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One of the best ways to learn a language is by studying the media that native speakers themselves listen to and read, and popular songs can also reveal much about the culture and traditions of an area where the language is spoken. Following on the success of his Kilma Hilwa: Egyptian Arabic through Popular Songs (AUC Press, 2015), Cairo-based Arabic teacher Bahaa Ed-Din Ossama now brings together twenty songs in Modern Standard Arabic performed by popular singers of the Arab world from Abd al-Halim Hafez to Fairouz and builds a variety of language lessons around them, with notes on vocabulary, grammar, and usage, and communicative exercises in listening, reading, and speaking. The songs are graded from easiest to most difficult, and each lesson includes a link to a performance of the song on YouTube, the lyrics of the song, and notes on the writer, the composer, and the singer. Illustrations by calligrapher Hatem Arafa accompany each song.
Students using this unique book will not only improve their Arabic skills but will also gain an insight into the cultural landscape of the Arab world. The book can be used in the classroom or for self-study.
Includes songs by: Abd al-Halim Hafez, Fairouz, Fuad Abd al-Magid, Karem Mahmoud, Kazem al-Saher, Muhammad Abd al-Wahab, Nagat al-Saghira, Rima Khashish, and Umm Kulthum.
Introduction
List of Songs, ranked according to difficulty
List of Songs, in chronological order
1. Lasto Adri (1944)
I Do Not Know
Sung by Mohamed Abdelwahab
2. Sawt al-Watan (1952)
Homeland’s Voice
Sung by Om Kalthoum
3. Al-Nahr al-Khalid (1954)
The Eternal River
Sung by Mohamed Abdelwahab
4. La Talomni (1955)
Do Not Blame Me
Sung by Abdel Halim Hafez
5. Sawfa Ahya (1955)
I Shall Live
Sung by Fayruz
6. Zeriyab (1957)
Zeriyab
Sung by Fayruz
7. Madha Aqula Lahu? (1964)
What Would I Say to Him?
Sung by Najah al-Sagheera
8. Araka ‘Aseyya al-Dam‘i (1964)
Your Tears Seem Defiant
Sung by Om Kalthoum
9. A‘tini al-Nayy wa Ghanni
Give Me the Ney and Sing
Sung by Fayruz
10. La Tas’aluni Ma Ismuhu Habibi
Do Not Ask about my Lover’s Name
Sung by Fayruz
11. Zahrat al-Mada’in (1967)
The Flower of Cities
Sung by Fayruz
12. Hadith al-Rawh (1967)
Spiritual Words
Sung by Om Kalthoum
13. Aqbala al-Layl (1969)
The Night Has Come
Sung by Om Kalthoum
14. Aghadan Alqak (1971)
Will I See You Tomorrow
Sung by Om Kalthoum
15. Ya Gharib al-Dar (1977)
The Wanderer
Sung by Fuad Abdel Meguid
16. As’aluka al-Raheel (1991)
I am Askinng You to Leave
Sung by Najah al-Sagheera
17. Madrasat al-Hubb (1997)
The School of Love
Sung by Kazim al-Sahir
18. Lah Teyyah
The Careless Drifter
Sung by Reema Khashish
19. Harram al-Nawm (2009)
Sleep Deprived
Sung by Reema Khashish
20. Wallahi Ma Tala‘at al-Shams (2012)
No Sun has Risen
Sung by a choir
English Translations of the Songs
Biographies
Verbs and their variations
Links to the Songs
Bibliography