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PHOTO CREDIT: Above photo by John Rickman Photography, San Jose, California. |
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Ana fi Inta Zahark
(I'm Waiting for You)
This page contains a translation into English of the song lyrics for "Ana Fi Intizarak". Also included is a transliteration into the Roman alphabet of the original Arabic lyrics. This song was popularized by Oum Kalthoum. Sometimes the title is written as "Ana F'entezarak", "Anna Fintizarak", or "Ana Fe Entezarak".
Lyrics: Mahmoud Biram Altounisi
Music: Zakaria A'hmad
Oum Kalthoum was born in 1904 and died in 1975. She was unquestionably the most gifted singer and musician of the 20th century in the Middle East. She was continuously popular for over 50 years and her songs are still played nightly on any number of Arabic-language radio stations. Oum Kalthoum is one of four vocalists who have achieved legendary status in Egyptian music. The other three are Farid al-Atrache, Mohammed Abdel Wahab, and Abdel Halim Hafez.
Her name is transliterated many different ways in the Roman alphabet, including Um Kulthum, Om Kalsoum, Umm Kulthoum, Om Kalthoum, Umm Kalsum, Oum Kalthum, Oum Kolthoum, Oum Kaltsoum, and others.
Listen to MP3 Clips of this Song
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Performed by Oum Kalthoum |
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Performed by Cairo Orchestra |
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Performed by Andalus Ensemble |
Lyrics
Note from Shira: Two different transliterations and translations of this song have been contributed to this web site. I have decided to make both available. Song lyrics are poetry, and it can be challenging for a translator to communicate nuances of meaning. By having two translations to use, you can explore two different people's ideas on how to convey these nuances.
- Translation by Nabil Gheith, provided to this web site by Linda Grondahl and Lennie Clark
- Translation provided by Amina Goodyear
Translation by Nabil Gheith, Provided by Linda Grondahl and Lennie Clark
This translation was provided by Linda Grondahl, by way of Lennie Clark's web site. The translator was Nabil Gheith.
Arabic Lyrics |
English Translation |
| Ana fi intee sahark | I'm waiting for you |
| Khalat nary fi dolouiee | I kept my fire inside my ribs |
| Wihattaat edee aa la haddee wi 'adaat | And I put my hand on my cheeks |
| Bil thaniah ghabak wella gait | And counted by seconds your absence, and you never came. |
| Yaraeit---------- | I wish... |
| Yaraeitnee omree ma habbaeit | I wish I never fell in love. |
| Aayza 'aaraf la tikoun | I want to know if you are _____* |
| Ghadhbaan ou shahghil albak insaan | Or if somebody else occupies your heart |
| Hal litnee min yah'see a'oul | From my hopelessness you make me say |
| Il ghbah teegheeb alla toul | The absence will continue forever. |
| Wi afakkar eih illee ganaytoh | And I ask myself, "What did I _____?"* |
| Min thamee ghayrak mah la eit | From my mistake, only you are my problem. |
| Yaraeit---------- | I wish... |
| Yaraeitnee omree ma habbaeit | I wish I never fell in love. |
| At 'alim 'aa la agambre il nar | I anguish on the hot part of the fire. |
| We att sharad wayah il afkar | My brain is unable to concentrate. |
| Il nismah ah sibha khotak | With each breath, I count your ____.* |
| Wil hamsa ah sibha loughtak | With each little letter I count your conversations with me. |
| Alla kida ahsbahat weam seit | I am in this mood morning and night. |
| Wisha founee wi allou it ganaeit | And they saw me and they said I have become insane. |
| Yaraeit---------- | I wish... |
| Yaraeitnee omree ma habbaeit | I wish I never fell in love. |
| Tiou 'adnee bisneen we ayam | You promised me by years and days |
| Wit geenee bi haggag wi kalam | And you came to me with excuses and garbage words |
| Dah kalam! | Those words! |
| Wit salim wit mor | You come and shake my hand and leave quickly |
| Ou tikhlif wit ooul naseen | Or, you don't come and just say, "I forgot." |
| Yaraeit---------- | I wish... |
| Yaraeitnee omree ma habbaeit | I wish I never fell in love. |
* Note from Lennie Clark: This part of lyric not clear on the copy Linda sent, will remedy soon
Translation Provided by Amina Goodyear
This translation was provided by Amina Goodyear in San Francisco, California:
Arabic Lyrics |
English Translation |
| Ana fi intizarak | I'm waiting for you. |
