Saria al-Sawas - Get Up and Let's Dance, Girlسارية السواس - قومي لندبك ولدةGoomi lanidbich welda

This is a folk song popular in Eastern Syria and other parts of the Arab world. The title varies: Gumi lanidbich/tanidbich welda " قومي لندبك \ تندبك ولدة " and it means "get up so we can dance (together) girl." It is a clear representative of the "debke دبكة" genre, which is a popular form of folk dance in the Mashriq. Simply put, it's a line dance where you hold hands and dance in a circle. For a more detailed explanation, see here. To see some debke in action, click here.

There are many versions of this song that can be found on this internet. I will present the Saria al-Sawas (سارية السواس) version with some translation and explanation and then supply some others. Saria is actually a woman, but the lyrics work better if the singer is imagined as male.

قــومي لنــدبــك ولده وندبك الغــوالــي

Get up and let's dance girl and make the others (al-ghawali) dance
Notes: to be more specific, she's using the verb "to debke (nidbich)" and "to make (someone) debke (ndebbich)"

واحط ايدي بيد الشوق وافرحك يا غـــالـــي

I'll put my hand in the hand of love/passion and make you happy, my precious
Notes: since the form of dancing debke involves dancing hand in hand side by side, putting one's hand in the "hand of love" actually refers to putting his hand in hers

شنو السبب زعــلانه سلمت ما رديتي

What's the reason you're upset, I said hi but you didn't respond

عــشرين عله وعــله جــوى القلب حطيتي

You've put twenty and one sicknesses/maladies in my heart

يـا بـنـيـه يـالــوراده راعـيـة الـقـلابيــه

Oh girl, oh flower-girl, oh pigeon-keeper
Notes: according to my web research, القلابية qalabiya is a highly coveted breed of pigeon

مشهوره بكثر عنــاده زينه يالعقيديــه

You're famous for being so stubborn, beauty of the Aqidis (Aqidi refers to a Bedouin group living in Easter Syria)

Adel Mohsen

لاحظت في الموقع ترجمة الأغنيه .. ( وهي بالمناسبه ترجمه رائعه )

لكن في نهاية الأغنية توجد كلمة " يالعقيدية " حيث لم تجدوا معناها ..

وهي نداء لأصل الفتاة التي يراقصها صاحب كلمات الأغنية

والعقيدية أو العقيدي هو أحد الأصول الشهيره التي تنتشر في... بادية سوريا .. حيث بدأت هذه الأغنيه الفلوكلوريه ..

وهي ترمز لقبائل بدو سوريا التي " تعاقدت " على الحرب ضد قبيلة " شمر " من الجزيرة العربية ..

فقط أردت الإضافه إلى ترجمتكم الرائعه .. مع كل الشكر لجهودكم

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Ali Dyoub (علي ديوب)

This version is a little bit more "raw" for lack of a better term. It's from a live performance and while the main verse is the same, the rest differ entirely from the version above. It gives a sense of a live debke performance, with the singer improvising variations on the lines, making appeals to the crowd to dance and sometimes calling to people by name such as the hosts or musicians, and referencing himself. I also say this version is a little bit more raw because some of the lines are a bit racier and even combative. As two examples, in one line he refers to being chest to chest with a girl and kissing her on the lips "صدري ع صدره وبيمصمصني بشفاته" and in another he curses his mother for "getting pregnant and bringing (him) into the world" يلعن بيك يا امي ليش حبلتي وجبتيني . I'm not sure of the context in this performance but typically singers are hired to perform at social events.

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Fariha al-Abdullah (فريحة العبدلله)



In this version the song and repetition of verses takes a different form.

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Sami Clark (سامي كلارك)



This is a completely different song that is a mountain debke from Lebanon, but the words are so similar that I think the two songs must be related somehow. Even if it's not it's a great video worth watching. The main verse says "get up so we can dance girl (different words but same meaning), and put your hand in mine"(Goomi taner'os ya sabiyi, w-eshbiki ideyki bi-iydeyi قومي تنرقص يا صبية واشبكي ايديكي بايديي )

I didn't find a whole lot on these songs, so if anyone has any information on the origins or other versions please share!

