Law (لو) by Elissa tells the story of a woman who regrets an affair she has been having. She reflects on the decisions she made and what she wishes she had - or had not - done. She imagines what life could look like if she had not had the affair. 

All of this hypothesizing and reflecting makes for a compelling story and provides a wealth of examples of conditional phrases in Ammiyeh Arabic. Conditionals are those “if clauses” commonly used when talking about things that might happen in the future or things that could have happened (but didn’t) in the past. Scroll down to read the lyrics and study how the use of conditional phrases shapes the tone of this story.

For a more thorough explanation of the conditional tense in Arabic, check out our grammar post

Translation by Fi Kalam, edited by Saeed Alaktaa

لو غمضتن عينيي ومشيت
If I had closed my eyes and walked [away]
لا اتطلعت فيي ولا حكيت
You’d neither looked at me nor spoken
ياريتك ما جيت
Oh how I wish you hadn’t come
تحرم عينيي غفوتا
You deprive my eyes of slumber
تلعب الصدفة لعبتا
Coincidence plays its game
ياريتني
Oh I wish I
ياريتني
Oh I wish I
ياريتني ما كنت لحظتا
I wish I hadn’t been there in that moment

متل اللي كأنو عيونك صرلي بعرفا
It was as if I already knew you
Literal translation: it was as if I already knew your eyes
عمر وكأني ما دقت طعم العمر
As if I had never tasted life before
هبّت مشاعر ماكنت اعرف اوصفا
Feelings blew in that I didn’t know how to describe
غلّت ما بين العتمة وخيال والضجر
Something between darkness, fantasy, and boredom
صعبة الخيانة كتير بعيون الوفا
Betrayal is difficult in the eyes of the loyal
وحدو شعور الذنب بيعرف شو بني
These feelings of sin alone know how I feel
Literal translation: these feelings of sin alone know what’s up with me
بلحظة سرقني البرد من حضن الكلو دفا
In an instant, a chill stole me from a warm hug
عمري ندهني لوين عزّتني الدنيّ
My life called to me from where the world had left me

لو ما فتّحت عيوني عالدنية
If I hadn’t opened my eyes to the world
لوما غفّيتن على أجمل قصة
If only I had closed them on the most beautiful story
يوما لصحيت ولعرفت اللوم
That day I woke up and knew blame
لبكيت ولو ضحكت بيوم
Crying and laughter all in a day
ولا اوهامي حلمت فيك بنوما
Even my fantasies dreamt of you

لوما عيش الفرحة اللي مش من حقي
If I hadn’t lived a joy I had no right to
لوما أشعر إني ملكت العالم
If I didn’t feel like I owned the world
يوما لا خسرتك ولا حالي خسرت
That day I wouldn’t have lost you and wouldn’t have lost myself
ياريت بيوم اللي اخترت
I wish on the day when I chose
صدقت ظنوني وحكياتا
I would have trusted my gut
I would have trusted my suspicions and tales
ولو ماااااااااااا غمضتن عينيي ومشيييييييييييييييييييييييييييييييييييييييييييييييت
And if onlyyyyyyyy I had closed my eyes and walked [awaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay]

Vocabulary / مفردات

لو
If

غمضتن (غمض)
I closed them

الصدفة
Serendipity or coincidence

ياريتني (ياريت)
I wish that
This is another phrase with an “ if only” or “don't we wish” type meaning. ياريت is pretty colloquial. لو ما is a little more formal and poetic.

الخيانة
Betrayal

وفاء
Loyalty

فتّحت (فتح)
I opened

(اوهامي (وهم / اوهام
My fantasies
Can also be translated as my delusions

حلمت (حلم)
I dreamt

حقي (حق)
My right
If you want to say, “you’re right” or “that’s a good point” you can say معك حق