(The Nile is Thirsty) النيل عطشان

English Translation

O maidens, the Nile is thirsty
For love and with nostalgia
The shore has
No light
Not a single breeze
No neys
No jasmines

O Shahinda[1], tell us your story
O Mother, with a desolate voice
O Mother, with eyes as green as fields
In them, gallops the steed
How is Al-Qanater Prison[2]?
How are the imprisoners?
How are your comrades in prison?

O light of the meadows
O Egypt, you are full of the imprisoned
And your clothing is all
Prison cells

And your spacious farmlands
Narrowed down entrapping the peasants
The smoke of chimneys
Is the same color of the workers

O young girls of the Nile
Captured by the whips of the lashers
In this age, there is no Antarah[3]
But there are a million knights
Whom calculate their steps
Their roads parallel to the law
But when the moment comes
They ride the dragon’s back
Destroys the barriers
And unshackle all prisoners


[1] A Nasserist Activist whose husband was killed by Iqta' holders because he helped with the Agrarian Reform
[2] Shahinda was imprisoned under president Sadat along with many intellectuals at the time
[3] Arabian Najdi hero and poet


Arabic Original

النيل عطشان يا صبايا
للحب والحنين
والشط
لانور
ولا نسمه
ولا ناي
ولا عود ياسمين
****
يا شاهنده وخبرينا
يا ام الصوت الحزين
يا ام العيون جناين
يرمح فيها الهجين
ايش لون سجن القناطر
ايش لون السجانين
ايش لون الصحبه معاكي
نّوار البساتين
كلك محابيس يا بلدنا
وهدومك
زنازين
وغيطانك الوسايع
ضاقت ع الفلاحين
والدخان في المداخن
لون هم الشغالين
***
يا بنات النيل يا سبايا
ف حبال الجلادين
ما بقاش في زمانكم عنتر
لكن فيه الملايين
فارس
محسوب الخطوه
يتحرك بالقوانين
لحظة ما تحين الساعة
يركب ضهر التنين
ويحطم الحواجز
ويفك المساجين