History behind an Arabic song
The song has been linked to the Naksa and all the losses that came with it of lives, morals, and land. Yet it still carries in its essence the unconditional love of a mother
Published: 04:06 PM,Jun 12,2024 | EDITED : 04:06 PM,Jun 14,2024
On June 5th, the Arab world commemorated the 57th anniversary of the Nasksa (setback) or what’s known to the world as the six days war or the war of 1967. Being a sentimental nation, we always link it with a song that wasn’t even written for the occasion.
The song is called Oulu Li Ain El-Shams (Tell the sun’s eye) by Egyptian singer and actress Shadia (1931-2017) who combined looks and talent that earned her the nickname of “The Silver Screen’s Sweetheart”.
But what’s the history behind it? The opening verse of the song: “Tell the sun’s eye not to heat / As my beloved is walking early morning” comes from Egyptian folklore with three stories about its origins. The first says that it comes from the time when Suez Canal was being built by the French (1859-1869) and was sung by Egyptian village mothers following their children who were being led by soldiers for forced labour. The second links it to the Denshawai Incident in 1906 where five British soldiers went pigeon hunting in a village. When the villagers tried to stop them, the soldiers opened fire killing a woman and injuring four men. The soldiers fled the scene and one died of a heat stroke. Hence, some linked his death with the occurrence of the song.
The last story is also linked to the incident where after the unfair trial led by the minister of justice Boutros Ghali, four villagers were hanged for murdering the dead soldier which stirred the Egyptians’ nationalism and anti-colonialism feelings against the British. In 1910, a young man called Ibrahim El Wardani assassinated Boutros Ghali and was to be executed publicly. There were public demonstrations where it was prohibited to mention Ibrahim’s name openly. As he was led to the gallows early in the morning, those who were attending started singing: “Tell the sun’s eye not to heat / As the earth’s dearest is walking early in the morning.”
Fast-forward to the start of the 1960s, when Egyptian music genius Baligh Hamdi decided to revive folklore music heritage and travels throughout the country gathering songs. He comes across the famous verse and decides to turn it into a complete song. He composes the music and then meet his multi talented friend Majdi Najeeb — who was a poet, a writer, and a painter — and asks him to add lyrics to the given verse and music composition, which was Herculean task as Najeeb didn’t have much to work with. However, he succeeds in composing lyrics that reflect the love and suffering of mothers helplessly watching their children being taken away.
The second verse that Najeeb composes is: “Oh pigeons! fly before him now / And turn the sun rays into silk.” Baligh’s choice for the singer wasn’t welcomed by many at the time as Shadia had a mature voice that many critics didn’t appreciate and openly published articles asking her to retire, deeming her voice “unrecognisable”. Nevertheless, Shadia succeeds in reflecting a mother’s sadness and loss, especially in the second verse where her voice resembles a heart-wrenching wail. The song was aired in 1966 and the year after the Naksa happened. The Israelis — with their twisted sense of humour that we Arabs are plagued with — decide to gloat in their own way by re-airing the song to the Egyptians with changed lyrics: “Tell the sun’s eye not to heat / As the Egyptian army is walking early.” Since that time, the song has been linked to the Naksa and all the losses that came with it of lives, morals, and land. Yet it still carries in its essence the unconditional love of a mother.
The writer is the author of The World According to Bahja. rashabooks@yahoo.com
The song is called Oulu Li Ain El-Shams (Tell the sun’s eye) by Egyptian singer and actress Shadia (1931-2017) who combined looks and talent that earned her the nickname of “The Silver Screen’s Sweetheart”.
But what’s the history behind it? The opening verse of the song: “Tell the sun’s eye not to heat / As my beloved is walking early morning” comes from Egyptian folklore with three stories about its origins. The first says that it comes from the time when Suez Canal was being built by the French (1859-1869) and was sung by Egyptian village mothers following their children who were being led by soldiers for forced labour. The second links it to the Denshawai Incident in 1906 where five British soldiers went pigeon hunting in a village. When the villagers tried to stop them, the soldiers opened fire killing a woman and injuring four men. The soldiers fled the scene and one died of a heat stroke. Hence, some linked his death with the occurrence of the song.
The last story is also linked to the incident where after the unfair trial led by the minister of justice Boutros Ghali, four villagers were hanged for murdering the dead soldier which stirred the Egyptians’ nationalism and anti-colonialism feelings against the British. In 1910, a young man called Ibrahim El Wardani assassinated Boutros Ghali and was to be executed publicly. There were public demonstrations where it was prohibited to mention Ibrahim’s name openly. As he was led to the gallows early in the morning, those who were attending started singing: “Tell the sun’s eye not to heat / As the earth’s dearest is walking early in the morning.”
Fast-forward to the start of the 1960s, when Egyptian music genius Baligh Hamdi decided to revive folklore music heritage and travels throughout the country gathering songs. He comes across the famous verse and decides to turn it into a complete song. He composes the music and then meet his multi talented friend Majdi Najeeb — who was a poet, a writer, and a painter — and asks him to add lyrics to the given verse and music composition, which was Herculean task as Najeeb didn’t have much to work with. However, he succeeds in composing lyrics that reflect the love and suffering of mothers helplessly watching their children being taken away.
The second verse that Najeeb composes is: “Oh pigeons! fly before him now / And turn the sun rays into silk.” Baligh’s choice for the singer wasn’t welcomed by many at the time as Shadia had a mature voice that many critics didn’t appreciate and openly published articles asking her to retire, deeming her voice “unrecognisable”. Nevertheless, Shadia succeeds in reflecting a mother’s sadness and loss, especially in the second verse where her voice resembles a heart-wrenching wail. The song was aired in 1966 and the year after the Naksa happened. The Israelis — with their twisted sense of humour that we Arabs are plagued with — decide to gloat in their own way by re-airing the song to the Egyptians with changed lyrics: “Tell the sun’s eye not to heat / As the Egyptian army is walking early.” Since that time, the song has been linked to the Naksa and all the losses that came with it of lives, morals, and land. Yet it still carries in its essence the unconditional love of a mother.
The writer is the author of The World According to Bahja. rashabooks@yahoo.com