Ahmad Zahir's Influence

The creator of the above video was clearly Afghan. Not only for the simple fact that they uploaded "Zendegi Chist" to Youtube and wrote its title in Dari, but because of the images chosen. Only Afghans would upload a video about life's pitfalls with a compilation of images of flowers and celebrating love. That doesn't make sense for the song at all, but Afghans love love no matter if the song they're representing does or not. In a similar way that Bakhtar Zamin ("Zendegi Chist" uploader) presented the song to their liking visually, our next artist does the same visually and musically. Sadriddin is a well-known Tajiki artist whose collaborations with other Tajiki and Afghan artists within the last 10 years are some of the most popular in the Afghan music world. Most of his songs are in Dari, a familiar language in Tajikistan thus his fan following spans widely. Also, his Dari is impeccable so I thought he was Afghan for the first 20 years of my exis...

"Zendegi Chist" is unlike most other Ahmad Zahir songs because of its relatively serious subject matter. The chorus, "Zindegi chist? Khoone dil khordan/ Zar deewarein arazoo mordan." means "What is life? Perpetual grief/ You die under a wall of hope." These lyrics are unlike Zahir's other well-known pop/dance jams. And quite confusing considering the theme of images presented in the video above. Despite its relatively melancholic lyrics, the song has many covers; mostly by Afghan artist. Although its most popular rendition (according to Youtube) is by Iranian artist Mansour who gave "Zendegi Chist" a positive spin with new lyrics and an "I love life" video featuring him and a woman cruising in a Jeep on a sunny day. Mansour's summer drive is a vastly different aesthetic than what I imagine Zahir would've created, but it works for his audience. As "Zendegi Chist" works for its listeners. Maybe a break from all ...

"Sultan-E-Qalbam" remains a staple in Afghan culture whether or not artists stay true to the original lyrics. Most of the time, they do not. I'm not sure whether this is specific to covers of Afghan songs, but artists always feel it necessary to change the lyrics. For most English-language songs I hear, this is not the case. Maybe everyone thinks they know better than Ahmad Zahir or that his words were inapplicable to today's cultural landscape. Whatever the reason, Zahir's songs remain influential no matter the tweaking. Leila Forohaur and Aref Arefkia's cover of "Sultan-E-Qalbam" is proof of this. Leila Forohaur is an iconic Iranian songstress. Her musical career started in the 70s and lasts to this day. She's known for her dance and pop songs which are popular in Iran, Afghanistan and countries bordering the two. Forouhar and Aref's cover is also unique because of its success despite never having a studio recording. And this song was...

"Sultan-E-Qalbam" or "king of my heart" tells the story of a woman Zahir loves. It's another timeless song with a lot of instrumentation backing up its sweet lyrics. Its chorus "Sultan-e-qalbem tu hasti tu hasti/ Darwazi haye dilem rah shikasti/ Paiman yaari tu barman bebasti/ Chashm intezaram" translates to "You're the king of my heart/ You broke my heart's walls/ You made a pact to love me/ My eyes wait to see you." This song is slower than the dance numbers Zahir is known for, but remains popular because of its rhythm. Although its lyrics are wonderful like "Az barg-e gul qaghaz saazam/ Nama-e shereen be pardaazam" which means "I'll make paper from petals/ To write your sweet name on," most artists who cover this song change the verses. Maybe it's because their old Dari style is unfamiliar to modern audiences since the way Zahir structures sentences varies slightly from what is used colloquially toda...

How do you redo a timeless song that requires no change to stay relevant? According to Zeek Afridi, you first switch the song title and throw in some unimpressive extras for a more "mast" (fun/party) tune that fits in modern times. I'm convinced the fact that Afridi is from Pakistan contributes to his dramatic rendition of Zahir's classic. The intro was eerily similar to many Hindi-language soap operas I've shamelessly consumed. The upbeat accordion and omnipresent keyboard made the song sound more like part of the soundtrack to a Bollywood movie than a Zahir cover, but Zahir's Afghan influence nonetheless shone through. Namely, Afridi's ample use of keyboard and complete (meaning no lines were added or removed) cover of "Lailee Lailee Lailee Jan" was enough evidence that this was originally an Afghan song. Yes, Afridi brought some Pakistani-influenced elements to the song, but he remained true to its heritage. Afridi is a Pashtun meanin...

