Wadih El Safi, Arabic: وديع الصافي‎ (born Wadi' Francis, November 1, 1921 –… Read Full Bio ↴Wadih El Safi, Arabic: وديع الصافي‎ (born Wadi' Francis, November 1, 1921 – October 11, 2013) was a Lebanese singer, oud player, songwriter and actor. He is a Lebanese cultural icon, and is often called the "Voice of Lebanon".

Born in Niha, Lebanon, Wadih El Safi started his artistic journey at the age of seventeen when he took part in a singing contest held by Lebanese Radio and was chosen the winner among fifty other competitors.
Wadih El Safi, a classically trained tenor, studied at the Beirut National Conservatory of Music. He became nationally known when, at seventeen, he won a vocal competition sponsored by the Lebanese Broadcasting Network. El Safi began composing and performing songs that drew upon his rural upbringing and love of traditional melodies, blended with an urban sound, and creating a new style of modernized Lebanese folk music
In 1947, El Safi traveled to Brazil, where he remained until 1950.
El Safi toured the world, singing in many languages, including Arabic, Syriac, French, Portuguese and Italian.
In the spring of 1973, El Safi recorded and released a vinyl single with the songs "Grishlah Idi" lyrics by Ninos Aho and "Iman Ya Zawna" (lyrics by Amanuel Salamon), first one in Western Syriac and second one in Eastern Syriac. The music arrangements were done by Nuri Iskandar and the songs were produced especially for an Aramean Festival, which occurred in the UNESCO building in Beirut at that time where El Safi participated as a singer.

El Safi has written over 3000 songs. He is well known for his mawawil (an improvised singing style) of 'ataba, mijana, and Abu el Zuluf. He has performed and recorded with many well-known Lebanese musicians, including Najwa Karam, Fairouz, and Sabah.

Wadih El Safi (وديع الصافي), the prominent Lebanese composer and singer of his time, often described as the "Voice of Lebanon" and responsible for the mark of distinction and popularity of the Lebanese musical sound. His name is synonymous with traditional Lebanese folklore. His tenor voice commends a unique beauty and evokes the images and sounds of Lebanese terrain. Wadie' grew up in a village in the mountains of Lebanon and later on moved to Beirut, where he began composing and performing music based on his folklore roots incorporating a new urban sound, which would be later described as the urbanization of the Lebanese folk music.

Recently, through his work with Jose Fernandes & Michel Elefteriades through Elefrecords, Wadih El Safi has explored new pathways for his music, exposing a new generation to his sound. Wadih El Safi & Jose Fernades have found great success with their arabic-flamenco fusion.

Katalouny Eyouna El Soud
Wadih El Safi Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

قتلوني عيونها السود يا ليل وما له حدود
قتلوني، قتلوني، قتلوني عيونها السود
قتلوني عيونها السود يا ليل وما له حدود
قتلوني، قتلوني، قتلوني عيونها السود

وبنية عم تكبر من يوم ليوم
زهرة ومحروسة بسيوف النوم
بنية عم تكبر من يوم ليوم

زهرة ومحروسة بسيوف النوم
خوفي يا سنين لتمر سنين
خوفي يا سنين لتمر سنين
تنساني عيونها السود

قتلوني عيونها السود يا ليل وما له حدود
قتلوني، قتلوني، قتلوني عيونها السود

أنا لأسأل عليهن من حي لحي
دور عن صورهن ببرك المي
أنا لأسأل عليهن من حي لحي
دور عن صورهن ببرك المي
والسهل يغيب والليل يغيب
والسهل يغيب والليل يغيب
ويطلوا عيونها السود

قتلوني عيونها السود يا ليل وما له حدود
قتلوني، قتلوني، قتلوني عيونها السود
قتلوني عيونها السود يا ليل وما له حدود
قتلوني، قتلوني، قتلوني عيونها السود

جينا الدار يا أهل الدار ليلتكن سعيدة
سيف النار يغزل نار ويدهب قصيدة
جينا الدار يا أهل الدار ليلتكن سعيدة
جينا الدار يا أهل الدار ليلتكن سعيدة
سيف النار يغزل نار ويدهب قصيدة
جينا الدار يا أهل الدار ليلتكن سعيدة

علوا البيارق تعب الليل
والمدى مارق بصهيل الخيل
علوا البيارق تعب الليل
والمدى مارق بصهيل الخيل
فوق الدار زهر الغار وإنكتبت أشعار

جينا الدار يا أهل الدار ليلتكن سعيدة
سيف النار يغزل نار ويدهب قصيدة
جينا الدار يا أهل الدار ليلتكن سعيدة

رجع الراجع ضحك اللون
والفرح والع هون وهون
رجع الراجع ضحك اللون
والفرح والع هون وهون
صار اللي صار والغنا دار يا هلا بالزوار

جينا الدار يا أهل الدار ليلتكن سعيدة

سيف النار يغزل نار ويدهب قصيدة
جينا الدار يا أهل الدار ليلتكن سعيدة

Overall Meaning

The lyrics to Wadih El Safi's song "Katalouny Eyouna El Soud" evoke the feeling of being captivated and enchanted by someone's beautiful and dark eyes. The repetitive line "قتلوني عيونها السود" translates to "Her black eyes killed me", emphasizing the power and intensity of the eyes. The singer expresses his fear of forgetting those captivating eyes as time passes. He sings about how the eyes grow more mesmerizing each day and how they become a flower guarded by the swords of sleep.

The second part of the song talks about the singer's search for pictures of those eyes, asking from one neighborhood to another, but realizing that even the easy times and the night will pass and those black eyes will still appear. The lyrics portray a longing for the return to the place where those captivating eyes are, and a sense of celebration and happiness when they finally arrive.

Overall, the song captures the emotional impact of falling in love or being deeply affected by someone's presence, specifically through the irresistible charm of their black eyes.

Line by Line Meaning

قتلوني عيونها السود يا ليل وما له حدود
Her black eyes killed me, oh night, and have no boundaries

وبنية عم تكبر من يوم ليوم
And the girl is growing day by day

زهرة ومحروسة بسيوف النوم
A flower guarded by the swords of sleep

خوفي يا سنين لتمر سنين
My fear, oh years, for them to pass

تنساني عيونها السود
Forget me, her black eyes

أنا لأسأل عليهن من حي لحي
I ask about them from neighborhood to neighborhood

دور عن صورهن ببرك المي
Search for their pictures In the water wells

والسهل يغيب والليل يغيب
The plain disappears and the night disappears

ويطلوا عيونها السود
And her black eyes appear

جينا الدار يا أهل الدار ليلتكن سعيدة
We came to the house, oh people of the house, may your night be happy

سيف النار يغزل نار ويدهب قصيدة
The sword of fire spins fire and weaves a poem