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.
Ya Messaharny
Oum Kalthoum Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
وعينيا مجافيها النوم . النوم يا مسهرني .
أنا قلبي بيسألني . إيه غير أحواله .
ويقول لي بقه يعنى . يعنى ما خطرتش على باله .
أمال غلاوة حبك فين . وفين حنان قلبه عليا .
وفين حلاوة قربك فين . فين الوداد والحنية .
يا ناسينى و إنت على بالي . وخيالك ما يفارق عيني .
ريحني واعطف على حال . وإرحمني من كتر ظنوني .
لا عينيا بيهواها النوم . ولا بخطر على بالك يوم .
تسأل عنى . يااااااااا مسهرني ...
اسأل عن اللي يقضى الليل . بين الأمل و بين الذكرى .
يصبر القلب المشغول . ويقول له نتقابل بكرا .
وبكرا يفوت . وبعده يفوت . ولا كلمة ولا مرسال .
وهو العمر فيه كام يوم . وأنا بعدك عليا طال .
يا ناسينى و إنت على بالي . وخيالك ما يفارق عيني .
ريحني واعطف على حال . وإرحمني من كتر ظنوني .
لا عينيا بيهواها النوم . ولا بخطر على بالك يوم .
تسأل عنى . يااااااااا مسهرني ...
يا مسهر النوم في عينيا . سهرت أفكاري وياك .
الصبر ده مش بإيديا . والشوق واخدني في بحر هواك .
أقول لروحي أنا ذنبى إيه .يقول لي قلبي حلمك عليه .
مسيره بكرا يعطف علينا . ونبقى نعرف هجرنا ليه .
ليه . ليه . هجرنا ليه . ويسهر النوم في عنيا .
يا ناسينى و إنت على بالي . وخيالك ما يفارق عيني .
ريحني واعطف على حال . وإرحمني من كتر ظنوني .
لا عينيا بيهواها النوم . ولا بخطر على بالك يوم .
تسأل عنــي . يااااااااا مسهرني ...
تعالى خلي نسيم الليل . على جناح الشوق يسري .
الهجر طال . والصبر قليل . والعمر أيامه بتجري .
طالت الأيام . تعالى لي قوام .ده أنا عندي كلام . بدي أقوله لك .
أنا عندي كلام . وفي قلبي هيام . وفي قلبي هيام . أوصفهــولك .
ونعيش أيام . ولا في الأحلام . ولا في الأحلام ...
يا ناسينى و إنت على بالي . إرحمني من قسـوة قلبــك .
ريحني وإعطف على حال . خلينـي أتهنـــــى بقربـــك .
وأنا عينــي يهواها النوم . ولا أشكــي ولا أقول لك يوم .
إســأل عنـــى . يااااااااااااااااااااااااااااااااااااااا مسهرنــي ...
The song Ya Messaharny by Oum Kalthoum is a heart-wrenching expression of love and longing. The opening lines express the singer's surprise that the person she pines for has not asked about her. She laments the fact that sleep eludes her, and asks why her heart is continually asking about the other person's well-being. She wonders where the sweetness and tenderness of their love has gone, where their closeness has disappeared to, and where their affection and kindness have gone. The refrain repeats the line, "Oh sleep-depriver, ask about me," as she begs the other person to come to her aid and show her love and compassion.
The following verses express the agony of separation, the pain of waiting, and the hope that they will meet the next day. The singer wonders why they have been separated and why the person she loves is indifferent to her. She implores the other person to be kind, to console her and ease her burden, and to show her some mercy. The song concludes with a plea to forget the bitterness of the past, to live for the present, and to enjoy the time they have together.
Overall, Ya Messaharny is a poignant, melancholic song that speaks to the universal themes of love, separation, and longing.
Line by Line Meaning
ما خطرتش على بالك يوم تسأل عنى .
Did you ever think about asking me?
وعينيا مجافيها النوم . النوم يا مسهرني .
My eyes can't close in sleep. Lack of sleep is keeping me awake.
أنا قلبي بيسألني . إيه غير أحواله .
My heart is asking me what's different about it.
ويقول لي بقه يعنى . يعنى ما خطرتش على باله .
It tells me, does that mean he didn't think of me?
أمال غلاوة حبك فين . وفين حنان قلبه عليا .
Where is the love and affection you had for me?
وفين حلاوة قربك فين . فين الوداد والحنية .
Where is the sweetness of being near you? Where is the love and tenderness?
يا ناسينى و إنت على بالي . وخيالك ما يفارق عيني .
You've forgotten me, but you're always on my mind. Your image is always in front of my eyes.