| Khalat nari fi dolouice | I kept my fire inside my ribs. |
| Wi hattaat edee 'alla haddee wi 'adaat | And I put my hand on my cheek |
| Bil saniah ghabak wella gait | And counted by seconds your absence and you never came. |
| Ya reit - Ya reitnee omree ma habeit | I wish - I wish I never fell in love. |
| Aizah 'araf la tikoun | I need to know if you are upset |
| Ghadbaan ow shahghil albak insaam | Or if somebody else occupies your heart |
| Hal liktnee min yah'see aoul | From my hopelessness, you make me say. |
| Il ghbah teegheeb allatoul | The absence will continue forever |
| Wi a fakar eih illee ganaytoh | And I ask myself what did I gain |
| Min zambee ghayrak mah la eit | From my mistake. Only you are my problem |
| Ya reit - Yareitnee omree ma habeit. | I wish - I wish I never fell in love. |
| At 'alim alla gambre il nar | I anguish on the hot part of the fire. |
| Wi att sharad wayak il afkar | My brain is absent from concentration |
| Il nismah ah sibha khotak | With each breath I count your steps |
| Wil hamsa ah sibha khotak | With each little letter I count your conversations with me |
| Alla kida ahshahat weam seit | I am in this mood morning and night. |
| Wisha founee wi allou it ganait | And they saw me and they said I have become insane. |
| Ya reit - Yareitnee omree ma habeit | I wish - I wish I never fell in love. |
| Tiou adnee bisneen wi ayam | You promised me by years and days |
| Wit geenee bi haggag wi kalaam | And you come to me with excuses and garbage words |
| Dah kalaam | Those words!! |
| Wit salim wi mor | (Say something different only nicer) |
| Ou tikulif wit ooul naseen | You come and shake my hand and leave quickly |
| Or you don't come and just say "I forgot." |
Where to Get Recordings of this Song
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Artist: Andelus Ensemble Amazon Store: |
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Artist: Hossam Ramzy Amazon Store: |
Translations of
Oum Kalthoum's Songs on This Site
Acknowledgements
About the Contributor of the First Translation
Linda Grondahl's background is that of a devoted lover of Arabic music and dance. She danced with Amina and the Aswan Dancers for many years. She took Arabic percussion with Mary Ellen Donald, Su Su Pampanin, George Dubai, Vince Deldado, and Tony Lammam. She took Arabic singing from Nicole Ibrahim, Mimi Spencer, Georges Lammam. On the oud, she studied under Nazir Latouf, Mimi Spencer, Abdullah Kdough. She was a member of the Aswat Arab-American Choir under the direction of Elias Lammam. She is now a member of the El Ashaab dance troupe, and Tahneen, the all-girl, all-American Middle eastern music ensemble. They have played for Arab and American events, and for many years at the Rakassah festival.
"I just saved whatever I could get my hands on, for years", writes Linda, "and really don't know why. It was always so dificult to get music, so I just kept on saving."
Linda lives in San Francisco, California. Her favorite color is any shade of purple.
About the Contributor of the Second Translation
This translation and transliteration appear on this web site with permission from Amina Goodyear, who procures song translations to enrich her Middle Eastern dance classes. Many thanks to Amina for making it available to the public via this site!
Amina is a Middle Eastern dance artist based in San Francisco, California, USA, and the director of the Aswan Dancers. Her band, the Arabian Nights, plays in various clubs around San Francisco. Her studio features 6 belly dance classes (taught by Amina) and 3 drum classes (taught by her daughter Susu) each week. Amina regularly pays native speakers of Middle Eastern languages to do translations like this one for her to use in her classes.
About the Source
This article originally appeared on Lennie Clark's web site, "Arabic Song Translations." Lennie created this web site in 2002 as a response to discussion on the Internet regarding incidents of dancers who performed inappropriate sensual dances to religious music. Lennie's web site resided on a free web hosting service known as Geocities. When the planned October 2009 closure of the Geocities web hosting service was announced, Lennie and Shira agreed to move the contents of Lennie's site to Shira.net. To explore all the articles and song translations that once appeared on Lennie's Geocities site, visit Lennie's portal page here on Shira.net. |
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