Mai Selim Hamdan (Arabic: مي سليم حمدان‎) (born in 1983 in Dubai), commonly… Read Full Bio ↴Mai Selim Hamdan (Arabic: مي سليم حمدان‎) (born in 1983 in Dubai), commonly Known as Mai Selim, is a young Arabic artist who started off her singing career in early 2005. Sister of Comedian Mais Hamdan. Born in Dubai to a Jordanian father, and a Lebanese mother Mai soon came to settle in Egypt where she grew up and met most of her close friends. Her love for arts and performing started at a very young age, and she wanted to be a ballerina, later on she shifted towards singing, where she joined the school choir.

She moved form performing with a group to performing within a duet. After graduating high school Mai toyed with the idea of joining Institute of Cinema in Egypt, but her parents didn’t agree. "They talked me into seeing it their own way by talking me into the idea of having a stable future and a career life" she says.

Instead she registered for a degree at the Maritime Academy majoring in Business Administration. The corporate world of facts and figures seems so far removed from her personality, yet she insisted on finishing and getting her degree. Looking back, Mai wonders what she would have done with a business degree if she had not signed with a music company. She has no problem admitting that she owes her first record deal to pure luck.

"I won't lie and give you the clichéd line of I've been working towards this all my life since I was a child and all that stuff. I knew I had a very strong artistic side to me, and I had a strong passion towards music, but I never thought I'd make a career out of it one day" she admits. One night, as she was invited for dinner, she met Tarek Al Arian, the well known film director.

Kont Mashya
Mai Selim Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

كنت ماشية مش في بالي أنا رايحة فين
مرة وحدة لقتني قدامك هنا
جابني ليك إحساسي عارف جابني ليك
أصل النهار ده فراقنا هيكمل سنة
كنت ماشية مش في بالي أنا رايحة فين
مرة وحدة لقتني قدامك هنا
جابني ليك إحساسي عارف جابني ليك
أصل النهار ده فراقنا هيكمل سنة

بصراحة جاية وقاصدة مش هضحك عليك
كان نفسي أشوفك وأرمي نفسي بين إيديك
وأهي تبقى فرصة لو نستني أفكرك
ولو فاكرني يبقى أنا اللي رجعت ليك
بصراحة جاية وقاصدة مش هضحك عليك
كان نفسي أشوفك وأرمي نفسي بين إيديك
وأهي تبقى فرصة لو نستني أفكرك
ولو فاكرني يبقى أنا اللي رجعت ليك

كنت عاملة بعيش وعمري ما عيشت يوم
فاكرة نفسي نسيت وهتعود بقى
عارف إنت أحلى ما في الدنيا إيه
بعد الغياب يا حبيبي يجمعنا اللقا
كنت عاملة بعيش وعمري ما عشت يوم
فاكرة نفسي نسيت وهتعود بقى
عارف إنت أحلى ما في الدنيا إيه
بعد الغياب يا حبيبي يجمعنا اللقا

بصراحة جاية وقاصدة مش هضحك عليك
كان نفسي أشوفك وأرمي نفسي بين إيديك
وأهي تبقى فرصة لو نستني أفكرك
ولو فاكرني يبقى أنا اللي رجعت ليك
بصراحة جاية وقاصدة مش هضحك عليك
كان نفسي أشوفك وأرمي نفسي بين إيديك

وأهي تبقى فرصة لو نستني أفكرك
ولو فاكرني يبقى أنا اللي رجعت ليك

Overall Meaning

The lyrics to Mai Selim's song Kont Mashya tell a story of a woman who is walking aimlessly, not thinking of anything in particular, when she unexpectedly runs into someone who she thought she had forgotten. This person brings back feelings she had thought she left behind, and reminds her that their separation has now lasted a year. She admits to herself that she had actually intended to see this person and is honest about her feelings, saying that she wanted to throw herself into their arms. She knows that he was the best thing in her life, and hopes for the chance to wait for him and see if he remembers her too.

The theme of the song is one of longing and regret, as the woman realizes that she's been carrying the memory of this person with her all along, and that she wants to see if there's still something there. The use of repetition in the lyrics, especially in the chorus, creates a sense of urgency and longing that the singer is feeling. Mai Selim's emotive delivery of the lyrics helps to convey the desperation and anxiety that the person is feeling.

Line by Line Meaning

كنت ماشية مش في بالي أنا رايحة فين
I was walking without a thought of where I was going

مرة وحدة لقتني قدامك هنا
Once I met you right here

جابني ليك إحساسي عارف جابني ليك
My feelings brought me to you, I know they did

أصل النهار ده فراقنا هيكمل سنة
Because today is the anniversary of our separation

بصراحة جاية وقاصدة مش هضحك عليك
Honestly, I came here with a purpose, I won't laugh at you

كان نفسي أشوفك وأرمي نفسي بين إيديك
I wanted to see you and throw myself into your arms

وأهي تبقى فرصة لو نستني أفكرك
And if there's a chance if we wait, I'll consider you

ولو فاكرني يبقى أنا اللي رجعت ليك
And even if you remember me, it was me who returned to you

كنت عاملة بعيش وعمري ما عشت يوم
I was just going through the motions, never really living

فاكرة نفسي نسيت وهتعود بقى
Thinking I forgot myself, and I'll return

عارف إنت أحلى ما في الدنيا إيه
I know you're the most beautiful thing in the world