Melhem Barakat (15 August 1945 – 28 October 2016), also known as (Arabic) … Read Full Bio ↴Melhem Barakat (15 August 1945 – 28 October 2016), also known as (Arabic) ملحم بركات and Melhim Barakat, was a Lebanese singer, songwriter, and melodist.

He started his career back in the 1960s. Barakat has arguably established a genre of his own in both the way he sings and composes, which made him one of the most esteemed and popular stars in Lebanon. He has toured Australia, South America, Canada, and the United States.

Melhem Barakat mainly performs in colloquial Lebanese, a feat he has always defended, criticizing his fellow Lebanese peers for favouring the Egyptian dialect for commercial purposes. Although his popularity is rather modest in Egypt, where non-Egyptian music material generally receives lukewarm mass appeal, Melhem has achieved huge stardom in most Arab countries, most notably in Syria, Jordan, and Lebanon.

Barakat started singing more than thirty years ago. He participated as an actor and singer in many of the Rahbani Brothers' musicals and operettas; some Lebanese even saying that he established himself as one of the strongest voices in the country.

He also appeared in many Lebanese movies back in the 1980s. Some of his hits from the 1980s were “Kboush El Touti” and “Wahdi Ana (I am alone).”

During the 1990s, Melhem Barakat acted with Lebanese dancer Dani Boustros in a Lebanese theater play titled Wemsheet Bee Tariki (I walked my way).

Since the year 2000. Melhem Barakat had several hit songs, such as “Habibi Enta,” which was later sung by his ex-wife May Hariri. He also collaborated with current famous singers such as Najwa Karam, Karol Sakr, Shatha Hassoun, and Majida El Roumi.

Melhem Barakat, a Lebanese singer, was born in 1942 in Kfarshima, Lebanon. He grew up with the sound of Egyptian composer and singer Mohammed Abdel Wahab. Still a child, Melhem many people around him thought that he showed a special talent while singing in school parties. One day, he composed a text from the school journal and sang it first before his classmates and teachers, who appreciated his performance and then became one of the leading names in the Lebanese musical scene, who believed that he was an exceptional talent and had a charming voice. His career had many successes. His best-known works were “Amarine,” “Abouha Radi,” “Farah Ennass,” and “Habibi Inta.”

Saer Kazab
Melhem Barakat Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

صاير كذاب اللي بحبو صاير كذاب
قتلني كذبو وبحبو صاير كذاب

يا قلبي كان مالي ومالو
سحرني بحسنو وجماله
كذاب وبصدق حاله
قلبه قلاب

لاقانا الحب وقربنا
دوبنا البعد وغربنا

إلا لكذبك يا معذبنا
ما حسبنا حساب

Overall Meaning

In Melhem Barakat's song "Saer Kazab", the singer is expressing his heartbreak over a lover who has become a liar. The opening lines "Saer Kazab, al-li bihbo, saer kazab" (which loosely translates to "he has become a liar, the one I loved, he has become a liar") set the tone for the song. The singer feels betrayed and hurt by the fact that his lover's lies have caused him harm.

The chorus, "Ya albi kan mali wa maho, sahrni bi husno wa jamali, kazab wa bi sadaq hali, qalbuh qalab" (which roughly means "My heart was his and his was mine, he enchanted me with his beauty, a liar who believes his own lies, his heart is fickle") describes the internal turmoil and conflict that the singer is experiencing. He was deeply in love with his partner who had seduced him with his charm and beauty, but now he sees him as a liar who has betrayed his trust.

The last two lines of the song "Ila l-kathibak ya ma'dhabna, ma hasabna hisab/illaa li-kathibak ya mu'azibna, ma hasabna hisab" (which means "Except for your lies, oh our tormentor, we didn't add up the accounts/ Except for your lies, oh our tormentor, we didn't add up the accounts") showcase the impact that the lover's lies had on the singer's life, and how they have left him feeling lost and unable to make sense of the situation.

Overall, the song is a powerful expression of heartbreak and betrayal, with the singer struggling to come to terms with the fact that the person he loved has become a liar and a source of pain.

Line by Line Meaning

صاير كذاب اللي بحبو صاير كذاب
The one I loved has become a liar, a liar indeed.

قتلني كذبو وبحبو صاير كذاب
His lies killed me, but I still love him, he's become a liar.

يا قلبي كان مالي ومالو
Oh, my heart belonged to me and to him too.

سحرني بحسنو وجماله
His beauty and charm enchanted me.

كذاب وبصدق حاله
He's a liar, but he believes his own lies.

قلبه قلاب
His heart is unpredictable and unstable.

لاقانا الحب وقربنا
Love brought us together and made us closer.

دوبنا البعد وغربنا
But distance and separation caused us to suffer.

إلا لكذبك يا معذبنا
Except for your lies, oh torturer, we didn't expect this outcome.

ما حسبنا حساب
We didn't anticipate this pain and suffering.

Lyrics © Qanawat
Written by: Nazar Ferancis

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind