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.
Leih Ya Zaman
Oum Kalthoum Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
لقيت في حبّه هناي والدهر باعني وشــراني
يا هل ترى يا زماني أرجع واشـوف الحبيــب
والا تخـــــــون الأمـاني واحيا حـياة الغريب
فرّقت بين قلبي وبيني والفرقة كانت على عيني
لكن رعاني ووفاني وواســــى قلــــبي العليل
ولمّا قاســــى اللـــيالي حبيت أرد الجـــــميل
طير غريب عن حماه
ســـــــقاه من الود الصافي حتى رواه
واللي في حبّه يكون وافي الروح فداه
In "Leih Ya Zaman," Oum Kalthoum sings about love and loss, reflecting on the pain caused by a lost love. She wonders why time had to bring her such suffering, as her love caused her distress and humiliation. She recalls the happiness she found in his love, but expresses how time betrayed her and sold her out, leaving her feeling alienated and alone. She then wonders if she can go back to see her beloved once more, or if she should give up on her dreams and find a new life.
The song talks about the distance between Oum Kalthoum and her beloved, a distance so great that it caused her pain and tears. She describes how her heart was separated from her, but her beloved remained close and loyal to her. As she suffers through long sleepless nights, she realizes how deeply she loves her beloved and hopes to be reunited again.
Overall, the song expresses the pain of lost love and the longing for a former lover. Oum Kalthoum’s voice carries a sense of intense grief and emotion, making it clear that she has loved deeply and still feels the pain of separation.
Line by Line Meaning
لـيه يا زمان كان هواي سبب شقاي وهواني
Oh time, why did my love cause me suffering and humiliation?
لقيت في حبّه هناي والدهر باعني وشــراني
I found my solace and happiness in his love, yet time betrayed and sold me out.
يا هل ترى يا زماني أرجع واشـوف الحبيــب
Oh time, will I ever go back and see my beloved again?
والا تخـــــــون الأمـاني واحيا حـياة الغريب
Or will my hopes be shattered, leaving me to live the life of a stranger.
فرّقت بين قلبي وبيني والفرقة كانت على عيني
Separation came between my heart and me, with the pain of parting displayed on my face.
لكن رعاني ووفاني وواســــى قلــــبي العليل
However, he was faithful and loyal, and consoled my ailing heart.
ولمّا قاســــى اللـــيالي حبيت أرد الجـــــميل
When the nights grew harsh, I loved to repay his kindness.
طير غريب عن حماه
A strange bird, away from his home,
شاف حبيب جاه واساه
Who saw his beloved and suffered.
ســـــــقاه من الود الصافي حتى رواه
Who was given pure love that was enough to quench his thirst.
واللي في حبّه يكون وافي الروح فداه
And anyone who loves him will be steadfast and would sacrifice their soul for him.
Writer(s): Mohamed Kassabgi, Ahmed Rami
Contributed by Chloe S. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Mahdi Mahdi
إحساس يأخذك للثلاثينيات، روعة تحياتي لكل المستمعين 🇩🇿🇪🇬🙏
Sakina Sakina
ما هذا الصفاء صوت كلمات و موسيقى . تحليق الروح .
Fatma Zaher
ياه ياه ايه الروعة دى تمس المشاعر باحساس قوى
علاء علاء
أحلى أغاني أم كلثوم لا يازمن
Mohammed Alshehri
تسجيل جميل جدآ رغم ان الاغنية تسجلت في الثلاثينات
ahmad abc
في تصوري
لم يبقى شي جميل وكان الحياة بدات تجر انفاسها الاخيره بعد زوال ذاك الزمان
الحياة بكل معانيها كانت هناك اما اليوم لا ارى اي شي من هذا القبيل......
زيزو البصري
اي ده الجمال
انمار البدري
نبع الحنان رؤؤؤؤؤؤؤعه
Khbug Ngtfh
ليه يا زمن
انمار البدري
الله الله