ريحني واعطف على حال . وإرحمني من كتر ظنوني .
Let me be and have mercy on me from all these worries.
لا عينيا بيهواها النوم . ولا بخطر على بالك يوم . تسأل عنى . يااااااااا مسهرني ...
Neither my eyes are able to sleep, nor do you think of me. You will ask about me, oh sleepless one.
اسأل عن اللي يقضى الليل . بين الأمل و بين الذكرى .
Ask about the one who spends his nights between hope and memory.
يصبر القلب المشغول . ويقول له نتقابل بكرا .
The heart gets patient with such things and tells itself that maybe we'll meet tomorrow.
وبكرا يفوت . وبعده يفوت . ولا كلمة ولا مرسال .
Tomorrow passes, and then another day passes, and no words or messages.
وهو العمر فيه كام يوم . وأنا بعدك عليا طال .
How many days does he spend on earth, while I spend them longing for him?
يا مسهر النوم في عينيا . سهرت أفكاري وياك .
Oh sleepless one, in my eyes you have kept me awake with all these thoughts.
الصبر ده مش بإيديا . والشوق واخدني في بحر هواك .
I have no control over this patience, and this yearning has taken me into the sea of your love.
أقول لروحي أنا ذنبى إيه .يقول لي قلبي حلمك عليه .
I ask myself, what did I do wrong? My heart tells me that he has been the subject of your dreams.
مسيره بكرا يعطف علينا . ونبقى نعرف هجرنا ليه .
Maybe tomorrow he will be kind to us, and we will finally know why he left us.
تعالى خلي نسيم الليل . على جناح الشوق يسري .
Come, let the night breeze carry us on the wings of longing.
الهجر طال . والصبر قليل . والعمر أيامه بتجري .
The separation has been long, patience is low, and the days of life are running out.
طالت الأيام . تعالى لي قوام .ده أنا عندي كلام . بدي أقوله لك .
Days have been long, come to me. I have something to tell you.
أنا عندي كلام . وفي قلبي هيام . وفي قلبي هيام . أوصفهــولك .
I have something on my mind, and in my heart there is infatuation. I want to describe it to you.
ونعيش أيام . ولا في الأحلام . ولا في الأحلام ...
We will live our days, not only in dreams but in reality.
يا ناسينى و إنت على بالي . إرحمني من قسـوة قلبــك .
You've forgotten me but you're always on my mind. Have mercy on me, don't be cruel.
ريحني وإعطف على حال . خلينـي أتهنـــــى بقربـــك .
Let me be and have compassion on me to be happy near you.
وأنا عينــي يهواها النوم . ولا أشكــي ولا أقول لك يوم .
Yet my eyes yearn for sleep. I will not complain or tell you a word.
إســأل عنـــى . يااااااااااااااااااااااااااااااااااااااا مسهرنــي ...
Ask about me, oh sleepless one.
Contributed by Michael L. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@hasnadefrance.7865
صوت رهيب كلمات و لحن روعة الشجن ذبحني في هذه الأغنية التي تلامس الجروح وخيبة الخذلان ❤
@user-xk9pn5pf2v
🎉اسمع الصوت الراقي والدي يريح بالك ادا كنت قلق فالله يرحم سيدة كوكب الشرق ام كلثوم
@guest7501
أغنية روعة وإحساس عالي جدا
واختيار فنان لا مثيل له 🌸🫶
@user-nh2cu6fn2c
تحياتي للشعب المصري
كلمات والحان وإحساس مفيش اجمل من كده
@user-fj3eo6nq4i
❤❤❤🎉🙋🇮🇶🌹 أاله علا الحن الجميل أما صاحبت الصوت الجذاب ألف رحمه اوغفران علا روحك الطاهره كوكب الشرق ام كلثوم أعشقها بجنون
@snnmar2012
هذه الأغنية ذات شجن عندي فهي تلامس شغاف قلبي و تسطع النور على أحلا و أسمى لحظات عشتها فكانت أول أغنية للسيدة أسمعها أهديتها لم أحببت و أحب و سأحب
أدعو الله لها بالخير أينما كانت و كيفما كانت أشتاق لها كل لحظة و حين
@user-ez5rj4vo6w
لحن يدخل القلوب ❤❤ من غير استأذان ويعود بنا إلى أيام الشباب الف رحمة على روحك الطاهرة
@user-mo1ik2rd2m
ايام راحت ولأن ترجع ...
@user-gy3te5wt4q
may she rest in peace,the diva du monde arabe,i grew up in her music,now at 80 i hope she will be there,
@livespaces5165
يحفظڪم الله