Youssef began singing when he was only five-years-old. Since then he has performed for audiences in Tunisia, Germany, France, Austria, Switzerland, and other countries. He has appeared with his own ensembles and recorded two albums with them, one in 1993 and the other three years later. Youssef's music combines Sufi tradition, world, mystical, and jazz influences with Arabic lyricism. In 1999, Enja Records released Youssef's third album, Malak, which includes the songs "A Kind of Love," "Tarannoum," and "Eklil." Youssef provided vocals and oud for the album and was accompanied by such well-known artists as violinist Zoltan Lantos, bassist Achim Tang, tabla and dolak player Jatinder Thakur, tambourine player Carlo Rizzo, bassist Renaud Garcia-Fons, and drummer Patrice Héral. In 2002, Youssef released Electric Sufi on Enja and added electronic elements and funky grooves to his genre-bending sound with the ex-Sugar Hill Gang and Tackhead rhythm section of Will Calhoun and Doug Wimbush and followed it up with 'Digital Prophecy', another multi-layered, multi-faceted marvel. His most recent album, Abu Nwas Rhapsody (2010) paints, perhaps, the broadest picture of Youssef of any single album to date, with its focus on a consistent lineup and the resultant chemistry. Without dismissing the inestimable strengths of Youssef's playing, singing and composing, Abu Nawas Rhapsody's greatest energy and strength comes from an ideal trio of collaborators, who turn it into his hottest session to date.
He developed some perennial musical partnerships, notably with the Sardinian trumpeter Paolo Fresu and the Norwegian guitarist Eivind Aarset. Youssef feels a special bond with Scandinavian musicians, which is fortunate, since Norway and Sweden are now widely regarded to have the most fascinating and dynamic avant-garde jazz scenes in the world. Youssef has also performed with Uri Caine, Jon Hassell, Markus Stockhausen, Nguyên Lê and the cuban pianist Omar Sosa, to name but a few. In 2001 recorded the 'Electric Sufi' CD With walls, boundaries, barriers, labels and frontiers becoming ever more rigid and impregnable, Dhafer Youssef reminds us that any composer or musician of worth must be free to roam, with his body, his mind and his spirit, or music itself might end up being the biggest casualty.
Al-Hallaj
Dhafer Youssef Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
و احرقوني
بعظامي الفانيات
ثم مروا برفاتي
في القبور الدارسات
فاقتلوني
و احرقوني
بعظامي الفانيات
و احرقوني
بعظامي الفانيات
ثم مروا برفاتي في القبور الدارسات
The lyrics of Dhafer Youssef's song Al-Hallaj are haunting and metaphorical. The song speaks of a desire to be killed and burned by the singer's own bones, which are "fleeting" or "transient". The repetition of the phrase "faqatuluni, wa ahraquni" ("kill me and burn me") adds to the sense of desperation, while the line "thumma muru bi-rifati fi al-qubur al-darisat" ("then pass my ashes in the eternal tombs") speaks to a wish for some kind of eternal rest.
The imagery in the song is powerful and symbolic. The idea of being killed and burned by one's own bones suggests a desire for both self-destruction and transcendence, while the image of passing one's ashes through eternal tombs could be interpreted as a plea for acceptance into the afterlife. The song's lyrics are in Arabic, a language that is rich in symbolism and metaphor, and this adds to the layers of interpretation that can be applied.
One possible interpretation of the lyrics is that they are a reference to the Sufi mystic Mansur Al-Hallaj, who was killed in the 10th century for heresy. Al-Hallaj was famous for his ecstatic poetry and his belief that he had achieved a state of union with God. His teachings and beliefs were controversial, and he was eventually executed for claiming that he and God were one. The lyrics of Dhafer Youssef's song can be seen as a tribute to Al-Hallaj and his message of unity with the divine.
Line by Line Meaning
فاقتلوني
Kill me
و احرقوني
And burn me
بعظامي الفانيات
With my perishable bones
ثم مروا برفاتي
Then pass by my remains
في القبور الدارسات
In the studying tombs
فاقتلوني
Kill me
و احرقوني
And burn me
بعظامي الفانيات
With my perishable bones
فاقتلوني
Kill me
و احرقوني
And burn me
بعظامي الفانيات
With my perishable bones
ثم مروا برفاتي في القبور الدارسات
Then pass by my remains in the studying tombs
Contributed by Jeremiah Y. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@alisuliman9112
هذا هو الحب (معرفة) للقانون الكوني . بالقدر الذي تعرف به أنك كوني تكون محباً . لنكن جسراً لإرتقاء الكائن البشري نحو الواحدية فالثنيوية هي المخاض
@TrinityJn
I love al hallaj and dhafer youssef, great combination! thanks for sharing :)
@rembranka001
so beautiful, full of life...
@MyTomatomato
ما شااااااااااااااااااااء الله راااااااااااااائع
@waadalguraini9333
نبرة الصوت عميقة. عميقة.
@karenvarian1174
Beautiful, otherwordly. I love him!!
@xiantanjushi
Just discovered Electric Sufi...Love it!
@mariama13octobre
OH RAI3 MAGHIFIQUE SO SO AMAZING MERCI MIN TANGA ET BRUXELLES YA OMI20
@betterway2
woooow, divine, magic !!!!!!!! thankssss for sharing Samir :)))
@amrelkh
أدينُ بدين الحب أنّى توجّهتْ ركائبهُ فالحبُّ ديني وإيماني