Inspired by the Six Day War, this 1968 song is technically unreleased but painfully relevant. A gem by the Lebanese diva rediscovered, thanks to the tenacity of her fans and a sound engineer
Last update: 2022-04-22 10:04:42
Nouhad Haddad, better known as Fairuz is a petite lady from Lebanon, now in her ninth decade, whose musical legacy has forever changed the face of Arabic music. Silence, seclusion, and secrecy are among the most-used words that the media still use today when she is in the headlines. Her career is prolific, yet she has chosen a private life away from the spotlight. Her aura is comparable to that of one of Italy’s most prominent female singers: in fact, we could say, for once reversing the comparison (Arab singer ≈ Foreign singer), that Mina is the Italian Fairuz.
It is not my aim here to sum up the outstanding personal and artistic career of one the most beloved Arab singers in the world, the musical icon of Lebanon and the region’s highest selling artist of all time. There are numerous articles, theses, documentaries, studies, conferences, books, and book chapters that do so adequately. Instead, let us explore a lesser-known aspect of her legacy.
Fairuz’s repertoire includes many songs that are dedicated to Arab countries and capital cities. Although she has celebrated her homeland Lebanon in many patriotic songs, the lion’s share of Fairuz’s tribute songs are dedicated to Syria and Palestine. Tens, if not hundreds, of these songs went missing, however, and were never released after their initial broadcast or live performance.
Indeed, Fairuz’s career is a prime example of the dire need for institutional archiving in the Arab world: if it were not for studious independent researchers and collectors, most of these hidden gems would have disappeared forever.
Unearthed from dusty archives and rereleased on the internet in the last decade, today’s song is emblematic: it was first introduced to the internet through one of the many (now defunct) Fairuz fan forums. It actually dates from 1968 when, in the wake of the 1967 so-called Six-Day war (better known to Arabs as al-Naksa, “the setback”), Palestinians were rendered refugees for a second time. Fairuz and the Rahbani Brothers (her lifelong musical partners) used bitter sarcasm to shed light onto this tragedy. Sāfarat al-qadiyya (“The question has travelled”) is critical of the international community (especially the United Nations). and it expresses futility and cynicism regarding the question of Palestine and Palestinian refugees. While the lyrics mention neither Palestine nor the UN directly, the references and euphemisms cannot be missed.
The live recording in question is said to have been performed in September 1968, during Fairuz’s annual appearance in Damascus. Every year, Fairuz would present a new musical or operetta that would open during the winter in Beirut’s Piccadilly Theater in Hamra, then travel in the summer to the Damascus International Fair. The Damascus editions of Fairuz’s musicals would almost always open with a new tribute song to Syria, but this year she paid tribute to those who lost their homes and were living in refugee tents.
What is most haunting about this song is the timelessness of its lyrics: ongoing displacements, permanent exile, and an international community that is watching silently, reflected in the recent violent dispossession of Palestinians in Sheikh Jarrah and Silwan, Israeli-occupied neighbourhoods in Jerusalem.
The irony was not lost on Fairuz who, 13 years later, was invited to the UN headquarters in New York in November 1981 to present a short concert celebrating the centenary of Khalil Gibran at the General Assembly Lobby, in one of her most acclaimed performances outside the Arab world. She opened that concert with highlights from Gibran’s The Prophet, adapted by the last Lebanese poet Joseph Harb and composed by her son, the musical genius Ziad Rahbani.
A tribute to violently displaced and dispossessed people all over the world, the discovery of today’s song was only made possible through the hard work of “Fairuz geeks” and thanks to the late Farid Abulkheir, a prominent Lebanese sound engineer who witnessed and preserved the legacy of our ambassador to the stars.
While Fairuz (Fayrūz) means “turquoise” in Arabic, today’s song, just like its performer, is a gem: precious, timeless, and heartbreakingly familiar.
Scroll down for the lyric translation and original version
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The question has travelled[1]
The question has travelled
and presented its complaint
before the international courts.[2]
The assembly thus devoted the session
to discussing the issue of the question.
Delegates from all other nations came
From nations of the North and nations of the South
From small countries and big countries
And everyone gathered together[3]
In an official session
The assembly thus devoted the session
to discussing the issue of the question.
