Reflections on listening, houses, Zay El Asal - and a translation
On July 13th I had the opportunity to perform with Nibal Malshi, Victor Ghannam, Amina Goodyear and Susu Pampanin at Karen Barbee’s Project Band “performahearsal” weekend in San Antonio (Project Band is Karen’s 12-month performance improvisation workshop). I was looking forward to it, because these are all great musicians I have worked with before. This performance, and reflecting on it later, occasioned a lot of thought about what it means to know your music.
I was not at all sure what was going to happen when I stepped on stage, a liberating yet risky feeling that I have come to love, and as it turns out the band played Sabah’s 1972 classic Zay El Asal. But I can’t imagine an approach to this song more different from the original, with its driving rhythm and mizmars, than the one I experienced that night. It started with a short vocal improvisation by Nibal and went right into the first verse, which was sung basically a cappella. In a situation like this, what can you do other than be present and listen? Another case where if you know the music well, you will be ok, no matter how drastically the arrangement changes.
Original recording by Sabah
I had never performed to this song or worked on it for a performance before, but I certainly knew it intimately by that night. I had just taught a workshop on this song and Batwanes Beek that same afternoon with the same musicians. I already knew the song pretty well before I started preparing the workshop material, but I really looked closely into the structure of it so that I could both present it to other dancers and know exactly how I wanted to bring the musicians into talking about the song.
The structure is not complicated, a short musical introduction, three vocal verses with completely different moods, two short musical “bridges”- (the second musical section is a restatement of the introductory one, and the third is a complete change)- with each of the three vocal sections ending in a repeating refrain. It was created by the dream duo of composer Beligh Hamdi and lyricist Mohamed Hamza, who brought us so many other excellent songs like Zay El Hawa, El Ayoun El Soud, Gana El Hawa, and Ayoun Baheyya, to name just a few of their collaborations for different singers.
The first thought that entered my mind as I watchedthe video for the first time was of rooms in a house. When you are in your house, no matter what room you are in, you know how to get to any other rooms in the house. You are never lost and you have a sense of safety and security, because you know your house so intimately. It is the same feeling when you know your music inside and out. I mean, safety and security also came from my trust in the musicians and the history between us, and so that alone goes a long way towards a good outcome. But I knew that no matter how the song unfolded, I would not be lost so I could just focus on listening and being present. There are many other metaphors that could be used, but for some reason the image of rooms in a house came to me.
I was happy enough with how this performance went, and I cherish the memory of being held and supported by Nibal’s beautiful voice. Naturally, I noted things that I could have done differently- it is hard to completely turn off the critical eye. On subsequent viewings, cool things that the musicians and Nibal did jumped out to my ear, like unexpected ornamentations and accents, that I didn’t always catch in the moment, despite my intense focus on listening. Learning to catch those fleeting opportunities while they are happening in real time is some advanced level work. But what I really took away from this performance was the feeling that I could trust myself and the music, and the wonderful feeling of sharing those moments in space and time with the musicians. For good measure, here is the translation I did for the workshop.
Zay El Asal (Like Honey) زي العسل
‘Abelt kiteer- farashouli ‘ashani el ard hareer
I met so many…they covered the ground with silk for me
قابلت كتير… فرشوا لي عشاني الأرض حرير
Wa shouft kiteer- wa ma shouftesh zay habibi amir
And I saw so many…I never saw a prince like my love
وشفت كتير… وما شفتش زي حبيبي أمير
Manish rayda, manish rayda illa houwa manish rayda
I don’t want, I don’t want anyone other than him
مانيش رايدة… ومانيش رايدة الا هو مانيش رايدة
Mafish fayda, mafish fayda illa houwa ma fish fayda
And there is no use, no use for anyone other than him
مانيش فايدة… مافيش. فايدة الا هو مافيش فايدة
Fil boa’d, asha’a….fil ‘orb, asha’a
I love him when he is far, I love him when he is near
في البعد عاشقاه… في القرب عاشقاه
Zay el ‘asal, ‘ala ‘albi hawa
His love is sweet as honey to my heart
زي العسل… على قلبي هواه
Min soghrena wa ehna benibny ash’ena ma’badena
We’ve been building our nest together since we were young
من صغرنا واحنا بنبني عشنا مع بعضنا
Min hobbena, bit’allem el tir minnena el hawa zayyena
The birds learned how to love, from our love
من حبنا يتعلم الطير مننا الهوى زينا
Wa kaberna wa el hawa keber, wala had fi el dunya ‘eder
We grew up and our love grew with us, and no one in the world
وكبرنا والهوى كبر ولأحد في الدنيا قدر
Yefarra’na, walaw leila, di ‘essetna, ‘essa taweela
Can separate us, even for a night- that’s our story, it’s a long one
يفرقنا ولو ليلة دي قصتنا قصة طويلة
Fil boa’d, asha’a….fil ‘orb, asha’a
I love him when he is far, I love him when he is near
في البعد عاشقاه… في القرب عاشقاه
Zay el ‘asal, ‘ala ‘albi hawa
His love is sweet as honey to my heart
زي العسل… على قلبي هواه
Law gabou el ‘amar, min el ‘aali, el ‘aali
If they brought me the moon from on high,
لو جابوا القمر من العالي العالي
Wa el nogoum, hatouha ‘alashani
And handed me the stars
والنجوم حطوها على شاني
Rah arod wa a’oul, wa ana mali wa ana mali
I’ll answer and say, what’s that to me [what do I care]?
رح رد وأقول وأنا مالي وأنا مالي
Ma ‘adarsh aseeb habibi el ghali
I can’t ever leave my precious love
ما أقدرش أسيب حبيبي الغالي
Da el ‘amar, houwa habibi
My love, he is the moon
دا القمر هو حبيبي
Wa el nogoum, di ayoun habibi
And the stars are his eyes
والنجوم دي عيون حبيبي
El dunya deya heyya habibi
My love is the whole world
الدنيا ديا هي حبيبي
Fil boa’d, asha’a….fil ‘orb, asha’a
I love him when he is far, I love him when he is near
في البعد عاشقاه… في القرب عاشقاه
Zay el ‘asal, ‘ala ‘albi hawa
His love is sweet as honey to my heart
زي العسل… على قلبي هواه