"Lailee Lailee Lailee Jan"

"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 a danceable rhythm created by tabla and flute

The song is an ode to Lailee with verses like "Zulfayit shana na kun/ Baan ke pareshaan shawat/ Surmah ba cheshmayt bekaash, jan jan/ Seenay tu chashman showat" meaning "Don't brush your tresses/ Let them be messy/ Take the kohl off your eyes, my love/ So who you are is as prominent as your eyes." A man telling a woman how to make up her face and hair is ridiculous, but we give Zahir a pass since this song is a classic. Zahir pays Lailee the ultimate compliment by comparing her inner beauty to her eyes since Afghans place high importance in eyes.

Eyes are one of the distinguishing characteristics of Afghans. Because of the diverse range of ethnicities within Afghanistan, a lot of Afghans have blue or green eyes unlike other South Asian countries where these are much rarer. Eyes are important in Afghan culture because they represent peoples' duality, meaning you can use them for good or bad. When you compliment someone, the usual response is "chishmanet maqbool ast" or "your eyes are beautiful." No matter what's complimented, they credit your eyes; It's a way of saying, "I'm only as beautiful as your eyes are for seeing me." You can also compliment someone by saying "Nazar nashi" meaning "May you be protected from the evil eye." Since eyes are capable of both appreciating and coveting beauty.




Comments

  1. SamiullahFebruary 14, 2021 at 11:39 PM

    Thank you for nice background knowledge and transaltion.
    It would great if you can put tansaltion in the song.

    ReplyDelete

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