GeorgeNicolasEl-Hage.com
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  • Professional Profile
    • Who is George Nicolas El-Hage
  • Publications
    • "Aqlam Muhajirah" The voice of the New Pen League (NPL)
    • Literary Criticism >
      • Books (English) >
        • A Labor of Love: Our Lebanon Family Home Renovation Project
        • Gibran Kahlil Gibran: Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow
        • Eliya Abu Madi: The Distinguished Poet of al-Rabita al-Qalamiya
        • A Brief History of Arabic Literature: Volume One: Pre-Islamic to the Abbaasid Age
        • A Brief History of Arabic Literature: Volume Two: Andalusia to the Modern Age
        • William Blake and Kahlil Gibran: Poets of Prophetic Vision
        • Gibran Kahlil Gibran: The Man Versus the Legend
        • Essays on Literature and Language
        • Ibn al-Farid's "Khamriyya" ("Ode on Wine")
        • Nizar Qabbani: Journal of a City Named Beirut
        • Nizar Qabbani: Women in My Poetry and in My Life
        • Nizar Qabbani: My Story with Poetry - "An Autobiography"
        • Nizar Qabbani: Journal of An Indifferent Woman
        • Ghada al-Samman's Beirut '75: An Autobiographical Interpretation
        • English Translation of Selected Letters of Badr Shakir al-Sayyab
        • Khalil Hawi: Letters of Love and Life
        • The Philosoper of Freike, Author of the Greater City
        • Immortal Quotes from Ameen al-Rihani’s Masterpiece The Book of Khalid
        • Ameen al-Rihani: Eastern and Western Figures
        • Ameen al-Rihani’s The Register of Repentance: Four Short Stories and a Play
        • Selected Letters of Ameen al-Rihani: Translated with an Introduction and Notes
        • Ameen al-Rihani: You...The Poets
        • Ameen al-Rihani: My Story with May
        • Ameen al-Rihani: The Muleteer and the Priest
      • Books (Arabic) >
        • al-Zajal al-Lubnani wa Zaghloul al-Damour fi Beit Meri: (Lebanese Zajal and Zaghloul al-Damour in Beit Meri)
        • Madkhal ila-l-'alam al-shi 'ri 'inda Khalil Hawi usluban wa madmunan: (An Introduction to the Poetic Universe of Khalil Hawi)
        • al-Nabi bayna 'adu al-Masih wa al-Insan al-Ilah
        • Sahifat "al-Risala" al-Lubnaniya al-Mahjariya: (The "al-Risala" Newspaper and the Lebanese Press in Diaspora)
        • Gibran Kahlil Gibran wa William Blake: Sha'ira al-Ru'ya: (Gibran Kahlil Gibran and William Blake: Poets of Prophetic Vision)
        • The Trilogy of Heroism, Redemption, and Triumph: The Press in Diaspora, Khalil Hawi, Zaghloul al-Damour
    • Textbooks & Articles on Teaching & Learning Arabic >
      • marHaba III: A Course in Levantine & Modern Standard Arabic (LMSA) >
        • Qasidat Najwa
        • marHaba III: PART ONE Audio Files
        • marHaba III: PART TWO Audio Files
        • marHaba III: PART FOUR Audio Files
      • marHaba II: A Course in Levantine Arabic - Lebanese Dialect - Intermediate Level >
        • A Companion Book to marHaba II: English Translation & Transliteration of All Lessons in marHaba II
      • marHaba: A Course in Levantine Arabic - Lebanese Dialect >
        • marHaba: Practice Workbooks
      • MABROUK: A Course in Modern Standard Arabic (Elementary & Intermediate Levels) >
        • Study Guide: MABROUK
      • The Story of Sami and Warda
      • Reviews on Qasidat Khataya
    • Lebanese Nursery Rhymes
    • Books (Poetry in English/Arabic) >
      • Love Surpassed: A Book of Poetry
      • Letters to My Son: An Immigrant's Saga
      • Lebanese Hymns of Love and War
    • Books (Poetry in Arabic) >
      • Love Poems from Beirut
      • Awdat al-Faris wa Qiyamat al-Madina
      • al-Ghurba wa Mawasim al-Dhalam
      • Law Kunti Li
      • Qasa’id Bila Tarikh (Undated Poems) >
        • Mikhail Naimy: Fathers and Sons - A Play in Four Acts
      • Maw’id wa-liqa’
      • anti wal atfaalu fi Beirut: You and the Children in Beirut
      • You and the Children in Beirut
    • Poems (English) >
      • To Mary Ann with Love: A Book of Poetry
      • Birth of a Princess
      • Forty Years of Bliss
      • Thinking of You
      • You are My Christmas
      • A Poem for Mother's Day
      • To Mary Ann on Her Birthday
    • Poems (Arabic) >
      • Arabic Poems in MSA >
        • Beirut Speaks - song
        • A Tribute to Beirut
        • Lubnaniyat
        • The Garden of Visions
        • Qasidat Najwa >
          • Reviews on Qasidat Najwa
        • Kunna ibtada’na
      • Arabic Poems in Lebanese Dialect >
        • Qasidat Khataya >
          • Reviews on Qasidat Khataya
        • Qasidat Damaar >
          • Reviews on Qasidat Damaar
        • Hilwit libnan
        • Qasidat Ya Bayi' al-ward >
          • Reviews on Qasidat Ya Bayi' al-ward
        • Qasidat Ayloul >
          • Reviews on Qasidat Ayloul
    • My Translations of Other Poets'/Writers' Works >
      • My Poetry (Translated from Arabic to English) >
        • Beirut Speaks
        • The Book of Death, #28
        • Journey of Illusion
        • Letter to a Country With No Frontier
        • A Letter to the Children of Qana
        • My People
        • You, Beirut and the Children
        • Introduction to If You Were Mine
        • Sufiya: A Mystical Poem
        • Surprise Attack
        • Exile
        • Chariot of Light
      • Karam al-Bustani: Eastern Myths
      • May Ziyadeh: The Return of the Wave
      • Said Akl: When Lebanon Speaks
      • Ameen Albert Rihani: A Train and No Station
      • Mikhail Naimy: Job: A Play in Four Acts
      • Mikhail Naimy: Once Upon A Time
      • Mikhail Naimy: Abu Batta and Other Stories
      • Mikhail Naimy: Fathers and Sons - A Play in Four Acts
      • Mikhail Naimy: Inspired by Christ
      • Mikhail Naimy: Sab‘un (Seventy) An Autobiography
      • Mikhail Naimy: al-Ghirbal (The Sieve): Selections Translated into English with an Introduction
      • Tawfiq Yusuf Awwad: “The Qareen” and Other Stories
      • Tawfiq Yusuf Awwad: The Wool Shirt and Other Stories
      • Tawfiq Yusuf Awwad: A Loaf of Bread (al-Raghif)
      • Tawfiq Yusuf Awwad: The Lame Boy and Other Stories
      • Maroun Abboud: Faces and Stories
      • Maroun Abboud: The Red Prince - A Lebanese Tale
      • Maroun Abboud: Tales from the Village
      • al-Rihaniyyat
      • Munajayat Al-Sab‘in
      • Mahmud Darwish’s poem, “Antithesis”
      • ‘Abd al-Wahhab al-Bayati’s: The Byzantine Poems of Abu Firas
      • Gibran’s Unpublished Letters to Archbishop Antonious Bashir
    • Personal Reflections >
      • First Impressions of Lebanon in June 2013
      • The Collapse of a Tradition
  • Professional Activities
    • Lectures
    • Poetry Readings
    • Interviews
    • Conferences
    • Memberships/Committees
    • Management Enrichment
  • Curriculum Vitae
  • Contact Information

