Sunday

Ma'qoul Mesh Ma'qoul Lyrics and Translation

If you like current Arabic pop music you should subscribe to the following YouTube channels: MelodyTvgroup, MelodyMusicGroup, and MelodyMusicRecords. That is how I found this song "Ma'qoul Mesh Ma'qoul" by the Lebanese singer Dominique Hourani دومينيك حوراني. I like songs like this that have have a debka feel to them. I've translated the song in a way that would sound like how someone speaking English would say the phrases. For example, I didn't translate مش معقول to mean "illogical", "irrational", or "unreasonable" even though those are all meanings of the word as those don't really fit. When translating something into English I think it's best to take into account how an English speaker would say something. The meaning is more important than adhering to the dictionary translation. Some people don't like this method. They feel that every word has a 1 to 1 exact translation into English. For example, it's better in most cases to translate ان شاء الله as "hopefully" and not "if God wills it". The literal translation is "if God wills it", but in almost every case it's used to just mean "hopefully". Literal translations like that also make Arabs seem a lot more radical to western audiences. Most people aren't thinking about God when they say "inshalla", and the same thing for the phrase بالله as it's used to respond when someone tells you something incredible. Literally it means "by God??", but when it's said the person means "really??". Anyway, that's a bit of a tangent. Enjoy the song! :D


معقول مش معقول (ma'ool mish ma'ool) - Really? No way!
معقول مش معقول (ma'ool mish ma'ool) - Really? No way!
معقول مش معقول شو جنيت (ma'ool mish ma'ool shoo janeyt) - Really? No way! Have you gone crazy?
معقول يعني تكون غيري حبيت (ma'ool ya'ni tkoon gheyri habeyt) - Is it true that you love someone other than me?

لا ما بصدق لا هالعملة بتعملها (la ma basaddi' la hal'amli bta'mila) - No, I don't believe this thing that you've done.
و ان كنك عاملها ما ترجع عالبيت (wa in kinak 'aamilha ma trj'a 'albeyt) - And if you've done it, don't come back home.

مش من واحد من مية (mish min wahid min miyi) - Not 1, but 100
سمّعوني هالخبرية (samm'aooni halkhabariyi) - have told me this news
و ان شاء الله تكون مزبوطة (wa in shalla tkoon mazboota) - And I hope it's true
يا معتر يا ريت, يا ريت, يا ريت (ya m'attar ya reyt, ya reyt, ya reyt) - you stupid. I hope, I hope, I hope.

لخلي الدنيا كلها تسمع صريخك و الله (lakhali aldinyi killa tasm'a sareekhak wallah) - Let the whole world hear you yell.
عم بحلفلك بالله يا ريت يا ريت يا ريت ('am bahliflak bi allah ya reyt, ya reyt, ya reyt) - I swear to God. I hope, I hope, I hope.

(chorus)

عن شغلة تخليت كرامة رقة احساسك ('an shaghli tkhalleyt kramat ri'at ahsaasak) - You've forgotten about something, your senses of honor and kindness.
بتقعّدني بالبيت بتفلت انت عراسك (bit'a'adni bilbeyt btiflit enta 'araasak) - You make me sit at home and go you lose your mind.
عراسك عراسك لا و الله ('araasak 'araasak la wallah) - your mind, your mind, no oh God.

(chorus)

عن قصد مش عن قصد ما بيفيد ('an 'asd mish 'an 'asd ma beefeed) - Whether you meant it or not doesn't matter.
ما تقلي غلطة و ما كانت بالايد (ma t'ili ghalta wa ma kaanit bileed) - Don't tell me it was a mistake and not your fault.

(chorus)

7 comments:

Jaz said...

The translation is really helpful thanks! However I hate her voice and she's not beautiful enough to get away with dressing in bondage gear, whipping a car outside for no apparent reason lol!

rashid1891 said...

it is a very good video and i like me

rashid1891 said...

this video is very important site

rashid1891 said...

I found the translation very helpful, but there are a few things I’d change. For the first line, “The flesh is sad, alas, *and* I’ve read all the book.” A small thing, but it gets across better the idea that he’s jaded, both body and mind. I don’t think he’s fleeing to *where* the birds must be drunk; he says “I feel birds must drunk to be…” Meaning, I think, that the birds want to fly just as he does. I’m not sure why she has the steamer “rocking” rather than balancing its masts. “Heave anchor” is a strange expression; “weigh anchor” would be better. And I don’t think the ennui is *bereft of* cruel hopes– I think it’s *heartbroken by* cruel hopes.

The Arabic Student said...

rashid, what translation are you referring to? Did you mean to post that somewhere else?

rashid1891 said...

I am always telling myself and others that performance, dance and theatre equally included, isn't meant to be simply 'understood'. And I believe that. Perhaps as someone with only very basic experience as a dancer, I did not fully appreciate the technical work of the piece. Yet I know that that isn't it.

Unknown said...

Do you use Word for typing in Arabic? I am having a hard time finding software that I can type in Arabic and not lose formatting.