This song came to mind as I was thinking of the ongoing oppression of Palestinians… i was going to translate a part of it but I realized all of it is relevant. The christian Lebanese legend, Fairouz, sang this in 1971.
لأجلك يا مدينة الصلاة أصلي
It is on your behalf, oh city of prayer, that i pray
لأجلك يا بهية المساكن يا زهرة المدائن
On your behalf, oh splendid house, oh flower of all cities
يا قدس يا قدس يا مدينة الصلاة
Jerusalem, oh Jerusalem, I pray
Our eyes travel to you everyday
They spin in the corridors of your temples
They caress your old churches
And they wipe the sadness away from your mosques
يا ليلة الأسراء يا درب من مروا إلى السماء
Oh night of Israa (night journey of Prophet Muhammad from Mekkah to Jerusalem)
Oh trail of whom went over to the sky
عيوننا إليك ترحل كل يوم و انني أصلي
Our eyes travel to you everyday, and I pray
الطفل في المغارة و أمه مريم وجهان يبكيان
The baby is in the cave, him and his mother Mariam both cry…
Cry on behalf of those who were displaced!
On behalf of children with no houses
لأجل من دافع و أستشهد في المداخل
On behalf of those who resisted and were martyred at the gates
و أستشهد السلام في وطن السلام
And peace was martyred… in the city of peace
Justice was killed at the gates
When the city of Jerusalem fell
تراجع الحب و في قلوب الدنيا أستوطنت الحرب
Love was withdrawn… and in the hearts of the world, war was born
الطفل في المغارة و أمه مريم وجهان يبكيان و أنني أصلي
The baby is in the cave, him and his mother Mariam both cry… and I pray
الغضب الساطع آتٍ و أنا كلي ايمان
The glaring anger is coming and I am full of hope
الغضب الساطع آتٍ سأمر على الأحزان
The glaring anger is coming, I will lead the sorrows
من كل طريق آتٍ بجياد الرهبة آتٍ
From everywhere, it will arrive riding the steeds of fear
و كوجه الله الغامر آتٍ آتٍ آتٍ
And as the overwhelming face of God, it will arrive!
لن يقفل باب مدينتنا فأنا ذاهبة لأصلي
The gates of our city do not lock and I am going to pray
سأدق على الأبواب و سأفتحها الأبواب
I will knock on the doors and opem them
و ستغسل يا نهر الأردن وجهي بمياه قدسية
And you will wash my face, oh river of Jordan, with the blessed water of Jerusalem
و ستمحو يا نهر الأردن أثار القدم الهمجية
And you will wash away, oh river of Jordan, the effects of barbaric attrocities
الغضب الساطع آتٍ بجياد الرهبة آتٍ
The glaring anger is arriving, riding the steeds of fear
And it will defeat the power in place
This is our home and Jerusalem belongs to us
و بأيدينا سنعيد بهاء القدس
By our hands we will celebrate the splendor of Jerusalem
By our hands the peace will return to Jerusalem
