In … Read Full Bio ↴Re Soumaya Baalbaki's album "Arabtango*" (by Francisco Vázquez):
In one sentence, Arabtango shows that the Latin American lovers' expressive sadness (of which tango is the utmost accomplishment) goes along well with Arabic, a language that has at least 3 different words for the expression "passionate love". In Arabtango, Soumaya Ba'albaki adapts classic Arabic tango songs like اطلب عيني, giving them new life and making it available for the new generations.
Every melody combines Soumaya's tearing voice with an unconventional mix of "sad" music played in "happy" tones. The final result is not necessarily tango, but it is really good. In other words, if you think that Andrés Calamaro perverted and destroyed tango in "Tinta Roja", do yourself a favor and refrain from listening Arabtango.
[In this album] Soumaya Ba'albaki speaks in the Lebanese dialect, which means that she does not pronounce some letters, not to mention that she does not care about the grammatical rules. In fact, the cd includes a curious explanation about why she decided to use her country's dialect instead of the formal standard Arabic. The explanation has to do with the need to express her feelings in a common language, which goes with the Latin American spirit of tango.
Some non-Arabic speakers who have listened to the cd have found it expressive, powerful and passionate despite the language barrier.
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* Original edited down for general use. Any references may require factual verification.
ps: if anyone has a real description of Soumaya Baalbaki's actual biography, please be kind enough to share it here. thx!
Ahibak W'anta Fakirni
Soumaya Baalbaki Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
وأحبك وإنت ناسينى
أحبك وإنت فاكرني
وأحبك وإنت ناسينى
عشان طول ما إنت هاجرني
أفكر إمتى حتجيني
أنا أحبك، أنا أحبك
أنا أنا أنا أنا، أنا أحبك
أحبك حب يكفيني، أعيش منه في نسيانك
وحبك مهما يظلمني، أحب الظلم علشانك
أحبك حب يكفيني، أعيش منه في نسيانك
وحبك مهما يظلمني، أحب الظلم علشانك
وأحبك لما تسعدني بكلمة وكلمة تشقيني
ويبقى الذل والفرحة بيتسابقوا في دموع عنيه
أنا أحبك، أنا أحبك
أنا أحبك، أنا أحبك
أنا أنا أنا أنا، أنا أحبك
أحبك وإنت فاكرني
وأحبك وإنت ناسينى
أحبك وإنت فاكرني
وأحبك وإنت ناسينى
عشان طول ما إنت هاجرني
أفكر إمتى حتجيني
أنا أحبك، أنا أحبك
أنا أحبك، أنا أحبك
أنا أنا أنا أنا، أنا أحبك
The lyrics to Soumaya Baalbaki's song Ahibak W'anta Fakirni express the complex emotions of a person in love with someone who seems to be forgetting them. The singer expresses their love for the person despite their apparent neglect and recalls moments when their love brought them joy and pain. The repetition of the chorus "ana ahibak" emphasizes the strength of the singer's love and their desire for the other person to remember them.
The song captures the feeling of longing and uncertainty that often accompanies unrequited love. The singer's hope that the other person will come back to them is mixed with a resignation that they may never return. The paradoxical lines "وحبك مهما يظلمني، أحب الظلم علشانك" (I love you even if you hurt me, I love the hurt because of you) suggest that the singer's love has become intertwined with their pain, making it difficult to let go.
Overall, the lyrics paint a vivid picture of a person consumed by love for someone who may or may not ever return their affection.
Line by Line Meaning
أحبك وإنت فاكرني
I love you and you remember me
وأحبك وإنت ناسينى
And I love you even when you forget me
أحبك حب يكفيني، أعيش منه في نسيانك
My love for you is enough for me. I live through it while forgetting you
وحبك مهما يظلمني، أحب الظلم علشانك
And your love, no matter how cruel it is to me, I love it because of you
وأحبك لما تسعدني بكلمة وكلمة تشقيني
And I love you when you make me happy with every word, even if they hurt me
ويبقى الذل والفرحة بيتسابقوا في دموع عنيه
And humiliation and happiness remain competing in my tears
عشان طول ما إنت هاجرني، أفكر إمتى حتجيني
Because as long as you neglect me, I am constantly wondering when you'll come back to me
أنا أحبك، أنا أحبك
I love you, I love you
أنا أنا أنا أنا، أنا أحبك
I am me, I am me and I love you
Contributed by Kaelyn I. Suggest a correction in the comments below.