Debke of the Syrian Coast

Debke of the Syrian Coast Podcast
دبكة الساحل السوري



Click play to hear the podcast

Click here to download

Debke is a kind of folk music native to Arabic countries of the Levant. It's accompanying dance resembles the folk dance of most countries, people dance in a circle holding hands to specific steps. Each region has its own particular songs and dances that it is known for.

However the modern state of debke is not a timeless tradition as shown in the above picture. In Lebanon for example debke has been adapted to modern pop conventions and utilized by the likes of Melhem Zaen and Fares Karam as well as countless others, neatly packaged and marketed for Lebanese consumers. In other countries such as Palestine, debke is considered a piece of Arabic cultural heritage and history, tied to identity and pride. Nonetheless, each Arabic community has its local modern performs, and Syria is no exception. Most of the debke being recorded there is lo-fi, sometimes live performances from concerts and parties, with recordings often being distributed on unorganized, poorly labeled MP3 CDs and cassettes.

Normally debke songs can be quite long, 10 minutes or longer, with long org (electric keyboard) solos and plenty of repetition. In order to maximize space, this podcast presents recent debke and itaba (عتابا) in one long mix that serves as one continuous performance. The songs in this mix all represent music of the Syrian coast with a very broad meaning, including basically all cities West of Deir Ezzor (that's another story).

1. Saria al-Sawas - Just Listen What I Say (translation available) سارية السواس - بس اسمع مني This is one of the biggest hits to come out of the Syrian Debke scene in the past year. See song page for more

2. Mohamed Nour - Drive Me Crazy (4:24) محمد نور - جنني Can somebody confirm the artist for this, there is some confusion? 3. Mohamed Nour - A,B Boobaye (7:23) (translation available) محمد نور- ألف باء وبوبايه This song features a little rhyming game, where the singer announces a letter, the sings a rhyming line utilizing that letter. To hear the full song see song page for more

4. Saleh el-Sheikh - Tattoo (10:13)

صالح الشيخ - تاتو

A song about a girl that drives him wild. At one point he says, "There's not a married man who's seen you whose wife hasn't yelled at him."

5. Ali Dyoub - Get Up and Dance Girl (13:38) علي ديوب - قومي تندبك ولدة This is a Bedouin style debke, telling a girl to get up and debke to make everyone else at the gathering get up and celebrate as well.

6. Fariha al-Abdullah (17:25) فريحة العبدلله Don't know the title, any help?

7. Jelal Hamade - Heater (21:19) جلال حمادة - صوبا The song starts out describing people sitting around a heater, the kind that burns fuel or wood not an electric heater.

8. Ozeina al-Ali - If Only (24:53) (translation available) أذينة العلي - يا ريتك This song has an air of melancholy and longing, yet still contains some great org solos. He's saying "if only you would come to me." To hear the full song see the song page for more

9. Bassam Bitar - Under Her Howdah (28:51) (translation available) بسام بيطار - تحت هودجها This is a modern take on a well-known Syrian folk song. For the full song see song page for more

10. Mayada al-Ali - Don't Remind Me (31:41)

ميادة العلي - لا تذكرني

11. Mounir Hamade - The Gardens (35:40) منير حمادة - كروم التينة He's singing for a girl he really loves, telling her to come back.

12. Ali al-Deek - Abu Shahade (38:10) (translation available) علي الديك - أبو شحادة Ali al-Deek is one of the most famous Syrian artists performing Debke. This song is a plea to a stubborn father that won't let the singer marry his daughter. Many consider him to be the lamest figure in contemporary Syrian culture, Ali al-Deek that is, not the father. For the whole song and more info see the song page.