The lyrics of Kona Momken Netefeq (كنا ممكن نتفق) by Ramy Gamal speculate about what could have been had a couple known that their relationship was ultimately going to come to an end. If they had known they were not going to agree on many things, maybe the couple would have enjoyed their time together rather than getting caught up in their issues. They could have spent more time focusing on the positives and less time fighting. 

All of these hypothetical musings require one of our favorite tenses: the conditional. Notice how the opening line, “لو كنا نعرف” (if we had known) sets up the structure for the subsequent lines; if they had known (but they didn’t) then things might or could have been different. For an in-depth explanation of the Levantine conditional tense, take a moment to read our grammar post on the topic. Kona Momken Netefeq is in the Egyptian dialect but the structure of the tense in both dialects is very similar.

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Translation by Fi Kalam, edited by Saeed Alaktaa

لو كنا نعرف إن ممكن
If we had known that maybe
ييجي وقت ونفترق
There would come a time when we would separate
وإن احنا مش هنكون سوا
And we wouldn’t be together
وقلوبنا ممكن تتحرق
Maybe our hearts would burn out
يمكن ساعتها حاجات كتير
In that moment, there are probably many things
كانت ما بنا تختلف وحاجات
Between us that would have been different
هنمسك فيها
That we would hold onto
قبل العمر منا ما يتسرق
Before life can take them from us

لو كنا نعرف
If only we had known
كنا كترنا الصور
We would have taken more pictures
كنا زودنا اللقا
We would have increased our time together
كنا قللنا الفراق
We would have decreased our time apart
لو كنا نعرف
If only we had known
في الحياة ولا القدر
[That] neither in life nor in fate
كنا بطلنا الزعل
Could we keep ourselves from frustration
والمشاكل والخناق
And problems, and fighting
(x2)

كنا هنعيش كل لحظة
We could have lived every moment
كإنها اللحظة الاخيرة
Like that moment was the last
كنا ممكن نتفق
Maybe we could have gotten along
ايوة ممكن نتفق
Yeah, maybe we could have gotten along

جوايا يمكن ألف كلمة
There are probably a thousand words inside me
ندمت إنها ما تقالتش
I regret that they weren’t said
بقيت بحس بلمستك
I began to feel your touch
صورتك في عيني وما تشالتش
Your picture in my mind won’t go away
أنا كنت بسمع
I used to listen
زيي زي الناس
I’m like everyone else
بإن البعد صعب
In that distance is difficult
وبقيت هموت مستني تيجي
I stayed, dying from waiting for you to come
بس في الاخر ماجتش
But in the end, you never came

…لو كنا نعرف
والمشاكل والخناق…
(x2)

…كنا هنعيش كل لحظة
ايوة ممكن نتفق…

لو كنا نعرف
If only we had known
لو كنا نعرف
If only we had known