Ya Badr by Dina Elwedidi
Dina Elwedidi is a multi-talented artist and musician from Giza, Egypt. Her music crosses many genres - folk to electroacoustic to experimental to train-based music - and her musical collaborations have taken her around the world.
Ya Badr (يا بدر), Elwedidi's recent single (in collaboration with prominent mahraganat producer DJ Totti) became an instant hit when it was released last February. Opening with a rich موال (see vocabulary list below), followed by a strong beat, and a relatable storyline, it's a great tune for any time of year. And the music video has some stellar desert scenery as a bonus.
After listening to Ya Badr for a few months, I decided to finally look up the lyrics and realized there wasn't yet an English translation. So, we've put one together for you all. Ya Badr is in the Egyptian dialect.
Lyrics by Dina Elwedidi. Translation by Fi Kalam, edited by Saeed Alaktaa
يا بدر
Oh Badr
أيه العمل حيرت أفكاري
He’s the thing that’s got my thoughts mixed up
حرام عليك يا جميل
Shame on you, oh beautiful one
دموعي صبح جاري
My tears are flowing
أوعي تصدق كلام عازل وتهجرني
Careful to believe the empty words and leave me,
أخاف عليك لتحرق ناري
I’m afraid you’ll burn me
ياللي نويت الغرام خليك بعيد عنو
Those of you looking for love, stay away from it
ده كله هجر وخصام وأسالني انا عنه
All this neglect and conflict, ask me about it
عشقت قبلك كتير ماشفت شئ منه
I loved deeply long before you, I’ve never seen anything come of it
إلا الدلال والجفا والصد والهجران
Except indulgence and drought, rejection and abandonment
ما دام عرفت اللي فيه
As long as I know what it’s like
خلاص
That’s enough
بعيد عنه
[Stay] far from it
كم أسهر الليل
How many nights have I stayed up?
وعمري في هواك فاني
My life and your love are mortal
كم أسهر الليل
How many nights have I stayed up?
وعمري في هواك فاني
My life and your love are mortal
كم أسهر الليل
How many nights have I stayed up?
Vocabulary / مفردات
موال / مواويـل
A style of musical intro characterized by a slow beat and drawn out words and vowel sounds
حيرت (حير)
Confused; perplexed; baffled
دمعة / دموع
Tear/s
جاري
ًFlowing or running
تحرق (حرق)
You (masculine) or she burns
نويت (نوى)
Intended
الغرام
Love
هجر
Desertion (noun); to leave, desert, or neglect (verb)
Not to be confused with حجر, which means both stone and quarantine
خصام
A dispute, quarrel, or argument
بعيد عنه
Far from it or him
أسهر (سهر)
I stay awake