Beirut Speaks - Poem/song in MSA Arabic

Lyrics by George Nicolas El-Hage, Ph.D.        Music and Vocal by Serge El Helou

LYRICS (ARABIC and ENGLISH):

قصيدةُ بيروت
أنا بيروتُ
حدّ قْ في تكاويني
ألا تذكرْ؟
أنا بيروتْ …
أنا تاجُ السنينِ …
وزورقُ المرجانِ … والياقوتْ
والمرمرْ
أنا بيروتُ … هل تذكرْ؟ ….
 
عروسُ عرائسِ المدنِ
وأمُّ الحرفِ …. والسفنِ
أنا وطنُ الذي يشتاقُ للوطنِ
ألا تذكرْ؟

أنا بيروتُ … تعرفُني
فلا تنكرْ
ربيعَ الفكرِ… والأوتارِ … والأسطرْ
أنا حُلوةْ
أنا أحلى …
وكَم سَافرتَ في عينيَّ  كي تسهرْ
وفي شَعري …. وفي صدري
إذا ما شرقنا  هبَّت عليه
الريحُ …. أو أمطرْ
أنا بيروتُ … هل تذكرْ؟
 
وأمس أفقتُ
أمس أفقتُ
لا وجهي ولا اسمي
كما كانا …
ولا شَعري… ولا صَدري
كما كانا
رأيتُ الرعبَ يرسمُ فيّ
أشكالاً … وألوانا …
ولم أعرفْ سوى أنّي
ضُربتُ … وليسَ من سَببِ
وكدتُ أموتُ من تعبي
وجرّوني إلى الساحاتِ
عرَّوني ….
سُلِبْتُ بكارتي منّي
أهِنتُ …
أُخِذتُ بالظنِّ …
أرادوني
عَروسَ الساحرِ الأكبرْ،
عَروسَ الساحرِ الأحمرْ …
وساقوني
إلى الحاكمْ
زعيم  الحمْرِ
والبربرْ

ولم يدروا بأنَّ الله
في بيروتَ لن يٌقهرْ ….
أنا بيروتُ … يا اللهُ !
هل تذكُرْ؟ …
سأبقى، رُغمَ أحزاني
ورُغمَ الجرحِ
في وجهي وإنساني،
بحجمِ الشرقِ
إنَّ الشرقَ …. أدماني
بحجمِ الحبّ
إن الحبَّ لبناني
بِحَجم الحقِّ
إنِّ الحقّ لبناني.
Beirut Speaks
 
I am Beirut
Look at me
Don’t you remember?
I am Beirut
The Jewel of eternity
A boat of emeralds and rubies
A lighthouse built in marble
Don’t you remember?
I am the bride of all cities
Mother of ships and alphabets
And  home for those
Who are homeless
Don’t you remember?
Sole daughter of the East
Sun-colored daughter
Of  the brown Levant.


I am Beirut
You know me
Don’t deny it
I am springtime of play
And intellect
And I am pretty
Yes, and prettier too
You travel long distances
In sunshine and in rain
To sunbathe in my eyes
To play with my hair
To cry on my breasts
Don’t you remember?
Yesterday when I awoke
Neither my face
Nor my name
Were the same
Neither my hair
Nor my breasts
Were the same
I saw fear wearing my face
Under different shapes and colors
And all I remember
I was punished
For no fault of mine
I was exhausted
They unrobed me
And plucked my flower
And claimed I was guilty
So they crucified me
Without trial
They wanted to make me
Mistress of the high priest
And wife to the red terror
But, God!
I am Beirut
Don’t you remember?
I’ll always be Beirut
Despite my pains
And scars strewn
In my body and my face
I’ll always love the East
Despite his caprice
And I’ll always love
For to love
Is to be Lebanese.
 
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