Oum Kalthoum was born in Tamay ez-Zahayra village in El Senbellawein, Dakahlia Governorate, Egypt. Her birth date is controversial, either 31 December 1898, 31 December 1904 or 4 May, 1904. She died 3 February, 1975.
At a young age, she showed exceptional singing talent. Her father, an Imam, taught her to recite the Qur'an, and she is said to have memorised the entire book. When she was twelve years old, her father disguised her as a young boy and entered her in a small performing troupe that he directed. At the age of sixteen she was noticed by Abol Ela Mohamed, a modestly famous singer, and by the famous oudist Zakariyya Ahmad, who invited her to Cairo. She waited until 1923 before accepting the invitation. She was invited on several occasions to the house of Amin Beh Al Mahdy, who taught her how to play the oud. She developed a very close relationship with Rawyeha Al Mahdy, daughter of Amin, and became her closest friend. Kalthoum even attended Rawheya's daughter's wedding, although she has always tried to avoid public appearances. Amin Al Mahdy introduced her to the cultural circles in Cairo.
At this point in her career, she was introduced to the famous poet Ahmad Rami, who wrote 137 songs for her. Rami also introduced her to French literature, which he greatly admired from his studies at the Sorbonne, Paris, and eventually became her chief mentor in Arabic literature and literary analysis. Furthermore, she was introduced to the renowned lute virtuoso and composer Mohamed El Qasabgi. El Qasabgi introduced Kalthoum to the Arabic Theatre Palace, where she would experience her first real public success. In 1932 her fame increased to the point where she embarked upon a large tour of the Middle East, touring such cities as Damascus, Baghdad, Beirut, and Tripoli, Lebanon.
By 1948 her fame had come to the attention of Gamal Abdel Nasser, who would later become the president of Egypt. At one point the Egyptian musicians guild of which she became a member (and eventually president) rejected her because she had sung for the then-deposed king, Farouk of Egypt. It was his favour that made the musicians' guild accept her back into the fold. In addition, Kalthoum had been a dedicated Egyptian patriot since the time of King Farouk.
Her songs deal mostly with the universal themes of love, longing and loss. A typical concert consisted of the performance of two or three songs over a period of three to six hours. In the late 1960s, due to her age, she began to shorten her performances to two songs over a period of two and a half to three hours. The duration of her songs in performance was not fixed, but varied based on the level of emotional interaction between the singer and her audience. A typical improvisatory technique of hers was to repeat a single phrase or sentence of a song's lyrics over and over, subtly altering the emotive emphasis and intensity each time to bring her audiences into a euphoric and ecstatic state. Thus, while the official recorded length of a song such as "Enta omri" (You Are My Life) is approximately sixty minutes, a live performance could extend to many hours, as the singer and her audience fed off each other's emotional energy. This intense, highly personalised creative relationship was undoubtedly one of the reasons for Kalthoum's tremendous success as an artist.
In 1967 Kalthoum was diagnosed with a severe case of nephritis. She gave her last concert at the Palace of the Nile in 1973. Tests at that time indicated that her illness was incurable. She moved to the United States, where she benefited for some time from the advanced medical technology, but in 1975, upon re-entering her home country, she required hospitalisation due to declining health. She died in a Cairo hospital on 3rd February 1975.
Her funeral was attended by over four million mourners – one of the largest gatherings in history – and descended into pandemonium when the crowd seized control of her coffin and carried it to a mosque that they considered her favourite, before later releasing the coffin for burial.
Alf Lila W Lila
Oum Kalthoum Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
وانت وانا يا حبيبي أنا، يا حياتى انا، كلنا فى الحب سوا
والهوى آه منه الهوى، سهران الهوى
يسقينا الهنا ويقول بالهنا يا حبيبي
يا حبيبي، يلّا نعيش في عيون الليل
ونقول للشمس تعالي تعالي، بعد سنة مش قبل سنة
دي ليلة حب حلوة بألف ليلة وليلة
ازاي ازاي، أوصف لك يا حبيبي ازاي؟
قبل ما احبك كنت ازاي يا حبيبي
كنت ولا امبارح فاكراه، ولا عندى بكره استناه
ولا حتى يومى عايشاه يا حبيبي
خدتنى بالحب ف غمضة عين، ورّيتنى حلاوة الأيام فين
الليل بعد ما كان غربة مليته أمان
والعمر اللي كان صحرا صبح بستان
يا حبيبي، ايه أجمل م الليل، واتنين زينا عاشقين
تايهين، محناش حاسّين العمر ثواني ولّا سنين
حاسّين اننا بنحب وبس، عايشين لليل والحب وبس
يا حبيبي، الحب حياتنا وبيتنا وقُوْتنا
للناس دنيتهم واحنا لنا دنيتنا
وان قالوا عن عشاقه بيدوبوا ف نار أشواقه
آهي ناره دي جنتنا، ناره دي جنتنا
والحب عمره ما جرح، عمره عمره ما جرح
ولا عمر بستانه طرح، غير الهنا وغير الفرح
يا قمر ليلي، يا ضل نهاري، يا حبي، يا أيامي الهنيّة
عندي لك أجمل هدية،عندي لك أجمل هدية
كلمة الحب اللى بيها تملك الدنيا وما فيها
و اللي تفتح لك كنوز الدنيا ديّا، قولها ليّا
قولها للطير، للشجر، للناس، لكل الدنيا
قول قول قول، الحب نعمة مش خطيّة
الله محبّة، الخير محبّة، النور محبّة
يا رب تفضل حلاوة سلام أول لقا ف ايدينا
وفرح أول معاد منقاد شموع حوالينا
ويفوت علينا الزمان يفرش أمانه علينا
يا رب، لا عمر كاس الفراق المرّ يسقينا
ولا يعرف الحزن مطرحنا ولا يجينا
وغير شموع الفرح ما تشوف ليالينا
The lyrics of Oum Kalthoum's song Alf Lila W Lila depicts pure love, where the night sky, its stars, and its moon become an embodiment of the beloved. It speaks of two lovers who are together, enjoying the night and the feeling of love. It describes how love makes life more beautiful and meaningful, illuminating the darkness, and turning the desert of life into a blossoming garden.
