Rima Khcheich {ريما خشيش} (b. 1974) is a Lebanese singer,

Khcheich w… Read Full Bio ↴Rima Khcheich {ريما خشيش} (b. 1974) is a Lebanese singer,

Khcheich was born in Khiam, South Lebanon. She started singing classical Arabic music at the age of nine, and was awarded the bronze medal at the 'Bizert Festival for the Mediterranean Song' in Tunisia, 1985. Her singing career started with the children's choir at the Arabic Cultural Club, and later evolved into a solo performance with the Beirut Oriental Troop for Arabic Music under the supervision and direction of Salim Sahab.

Khcheich studied the tradition of classical Arabic singing at The Lebanese National Higher Conservatory of Music in Beirut, and her efforts were supported by her father Kamel Khcheich who encouraged her to memorise and master classics from the Arabic music heritage, such as Muwashahat*, Adwar, and other styles. She has performed Zakariah Ahmad, Al-Kassabji, Sayyed Darwish, Kamel Al Khal'i, and Muhammad Abdel Wahab, amongst others.

Having participated in various concerts in Lebanon and around the world, Khcheich has gained international repute and admiration for her gift at performing complex Arabic classical forms such as Dor 'Emta El hawa', and Muwashah 'Anta al Mudallal'.

Currently, Khcheich teaches Oriental singing at the Lebanese National Higher Conservatory of Music and is invited on a yearly basis to Massachusetts, USA, where she teaches voice and classical Arabic singing at Mount Holyoke College under the framework of the Arabic Music Retreat program directed by musician and composer Simon Shaheen.

Her professional collaborations include performing with Shaheen, singing on composer Toufic Farroukh's album Tootya released in 2006, and being an integral part of the Dutch-Lebanese- Iraqi band The Orient Express. This band tried to create meeting grounds between the Arab musical heritage and Jazz. The band released one album, Orient Express, in 2002.

In 2006, Khsheish released her debut solo album, Yalalalli, which features a number of old songs and Muwashahat that she performs in a personalised, contemporary manner, alongside new compositions.

* Muwashahat: plural of Muwashshah, a vocal form in Arabic music.

A strophic song with refrain. The form originated at Cabra, near Cordoba, in the 9th century; it enjoyed a vogue in Muslim Spain in the 11th century, and spread subsequently throughout the Arab world, where it survives in oral tradition.

One of seven post-Classical poetic forms, It is performed on both secular and religious occasions and combines classical metres with new ones arranged in strophes. Each poem is divided into an indefinite number of units (abyat, sing. bayt), each containing a varied number of poetic lines. Musically, a muwashshah is performed by a solo singer alternating with responsorial, antiphonal or collective singing in unison, depending on the performing group. The performance of this difficult art, composed by specialists, demands a mastery of both maqams (modes) and usuls, the complicated rythmic patterns of Arabic music.

Bisat el Reeh
Rima Khcheich Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

مش كل شي بيلبق لك
بيساع جسمك وعقلك
وعيون الغجر بالحكي الغريب تكحلك
وما عندي شيء لإلك
إلا أنا وبساط الريح

مش كل شي بيلبق لك
بيساع جسمك وعقلك

وعيون الغجر بالحكي الغريب تكحلك
وما عندي شيء لإلك
إلا أنا وبساط الريح

آه ما هو حبك بدو سما وشمس وهنا وعنبر
وحجر أخضر ويسابق الخيل ع حوافي الليل
ويساير البحر تيلعب بموجاته
وما عندي شي لإلك
إلا أنا وبساط الريح

ما هو حبك آه حبك
بدو سهل مريح
عقد من بيوت الدنيا
وربابي من بعلبك
عقد من بيوت الدني ووعود وكلام
حبك بدو سلام وما عندي شي لإلك

مش كل شي بيلبق لك
بيساع جسمك وعقلك
وعيون الغجر بالحكي الغريب تكحلك

وما عندي شيء لإلك
إلا أنا وبساط الريح

Overall Meaning

The lines in Rima Khcheich's Bisat El-Reeh are expressing the idea that not everything is meant for a person, and that we need to be selective about what we let into our lives. The singer urges the listener to be mindful of what they allow into their body and mind, and to be cautious of the strange and foreign aspects of life that can cloud our judgment. However, they also recognize that despite not having material possessions to offer, they can offer themselves and the intangible comfort of the winds.

The next verse explores the idea of love and how it is not necessarily something grand and elaborate, but can be found in the simple things in life such as a comfortable home and companionship. The singer contrasts the idea of love as something extravagant with the notion of finding love in the everyday, like the way a simple breeze can bring comfort. Despite not being able to offer anything but themselves and the wind, the singer is offering their love and companionship to the listener.

Overall, the lyrics express the belief that we should be selective of what we allow into our lives and value the simple things in life, including love and companionship.

Line by Line Meaning

مش كل شي بيلبق لك
Not everything suits you

بيساع جسمك وعقلك
It can help your body and mind

وعيون الغجر بالحكي الغريب تكحلك
The gypsy eyes will darken you with strange talk

وما عندي شيء لإلك
And I have nothing for you

إلا أنا وبساط الريح
Except for me and the wind's carpet

آه ما هو حبك بدو سما وشمس وهنا وعنبر
Oh, your love does not need the sky, the sun, the henna or the amber

وحجر أخضر ويسابق الخيل ع حوافي الليل
Or a green stone that races horses on the edges of the night

ويساير البحر تيلعب بموجاته
Or sails the sea playing with its waves

وما عندي شي لإلك
And I have nothing for you

إلا أنا وبساط الريح
Except for me and the wind's carpet

ما هو حبك آه حبك
What is your love, oh your love