Pomegranate

شلشل عليه الرمان...
النومي فزعلي...
هذا الحلو ما اريده...
ودوني لاهلي...
جم دوب اظل ملهوف...
واكعد بدربه...
لا مر عليه وفات...
ولا انكسرقلبه...
يا يمه لا تنظرين ...
بطلي النطارة...
ما جوز انا من هواي ...
وماكو كل جاره...
ما طول شال الزين ...
شيلو يا اهلنه ...
وماجابلين الدار ...
شنهو شغلنه

When we were young pomegranates were tricky, the skins hard to peel, the centre separated into zillions of small pouches surrounded by bitter pith, the edible droplet like seeds fragile and liable to soil our hands and clothes, never entirely sure whether to swallow or spit out the white centers, would they like the watermelon seeds block our appendix?

The fruit was so much easier to consume as a juice, either the delicate pink version preferred by the elders, or the cooled thick sweet variety consumed rapidly at the roadside by the sherbet shop across the square from the school.

And now it is good for the heart apparently (and thus worth more money), and of course with walnuts it makes a mean Middle Eastern sweet and sour dish with chicken, but here I digress

The pomegranate tree has engulfed me goes the song
The lemons came to my rescue
I do not want either
Take me back to my people

How long must I wait excitedly
Sitting in his route
He did not pay me a visit
His heart did not break

Mother do not wait
I will not leave my loved one
There is no alternative
So long as the good ones have left
Our people will leave too

Waiting aimlessly
In front of the house

The song is from Baghdadi folklore, sung by Ilham Al Madfai the story behind this apparently relates to the “1914 – 1918 world war” period, during the Othman (“the pomegranates”) occupation of the middle east, the British (“the lemons “) came to the rescue, in the end neither was welcome *.

Maybe the song should be
The orange and the pistachio trees have engulfed me
I do not want either
I just want my people

* http://www.ilhamalmadfai.com
POSTED BY 3EERAQIMEDIC AT 19:04 0 COMMENTS