For #WIPwednesday I wanted to share a translation I am including in my vampire novel of the Egyptian Singer Abd al-Halim Hafiz's song "Sing to me O Nightingale"
“Sing to me O Nightingale,
Sing to me O Nightingale,
Sing to me O Nightingale,
I live with him alone,
Live according to your limits,
Listen to your own singing
Accept your good life”
Hafiz, himself, was known as the Nightingale and here is a thread on the importance of this bird in Arabic music.
@bookstodon The Nightingale is an important motif in both #Arab and #Persian music and poetry because it is a bird that only sings for its true love and will not sing no matter how much people beg.
The song is interesting because it shows a male singer begging for the nightingale to sing to him, but there is no response.
It is also a symbol of freedom throughout the Arab World. Just as you cannot force the Nightingale to sing, you cannot force the will of another person.