All playlists eventually lead to Fairouz, so it seemed like time for us to dive into one of her songs. Fairouz is arguably the most famous Lebanese singer of all time. She has a beautiful and haunting voice that adds so many feelings - most of them sad -  and texture to her songs. 

Habaytak Bisayf (حبيتك بالصيف) is one of the first Fairouz songs I learned, and it remains one of my favorites. The lyrics use simple vocabulary to tell a story of love that didn’t work out. It’s a great song to listen to on a rainy morning.

Lyrics and music by the Rahbani brothers. Translation by Fi Kalam.

بأيام البرد وأيام الشتي
On cold days and on rainy days,
والرصيف بحيرة والشارع غريق
When the sidewalk is like a lake and the street is drowned
تجي هاك البنت من بيتها العتيق
The girl steps out of her old house
ويقل لها انطريني و تنطر ع الطريق
He says to her, “wait for me” and she waits by the road
ويروح وينساها و تذبل بالشتي
He goes off and forgets her and she withers in the rain

حبيتك بالصيف حبيتك بالشتي
I loved you in the summer, I loved you in the winter
نطرتك بالصيف نطرتك بالشتي
I waited for you through the summer, I waited for you through the winter
وعيونك الصيف وعيوني الشتي
Your eyes are the summer, my eyes are the winter
ملقانا يا حبيبي
Our reunion my love,
خلف الصيف وخلف الشتي
It’s summers past, it’s winters past

مرقت الغريبة عطيتني رسالة
A stranger passed by, she gave me a letter
كتبها حبيبي بالدمع الحزين
It was written by my lover, in tears of sadness
فتحت الرسالة حروفها ضايعين
I opened the letter, it’s words were lost
و مرقت أيام و غربتنا سنين
Days passed, and the years made us strangers
وحروف الرسالة محيها الشتي
And the words of the letter, were erased by the rain

Vocabulary / مفردات

الشتي
The rain or the winter
فصحى = الشتاء

الرصيف
The sidewalk

بحيرة
Lake

غريق (غرق)
Drowned

انطريني (نطر)
Wait for me

ينساها (نسى)
He forgets her

تذبل (ذبل)
She withers

خلف
Behind, after, past

مرقت (مرق)
She passed by or went by

دمع / دموع
Tear/tears

حرف / حروف
Letter / letters, as in the letters of the alphabet
Many phrases that include “word” in English, have equivalents in Arabic that use حرف rather than كلمة. For example," ولا حرف", which is similar to the English phrase “not a word” in English.