disconnecting yourself from what goes around.

3.  Parroting: Parrots are beautiful creatures, but here’s a newsflash: YOU ARE A HUMAN BEING! Which means you have brain cells that can accumulate and analyze information better than any other being out there. So I suggest you use them. If you were intended to repeat everything you have heard or seen without thinking about it or adding value to it, then you would have had two wings and lots of colorful feathers, living in the amazons or in someone's living room eating crackers. Successful people are those who add value, to everything they do, but especially to things they say. Words travel fast, and are used to judge your character often.  It is crucial then that you understand the importance of thinking about what to say and when to say it before you say it. Repetition is a great tool for memorizing, but what future employers, employees, even life partners are looking for is someone who can think for his/herself, has valuable input to share and can contribute to positive change instead of repeat and mimic inherent ideologies and concepts.

 

4. Tautness and Conformity: Adhering to the rulebook and implementing policy and procedure to a T, without questioning them, breeds nothing but underdeveloped capacity. Because only through questioning, discovering, exploring and exposing yourself to people, cultures and concepts beyond your comfort zone will you learn and improve. You think you are just being a good citizen, student or employee, or you might be too scared or too indifferent to rock the boat, but what you are really doing is building your own cage by limiting yourself and settling for conditions that are either unjust or at best, in severe need of improvement. Remember: "The hope of a secure and livable world lies with disciplined nonconformists who are dedicated to justice, peace and brotherhood." Martin Luther King, Jr.

5. Making fun of others: No one cares if you are a celebrity judge on Celebrity Duets, and no one cares in what context, whether funny haha, a wink or a simple hand gesture; making fun of people, regardless of their condition, reflects nothing but poor taste and cruelty. Making a habit of such a behavior turns the human soul mean, disrespectful and borderline racist. Now, if you do not care about your image, or your personal development as an individual, then you better at least worry about Karma, because it does not play nice with bad boys and girls.