"Lailee Lailee Lailee Jan" is probably the most universal Ahmad Zahir song. Just as every brown person's quintessential Arabic song is Amr Diab's "Nour El Ein," "Lailee" is every brown person's quintessential Farsi song. It is so popular that the Bollywood movie "Lipstick Under My Burkha" sampled it for its soundtrack. My cousins who barely understand Farsi know and love this song. Zahir praises a woman named Lailee whom he refers to as "Lailee Jan." Afghans attach the word "jan" at the end of someone's name they admire/respect/love. The chorus, "Lailee Lailee Lailee Jan, jan jan/ Mara kushti ba armaan/ Da ey qeshlaq namadi, jan jan/ Dil ma kardi wayran" means "Lailee Lailee Lailee my love/ My desire for you is killing me/ You don't come to my town, my love/ You've made my heart confused" Like all of Zahir's songs, "Lailee" keeps it simple with universal lyrics and ...

Ahmad Zahir's most popular Qarsak song is still a staple in Afghan culture. It made Qarsak music more popular in social settings among all Afghans instead of just Penjshir natives. The fact that the song only requires a few instruments also adds to its popularity. "Kajaki's" simple rhythm created by a small number of instruments allows (and resulted in) many artists to pay homage to it; one of the most popular of which being Valy. Valy is an Iranian artist whose songs are usually in Dari. Unlike most Iranian artists whose lyrics are exclusively Farsi, Valy appeals to young Iranians and Afghans alike because he sings in Dari. He's known for his pop/dance songs that often sample from classics. "Zim Zim" strays from "Kajaki" instrumentally, but not in its essence. It stays true to "Kajaki's" dance tune except with more autotune and general noise. Valy also remixes the song by adding extra verses and excluding some of the o...

"Kajaki" marks Zahir's foray into a musical genre specific to the Panjshir province of Afghanistan. Qarsak, the musical genre, is similar to other genres indigenous to rural Afghanistan in its reliance on catchy rhythms more so than complex, poetic lyrics. "Kajaki" made Qarsak more accessible to people in urban areas of Afghanistan because of its introduction by an artist loved by all. This song, like Zahir's others, is simple instrumentally as well; only using a few instruments to carry the catchy rhythm. The chorus "Kajaki abroyet neshe gazhodam ast/ Che koonam afsose malem mardom ast." means "Your eyebrows are like a scorpion's tail/ What can I do if they don't belong to me." (This is meant as praise for her beautiful face, and regret for her not "being his" metaphorically.  He's not suggesting he wants to own her eyebrows.) Scorpions are common everywhere in Afghanistan so making such a comparison resonates...

Many artists covered "Khuda Bowad Yaret" over the years; most notably Naim Popal and Farhad Darya, two giants in Afghan music. Every artist treats the song differently, but the one common denominator among covers was gender. Naim Popal and Farhad Darya are men who cover a lot of Zahir's songs as do the majority of male Afghan artists. For this reason, I chose Niyaz's cover of "Khuda Bowad Yaret" to compare with the original instead. The lead singer of Niyaz is Azam Ali, an Iranian woman. Hers is the first recorded female voice I've heard singing Zahir's classic which must be the case for many listeners. Since she is a pioneer, I was intrigued by what Niyaz decided to do with that kind of responsibility. I was not disappointed. First of all, this song is in Dari, a dialect of Farsi that is spoken most popularly in Afghanistan. However, Ali is from Iran where Farsi is dominant. They are the same language, their dictional differences being relati...

"Khuda Bowad Yaret" (may God protect you), a favorite of Ahmad Zahir's songs and one of the only to be given music video treatment, is still relevant today. The song uses tabla (drums similar to bongoes), accordion and sitar common instruments among Zahir's music library. Zahir's music was simple musically and complex lyrically, similar to many contemporary Afghan artists. However, music during the 1970s in Afghanistan was divided between classes. Music with lyrics rooted in poetry and instrumental subtleties was made specifically for educated classes while those with little education listened to completely different artists. What made Zahir revolutionary was his ability to abolish the musical class divide and make music palatable for everyone in Afghanistan no matter their educational background or socioeconomic status. One reason for "Khoda Bowad Yaret's" popularity was its explicit connection with Islam, one of many common threads among Af...