Fairouz and Ziad – the perfect duo

This book is dedicated to the wonderful and exceptional duo of 2 musical geniuses: Fairouz- one of the biggest and most popular singers in the middle east, and her son Ziad Rahbani- lyricsist, composer, pianist, playwright, and political commentator.

A mother and her son? What could a duo like this possibly create together?

The answer is: Some of the biggest hits in the Arab world since the moment they were released and until today.

In this book, I’m going to present 3 amazing collaborations between Fairouz and her son Ziad. I will provide the lyrics and explain their interesting stories and backgrounds.

Starting off with their first ever collaboration:

“Sa’alouny El Nas”

Lyrics (in English)- The People Asked Me

The people have asked me about you, my darling

They’ve written letters and the wind took them

It’s not easy for me to sing, my darling

When for the first time, we are not together

The people asked me about you, they asked me

I said “he’s coming back, don’t you dare blame me”

I closed my eyes fearing that the people would see me hiding you in my eyes (meaning she’s thinking about him and caring for him)

And then the wind blew, and it made me cry

For the first time, we are not together

He appeared in the night and said “light my way”

“The night found me and put out my lamp”

“Don’t ask me how I found you”

“My heart was my guide to you”

“He who has suffered in longing has truly suffered”

For the first time, we are not together

Quick background:

This collab was created in 1972 when Assi Rahbani (Fairouz’s husband) got very sick and was hospitalized while Fairouz was performing in the play “The Station”.

Assi’s brother, Mansour Rahbani saw Fairouz’s pain and sorrow because of her husband’s absence for the first time and wrote the lyrics to this song.

Ziad was only 17 years old at that time when he composed this song, surprising everyone with his talent.

The song became a massive hit right after its release, but surprisingly, someone didn’t really like it so much; Assi Rahbani. He thought that his family have used his absence and sickness to make this song, so he felt raged and decided to delete it, but later took back his decision because of how popular it was and how much the people loved it.

After Assi’s death, Fairouz sang this song one more time, and she cried while singing “for the first time, we are not together”. And until this day, this song is still considered an honoring for their love story.

The second song is one of the most important songs in both Fairouz and Ziad’s careers:

“Kifak Inta”

Lyrics (in English)- How Are You

Do you remember the last time I saw you that year?

Do you remember then the last word you said?

And I didn’t see you after

And now I see you

How are you?

Do you remember the last night we spent together?

Do you remember there was someone you were upset by

That was my mother

She worries about me

From you

How are you? They’re saying you now have children

I swear I thought you were out of the country

Why do I care about the country?

God bless the children

How are you?

It comes to my mind

Getting back together

You are my right one

Getting back together

Me and you

Do you remember the last time what you told me?

“Stay if you want, you can leave if you want”

I got upset at the time

And didn’t realize

That you are you

You come to my mind

Despite the children and people

You are essential

And fundamentally I love you

I love you

Quick background:

A lot of people assumed this song to be a letter to a former lover, while in fact it was Fairouz’s actual words that she said to her son Ziad, when she saw him for the first time after he returned to the country.

Ziad and his lover Dalal broke up and she left the country, but he still loved her deeply, so he decided to run after her and win her back, but he didn’t tell anyone that he was leaving or when he’s returning.

Ziad and Dalal got married and had kids, and then returned to Lebanon.

Fairouz and Ziad accidentaly met in public while he was walking with a friend. and the lyrics to this song are her actual words that she said to him when they met.

Ziad got inspired by her words and used them to write the lyrics to this song. He recorded the song in his voice on tape and presented it to Fairouz, who sat there and listened in silence. “what should we do about this one?” was her reaction.

It took Ziad 4 whole years to convince his mother to record the song. When she finally did and the song got released, it instantly became a bestseller and a record breaker, and until today, it’s still one of the most popular songs in the middle east.

Third and last song that I’m going to present is and always will be a crowd’s favorite:

“El Bosta”

Lyrics (in English)- The Bus

Fated

With your eyes I’m fated

And oh I’ve crossed for them so many

villages and barren lands

Your eyes are black

And you don’t know

What they do to me

The black eyes

Upon the rumbling of the bus

that was taking us

From the village of Himlaya to the village of Tanourine

I remembered you, Alya

And I remembered your eyes

And damn your eyes

Oh Alya, how beautiful are they!

We were out on the trip

in this killer heat and we were dead tired

One [passenger] was eating lettuce

while the other was eating figs

There was a man with his wife

And oh how ugly was his wife

oh how lucky they are

how clear their minds are

the passengers going to Tanourine

They don’t know your eyes,

Oh Alya, they are so beautiful

We were out on the trip

Paying nothing

At a moment we would [try to] hold the door closed

Another moment we would try to calm the passengers

And the man who was with his wife..

on his shoulders his wife passed out

I swear to you he would have left her

to go out alone to Tanourine

if he had seen your eyes, oh Alya,

And how beautiful they are

Quick background:

Written and composed by Ziad Rahbani, it wasn’t originally planned to be sung by Fairouz, but it was actually made especially for a play. Assi Rahbani (Fairouz’s husband) heard it and loved it, and he wanted to buy it from his son and give it to Fairouz to sing, so Ziad sold it to him for 500 Lebanese Lira.

When Fairouz performed this song for the first time at a concert in Paris, it caused a lot of chaos and rage between the audience and the press, claiming that the song encourages cheating and unfaithful marriage.

Ziad then commented on the matter defending his song. He said that the lyrics are simple and smooth and inspired by real life.

We have now reached the end of this book. I hope that it was interesting to everyone who read it!

As amazing as these 3 songs sound, they are still just a very small part of Fairouz and Ziad’s careers, and it wasn’t the end of their collaborations, but there are still so many great songs, each of them hiding a secret component that mesmerizes everyone who listens.

I’ll now leave you with the curiousity to listen 🙂