Arabic music freshly written and created in the heart of Scandinavia and Eu… Read Full Bio ↴Arabic music freshly written and created in the heart of Scandinavia and Europe: Sweden. The ensemble's base is the southern city Malmö, where cultures from all over the world interacts and melt together creating an interesting cultural base in Europe.

Nadin was born 1980 and raised in both Baghdad and Cairo, into an artistic family with origins in Egypt and Iraq. She escaped the war in Iraq year 2002 after surviving Gulf war 1 and 2. As a refugee in Sweden she wanted to make her musical dream become true, besides finding a new identity as a human being and an artist through music and art. She created Tarabband in 2007 and since then been actively touring Europe with her music and theater shows, radio programs and more.
Tarabband comprises six of Sweden's most established and skilled folk & world musicians, lead by the charismatic singer Nadin.

Tarabband is a musical and poetic journey of survival, exile, life and rebirth. The ensemble creates original compositions based on the Arabic music heritage, strongly influenced by the North African, World and folk music.

They also perform traditional folk songs from the Middle East with a Tarabband touch. Their music is a journey from Baghdad via Cairo, Paris to Malmö, mixing Sufism, Folk, Flamenco, Jazz and settles in Tarab, the common denominator. The renowned band combines groove and sweetness with Nadin's charismatic voice to transgress borders that are drawn between countries and humans.

The word TARAB itself in Arabic stands for "Ecstasy through music".

Ya Sidi
Tarabband Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

السلام عليكم (عليكم السلام)
شفتي! ما رد
ومتقل حاله مهيك!
سلام عليك ياسيدي ياسيدي انا
مترد الكلمه يا سيدنا
سلام عليك ياسيدي ياسيدي انا
مترد السلام

سلام عليك ياسيدي ياسيدي انا
مترد الكلمه يا سيدنا
سلام عليك ياسيدي ياسيدي انا
مترد السلام

حبيته...
حبيته من زمان
حبيت تقله كمان
حكيولي هالانسان شو مغرووور
ضلو يزيدو الكلام لعيونك بس حلو شويااا
الحروف
تاهت ع وراقي الفضيا
سلام عليك يا فايتنا
ما بدنا إلا ترد السلام

سلام عليك ياسيدي ياسيدي انا
مترد الكلمه يا سيدنا
سلام عليك ياسيدي ياسيدي انا
مترد السلام

سلام عليك ياسيدي ياسيدي انا
مترد الكلمه يا سيدنا
سلام عليك ياسيدي ياسيدي انا
مترد السلام

السين من السلام
واللام قلة كلام
ياويل منك شو مغرووور
هن يزيدو الملام لعيونك بس حلو شويااا
الحروف تاهت ع وراقي الفضيا
سلام عليك يا فايتنا
ما بدنا إلا ترد السلام

سلام عليك ياسيدي ياسيدي انا
مترد الكلمه يا سيدنا
سلام عليك ياسيدي ياسيدي انا
مترد السلام

سلام عليك ياسيدي ياسيدي انا
مترد الكلمه يا سيدنا
سلام عليك ياسيدي ياسيدي انا
مترد السلام
سلام عليك يا سيدي
يا سيدي
يا سيدي
سلم سلم ياسيدي
سلم علينا يا سيدي .

يا سيدي يا سيدي يا سيدي
الكلام ببلاش والسلام لله
يا سيدي يا سيدي يا سيدي
سلم علينا يا سيدي

آه اضل مشتاق لعيونك
سلام عليك ياسيدي ياسيدي انا

سلام عليك ياسيدي ياسيدي انا

سلام عليك يا سيدي يا سيدي يا سيدي
سلم سلم يا سيدي

Overall Meaning

The song "Ya Sidi" by Tarabband is a beautiful and heartfelt tribute to a loved one, expressed through the traditional Arabic greeting of "salaam alaikum" (peace be upon you) and the desire for a response. The singer yearns for the attention and affection of her beloved, who seems distant and unresponsive. She confesses her love and devotion, admitting to being enamored with him for a long time and wanting him to reciprocate her feelings. The repetition of "ya sidi" (my master) emphasizes the power dynamic in their relationship, with the singer expressing submission and vulnerability, and hoping that her beloved will acknowledge her with a simple response to her greeting. Throughout the song, the theme of words and their power is prevalent, with the singer lamenting the lack of response to her words of love and the letters on the silver sheets (a reference to the ornate calligraphy in Arabic), and acknowledging the power of words to hurt or soothe.

Line by Line Meaning

السلام عليكم (عليكم السلام)
May peace be upon you (and upon you be peace)

شفتي! ما رد
Do you see! No answer

ومتقل حاله مهيك!
And not feeling well!

سلام عليك ياسيدي ياسيدي انا
Peace be upon you, oh my master, I

مترد الكلمه يا سيدنا
Am repeating the words, oh my lord

مترد السلام
Am repeating the peace

حبيته...
I loved him...

حبيته من زمان
I loved him for a long time

حبيت تقله كمان
I loved to hear him say it too

حكيولي هالانسان شو مغرووور
They told me that this person is so proud

ضلو يزيدو الكلام لعيونك بس حلو شويااا
They keep saying nice things for your sake, but it's a little sweet