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Mar. 13, 2005 One of the most beautiful, exotic-sounding Middle Eastern songs I have heard is “Bein N’har Prat Unhar Hidekel” (Between the River Euphrates and the River Tigris). This is a traditional Hebrew song, which is based upon an Arabic song called “Qaduk al-Mayas”. It is very difficult to search the Worldwide Web for Hebrew and Arabic songs, because, of course, unless you have special software at your disposal, you must enter the titles in English letters. There’s a more-or-less agreed-upon way to transcribe Hebrew, but the search becomes much harder with Arabic, where transcriptions vary widely and websites are not as numerous or as well-organized. So far, I haven’t been able to find the Arabic words, but maybe one day! I’ve known the Hebrew version since 1984. I have transcribed the Hebrew lyrics and provided my own translation. There are a couple of small grammatical questions in my mind, but otherwise the transcription and the translation should be 99% correct. The lyrics in Hebrew letters, but without vocalizations (vowel symbols), can be seen at this URL: http://shiron.net/songView.aspx?song_id=633&singer_id=3780&song_title=df57 A gorgeous rendition of the song, sung by Bracha Zephira, a Yemeni Jewish lady, can be heard at this URL: http://jnul.huji.ac.il/dl/music/yom/hsongs.htm The lyrics mention a hoopoe. A hoopoe (Upupa epops) is a kingfisher-like bird with a golden head and breast, and black-and-white stripes on the wings and tail, as in this picture: http://www.birdsireland.com/images/2003/april/hoopoe2.jpg BEIN H’HAR PRAT UNHAR CHIDEKEL (Hebrew Lyrcis) Bein n’har Prat unhár Chidékel, Al hahár mittamér dékel, Uvadékel bein afáv, Tishkón la duchifát zaháv. Tsippór zaháv, úfi, chúgi. Tseí uvakshí li ben zúgi, Uvaashér timtseíhu Kiftí otó vahaviíhu. Ach im ein lach chut hashani, Dabrí shalom el chataní. Ma tagidi lo? Hagidi Nafshí yotséet el yedidí. Imrí lo, “Hagán poreách Naúl hu veéin potéach. Rimón paz sham yesh bein aláv Ach ein mi sheyavrech aláv. Bein n’har Prat unhár Chidékel, Al hahár mittamér dékel, Uvadékel bein afáv, Tishkón la duchifát zaháv. BETWEEN THE EUPHRATES AND THE TIGRIS (Translation) Between the river Euphrates and the river Tigris, On the mountain stands a palm, And on the palm, amidst its leaves, Perches a golden hoopoe. Bird of gold, fly and circle. Go out and find me a husband, And when you find him, Tie him and bring him to me. But if you do not have a purple cord, Say hello to my fiancé. What will you tell him? Tell him My soul goes out to my darling. Say to him, “The flower garden Is locked and there’s no one to open it. A golden pomegranate is there between the branches, But there’s no one to bend the leaves.” Between the river Euphrates and the river Tigris, On the mountain stands a palm, And on the palm, amidst its leaves, Perches a golden hoopoe. ------------ About the author Thomas Keyes: I have written two books: A SOJOURN IN ASIA (non-fiction) and A TALE OF UNG (fiction), neither published so far. I have studied languages for years and traveled extensively on five continents. Email: udikeyes@yahoo.com Comment on this article here! ------------ All articles are EXCLUSIVE to Useless-Knowledge.com and are not allowed to be posted on other websites. ARTICLE THIEVES WILL BE PROSECUTED! |
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