As the song progresses, the lyrics dive deep into the complexities of love, questioning how to accurately describe the intensity of love that reminds us of our past, present, and future. Love is presented as an eternal flame of happiness that lights up our world, bringing us closer to our true selves. The lyrics also highlight that love is not a sin but a blessing from God and a source of joy, peace, and prosperity. It's a gift that opens up the treasures of life and the universe.
Overall, Alf Lila W Lila portrays the depth and beauty of love and how it can transform life from something mundane to something magical and enchanting.
Line by Line Meaning
يا حبيبي، الليل وسماه، ونجومه وقمره، قمره وسهره
Oh my love, the night and its sky, its stars and its moon, its moon and its vigils
وانت وانا يا حبيبي أنا، يا حياتى انا، كلنا فى الحب سوا
And you and I my love, I am my life, we are all together in love
والهوى آه منه الهوى، سهران الهوى
And love, oh how sweet it is, the love-filled nights
يسقينا الهنا ويقول بالهنا يا حبيبي
May happiness bless us, saying oh my love may happiness bless us
يا حبيبي، يلّا نعيش في عيون الليل
Oh my love, let us live in the eyes of the night
ونقول للشمس تعالي تعالي، بعد سنة مش قبل سنة
And we say to the sun come, come, after a year not before
دي ليلة حب حلوة بألف ليلة وليلة
This is a sweet night of love, worth a thousand nights
بكل العمر، هو العمر ايه غير ليلة زي الليلة؟
Throughout life, what else is life but a night like tonight?
ازاي ازاي، أوصف لك يا حبيبي ازاي؟
How do I describe to you my love, how?
قبل ما احبك كنت ازاي يا حبيبي
Before I loved you, how was I, my love?
كنت ولا امبارح فاكراه، ولا عندى بكره استناه
I do not remember if it was yesterday, nor do I have a tomorrow to wait for
ولا حتى يومى عايشاه يا حبيبي
Nor have I even lived today, oh my love
خدتنى بالحب ف غمضة عين، ورّيتنى حلاوة الأيام فين
Love took me in a blink of an eye, and showed me where the sweetness of life lies
الليل بعد ما كان غربة مليته أمان
The night, which was once loneliness, has become a comfort
والعمر اللي كان صحرا صبح بستان
And life, which was once a desert, has become a garden dawn
يا حبيبي، ايه أجمل م الليل، واتنين زينا عاشقين
Oh my love, what is more beautiful in the night than two lovers like us
تايهين، محناش حاسّين العمر ثواني ولّا سنين
Lost in love, not feeling the passing of life, whether seconds or years
حاسّين اننا بنحب وبس، عايشين لليل والحب وبس
Feeling that we only love, living for the night and love only
يا حبيبي، الحب حياتنا وبيتنا وقُوْتنا
Oh my love, love is our life, our home, our strength
للناس دنيتهم واحنا لنا دنيتنا
People have their own world, and we have our own
وان قالوا عن عشاقه بيدوبوا ف نار أشواقه
And they say that lovers are consumed by the fire of their desires
آهي ناره دي جنتنا، ناره دي جنتنا
But that fire, oh our beloved, is our paradise
والحب عمره ما جرح، عمره عمره ما جرح
Love never hurts, never, never hurts
ولا عمر بستانه طرح، غير الهنا وغير الفرح
And its garden never withers, only happiness and joy
يا قمر ليلي، يا ضل نهاري، يا حبي، يا أيامي الهنيّة
Oh moon of my night, oh shadow of my day, oh my love, oh my blissful days
عندي لك أجمل هدية،عندي لك أجمل هدية
I have the most beautiful gift for you, I have the most beautiful gift for you
كلمة الحب اللى بيها تملك الدنيا وما فيها
It is the word of love, by which we own the world and all that is in it
و اللي تفتح لك كنوز الدنيا ديّا، قولها ليّا
And the one that opens the treasures of the world for you, say it to me
قولها للطير، للشجر، للناس، لكل الدنيا
Say it to the birds, to the trees, to the people, to the whole world
قول قول قول، الحب نعمة مش خطيّة
Say, say, say, love is a blessing not a sin
الله محبّة، الخير محبّة، النور محبّة
God is love, goodness is love, light is love
يا رب تفضل حلاوة سلام أول لقا ف ايدينا
Oh Lord, may the sweetness of peace remain our first meeting in our hands
وفرح أول معاد منقاد شموع حوالينا
And may joy be our first promise fulfilled with candles around us
ويفوت علينا الزمان يفرش أمانه علينا
And time passes by us, spreading its comfort upon us
يا رب، لا عمر كاس الفراق المرّ يسقينا
Oh Lord, may we never taste the bitter cup of separation
ولا يعرف الحزن مطرحنا ولا يجينا
And may sadness never know our address, nor come to us
وغير شموع الفرح ما تشوف ليالينا
And may our nights only see the candles of joy
Contributed by Nicholas E. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
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انا
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