The general Secretary gave a speech
He spoke about peace
The members discussed the topic
And a project was proposed
The justness of the issue[4]
People’s freedom
Human dignity
Bill of Rights
Ceasefire
The end of the conflict
The vote!
The recommendations!
The definitive resolution of the pending problems!
The consensus!
Reliable sources have stated
Quoted from well-informed references
The commission studied
The commission pondered
The commission decided
The send of an envoy
The envoy declared
That he is an envoy
As per the sources
And that there is a solution
On the way to the solution
And when the night came
The judges were tired
And when the night came
The judges were tired
The long discussion tired them
Thus, they closed their folders and went to sleep
They went to sleep[5]
Outside
There was the sound of winter and darkness[6]
Miserable people are looking for peace[7]
Hunger dwells in the shelters with the homeless
As the wind still uproots the tents
سافرت القضيه
سافرت القضية
تَعرضُ شكواها
في رُدهة المحاكمِ الدولية
وكانت الجمعية
قد خصصت الجلسة
للبحث في قضيّة القضيّة
وجاءَ مندوبون
عَن سائر الأُمم
جاؤوا من الأُمم
من دول الشمال والجنوب
والدولِ الصّغيرة
والدّولِ الكبيرة
واجتمع الجميع
في جلسةٍ رسمية
وكانت الجمعية
قد خصصت الجلسة
للبحث في قضية القضية
وخطبَ الأمينُ العام
حكى عن السلام
وبحثَ الأعضاءُ الموضوع
وطُرحَ المشروع
عدالةُ القضية
حريةُ الشُعوب
كرامةُ الإنسان
وشُرعَةُ الحقوق
وَقفُ إطلاقِ النّار
إنهاءِ النّزاع
التّصويت
التّوصيات
البَتُّ في المشاكلِ المُعلقة
الإجمـــــاع
وصرّحَت مصادِرٌ موثوقة
نقلاً عن المراجعِ المُطّلعة
ودرست الهيئة
وارتأت الهيئة
وقررت الهيئة
إرسالَ مبعوث
وصرّحَ المبعوث
بأنهُ مبعوث
من قِبَلِ المصادر
وأنّ حلاًّ مـــا
في طريقِ الحلّ
وحين جاء الليــــل
كانَ القُضــاةُ تَعِبــــوا
وحين جاء الليــــل
كانَ القُضــاةُ تَعِبــــوا
أتعبَهُم طــــولُ النّقاش
فأغلقوا الــدّفاتر وذهبـــوا للنـوم
وذهبـــوا للنـوم
وكان في الخــارج
صوتُ شــتاءٍ وظلام
وبائســونَ يبحثونَ عن ســلام
والجوعُ في ملاجئ المشَرّدين ينام
وكانتِ الرّياحُ ما تزال
تقتَلعُ الخيــــام
[1] Qadiyya is a polysemic term that can be translated as “legal action”, “case or judicial process”, “controversy”, “problem”, “matter”, “question”, “issue”. As we will discover towards the end of the song, this is the “question” par excellence, namely the Palestinian one, although the song can be interpreted even more widely as an “issue” on which international authorities must express themselves. Sāfarat literally means “it went on a journey”, “it left”, “it has traveled”. In other words, the “case” is “open” and can no longer be ignored. Note that the “question” is the subject of the action. It therefore enjoys a life of its own, as if it had made itself known “by itself”, thus claiming its space, without the help of other people (who indeed seem passive or inattentive to it). For this reason, I translated: “the question has travelled”.
[2] Note the use of formal, sometimes even legal and “bureaucratic” Modern Standard Arabic. The lyrics intentionally mimic the style of official communications, such as United Nation resolutions, international cooperation projects, judicial reports, etc.
[3] Note the redundancy of the sentence: ijtama‘ al-jami‘a.
[4] Lit., the “justice”, the “correctness” of the question or the issue. Note the enumeration of clichés and empty words around this “proposed project”, in a climax that leads to a consensus on nothing.
[5] Note the rhythmic change (not so much musical as textual) obtained with the repetition of some phrases that lull the listener towards the inactivity of the judges’ night.
[6] Shitā’ might indicate both “winter” and “rain”.
[7] Note the adverb of place “outside”, indicating a completely “other” reality.