History
Formation and early years
The band was formed in February 2008 at the American University of Beirut, when violinist Haig Papazian, guitarist Andre Chedid and pianist Omaya Malaeb posted an open invitation to musicians looking to jam. Out of a dozen of people who answered the call, seven would remain to form Mashrou' Leila. The workshop evolved into a hit band after playing in small venues, and gaining ground on the underground music circuit.
Mashrou' Leila emerged onto Lebanon’s music scene during the 2008 "Fete de la Musique" (the yearly Music festival held by the Beirut municipality) sparking controversy for its unabashed and critical lyrics on Lebanese society, failed love, sexuality and politics. In 2009, at the same festival, Mashrou’ Leila played in front of a large following where fans moshed to their music in downtown Beirut. The band's breakthrough single "Raksit Leila" (Leila's dance) was awarded both the jury and popular awards at the Radio Liban's 'Modern Music Contest' held at Basement (club) in March 2009. The first prize was a record deal. Mashrou' Leila’s self-titled debut album produced by B-root Productions was released in December 2009 at a steel factory in Bourj Hammoud (a suburb of Beirut) where 1200 fans crowded the factory yard. The gig turned out to be Beirut's biggest non-mainstream event in recent years and has been a big hit among Indie and Rock fans in Lebanon. The band's concert at the Byblos International Festival on July 9, 2010 was one of the most anticipated events of the summer it was attended by scores of fans as well as the Lebanese prime minister Saad Hariri.
Band members
Mashrou' Leila's current lineup consists of Haig Papazian on the Violin, Omaya Malaeb on keyboards, Carl Gerges on drums, Ibrahim Badr on bass guitar, Firas Abu-Fakhr and Andre Chedid on guitars, and Hamed Sinno as the lead vocalist.
Themes and style
Mashrou’ Leila's entertaining themes and satirical Lebanese lyrics reflect the many faces and flaws of Lebanese society which are not addressed by mainstream Arabic music. The band is critical of the problems associated with life in Beirut and they are known for their liberal use of swear-words in some of their songs. Their debut album's 9 songs wittily discuss subject matters such as lost love, war, politics, security and political assassination, materialism, immigration and homosexuality. "Latlit" one of the Mashrou' Leila album tracks is a caricature of the Lebanese society overridden by gossip. Shem-el Yasmine "Smell the jasmine", a song reminiscent to Jay Brannan's "Housewife" was described as an ode to tolerance for same-sex love where a young man wants to introduce his bride to his parents but the bride turns out to be a groom. Some of the distinctive features of the band's music is the prominence of the violin in passages redolent of Armenian folk music and the use of a megaphone in some songs to alter frontman Hamed Sinno's voice.
Discography
Studio albums
Mashrou' Leila (2009)
Raksit Leila
mashrou3 leila Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
و أنا بيني و بينك مليونين
غنيلي عن ألباتنجان
كل شي ما عدا كيف تعبان
الوضع بالمعاملتين
و أنا مني واقف تحت أمرين
أمير و ملاك و سيستين
The lyrics of the song "Raksit Leila" by Mashrou3 Leila are a perfect blend of dark humor, playful sarcasm, and social commentary. At first glance, the lyrics seem to be light-hearted, silly, and even nonsensical. However, upon closer interpretation, we find that the song is a satire on society's obsession with appearances, as well as a commentary on the superficiality of modern relationships.
The phrase "مش كل شي نفع ضاربة عين" roughly translates to "not everything that looks good is good," which sets the tone for the rest of the song. The singer is caught in a confusing relationship, and the lyrics reflect his inner turmoil. He sings about how he is stuck between two extremes, trying to balance his desires with his moral obligations. He feels like he is being pulled in multiple directions, and the pressure is overwhelming. The line "و أنا مني واقف تحت أمرين" encapsulates this feeling perfectly. The singer feels like he is caught in a never-ending cycle of trying to appease everyone, and it's taking a toll on him.
The use of the word "ألباتنجان" (aubergine) seems to be a playful way of mocking the shallow and superficial nature of relationships in modern society. The singer asks his partner to sing to him about "ألباتنجان," which is essentially meaningless in this context. He seems to be mocking the idea that we place so much importance on trivial things like looks, instead of focusing on what truly matters.
Line by Line Meaning
مش كل شي نفع ضاربة عين
Not everything that looks good is good, and sometimes things can be deceiving.
و أنا بيني و بينك مليونين
Despite our closeness, there are still a million things that separate us.
غنيلي عن ألباتنجان
Sing to me about eggplants.
كل شي ما عدا كيف تعبان
Everything seems fine except for how tired I am.
الوضع بالمعاملتين
The situation is complicated.
و أنا مني واقف تحت أمرين
I am torn between two conflicting sides.
أمير و ملاك و سيستين
I am both a ruler and a subject.
مش نافعة دخل ال مضربان
Nothing seems to help ease the tension or resolve the conflict.
Contributed by Nolan L. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@bananabread8178
2010: omfg this is amazing
2011: omfg this is amazing
2012: omfg this is amazing
2013: omfg this is amazing
2014: omfg this is amazing
2015: omfg this is amazing
2016: omfg this is amazing
2017: omfg this is amazing
2018: omfg this is amazing
2019: omfg this is still amazing
OMG I CANT BELIEVE IT I MADE THROUGH 2020 & 2021 AND OMFG THIS IS STILL AMAZING
@Rageify
There are many comments posting the lyrics and their translation (most are very literal) below, so I'll give you my personal interpretation of it instead but I'm sorry if my post isn't clear, I really don't know how to explain, lol. The genius of this song is that in 8 sentences (or expressions) they cover a bunch of topics: from superstition, to love, sex, politics, personal struggles and sometimes different topics in one sentence, depending on how you interpret that sentence. "Sing to me about eggplants," is an expression used 1- to dismiss something someone tells you -2- it can also mean "let's talk about silly stuff" and 3 - An "eggplant" also refers to penis, so it can also be interpreted as "Let's talk about sex." All that said, here's one way to look at it:
Not everything that works is jinxed
Money (can also be distance/class) comes between us
Sing to me about eggplants
Everything except your troubles
The situation is fucked up
And I'm not following two orders (can also be two things/commands)
A prince, an angel and two policies (to me, I see this as reference to Lebanon being ruled by foreign countries, religious leaders and its different internal political factions, unless by "mlek" he means "malik", i.e. "king")
Repression doesn't work (The literal translation is "it's not working in the jar." It can also be interpreted as a play on the English expression "in a pickle" or "jar of pickles.")
@sethappleton7628
If you speak Arabic , but have no idea what the song is about, you're not alone. It's a regional thing
@zolfis4719
It says in general I rather that you talk about eggplants not about the condition in Lebanon or your bad mood
@taliacool151
LOL
@shapereinhardt3151
Lebanese language are way different from arabic language even thou both what now called drives from semitic lang.
@mariamshohayeb6707
@@shapereinhardt3151 they are all similar and we all understand the each other except the north african arabic dialects besides Egypt are very different
@shapereinhardt3151
@@mariamshohayeb6707 not true...we dont all understand eachother.
@rllnd
10 years later if you still watch this ur legend.
@halayaniss9469
They’re legends 😍!
@saravlogs7659
🥺🥺
@salmagharby656
😭😭😭❤