Persian Study Group

[vijayjohn]

This time, I'm going to try to translate an Iranian song I found through the songs thread rather than one I've known from childhood. This is "Sib" by Simin Ghanem (sorry for the grainy video footage):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tf9CdpidqxM
Lyrics:

.من از اون آسمون آبی میخوام
.من از اون شبهای مهتابی میخوام
.دلم از خاطره های بد جدا
.من از اون وقتهای بیتابی میخوام

،من میخوام یه دسته گل به آب بدم
،آرزوهامو به یک حباب بدم
،سیبی از شاخه حسرت بچینم
،بندازم رو آسمون و تاب بدم
،گل ای پونه بهار دل من
!یه بیابون لاله زار دل من

مثل یک دسته گل اقاقیا
!دلمو باز میکنه. بیا، بیا
.تو میری پشت علفها. گم میشی
.من میمونم و گل اقاقیا

Translation:

I want (some) of that blue sky.
I want (some) of those moonlit nights.
My heart (is) separate from bad memories.
I want (some) of those impatient times.

I want to give water a bunch of flowers,
Give a shade my desires,
Cut an apple from the branch of yearning,
Throw it into the sky, and swing,
Flower, o pennyroyal of my spring,
A wilderness of the wounded tulips of my heart!

It opens my heart like a bunch
Of locust flowers. Come, come!
You go behind the grass. You get lost.
I stay with the locust flowers.

[eskandar]

Give a shade bubble my desires,
Cut Pick an apple from the branch of yearning,
A wilderness of the wounded tulip field of my heart! (this is not زار as in grieved, but a suffix meaning "place abounding in")

[vijayjohn]

I'm starting to wonder whether I really understand what these Persian songs are saying even after they're translated. For example, what exactly was that last song about? Was it a post-breakup song, perhaps? I.e. "I don't want to relive the bitter experiences I had when I was in love; I just want to be happy"? What's with the images of giving water flowers and giving a bubble your desires? Does the first one have something to do with rose water, and the second with confining negative emotions to a small space? (Is the connection between the water and the bubble in the next line intentional?). Why specifically "pennyroyal of my spring"?

Anyway, here's a Hazaragi song called "Nago Mora" and sung by Ghazal Sadat. This is probably the first Hazaragi song I ever heard. I didn't think I would ever even find the lyrics for this song, let alone translate it, and it feels a bit hard to figure out. I tried translating it anyway, though, first into Classical Persian, then into English:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qkBxnUVGZN4
Hazaragi lyrics:

نگو موره دیده مه
،پس علف کوه
!دیدن یـــار نو

.ازی بالا گله کوتر میایه
.دلبر جانم، بیله، موتر میایه
!ازینجی خیز کنم ده سر رایشی
چطور نوربند و معتبر میایه؟

به قربانی ازی گشتار و رفتار
.زمین ده زیر پایشی آمد به گوفتار
".زمین گفتا: "دیگه عیبی نداره
.به گشتو موکونه نازای بسیار

Translation into (quasi?-)Classical Persian:

نگو مرا دیده من
پس علف کوه
!دیدن یـــار نو

.از اینجا بالا گله کبوتر می آید
.دلبر جانم، بله، ماشین می آید
!از اینجا خیز کنم در سر راهش
چطور قشنگ و معتبر میاید؟

به قربانی از این گشتار و رفتار
.زمین در زیر پایش آمد به گفتار
".زمین گفتا: "دیگر عیبی ندارد
.به گشتن میکند نازهای بسیار

Translation into English:

Don't say you saw me
Behind the mountain grass,
Seeing the new beloved one!

A flock of pigeons is coming up from here.
My darling, yes, a car is coming.
Let me jump from here onto his path!
How does he become beautiful and comfortable?

To talk to a victim of this transformation and
Behavior, the ground came under their feet.
The ground said, "There are no faults."
It flirts a lot as it goes around.

UPDATE 6/11: Got a little closer to figuring out a few more of the Hazaragi words and revised my translation accordingly
Update 7/07: I had confirmed with a Hazara guy on DIscord that گشتو in Hazaragi simply means گشتن.

[Antea]

Hi, I have started to learn Persian again. I suppose there is no "The person after me" game here, isn't it? I've been looking, but I couldn't find If someone remembers it....

[eskandar]

It's here.

[vijayjohn]

I hope I didn't scare you away with the Hazaragi song!

[POST]

I need a little help. This is my first posting to this website. This is a note that I received from a lady friend in Iran. It is written in ENGLISH "Hi Azizzam MAN SHOMARE SHOMA RO SAVE NADEERAM SHOMA." can any of you translate this into English and provide me with an interpretation. I will be very much obliged. I see you can translate songs and provide meaning to them. I am glad I got here to ask. Thanks and Stay SAFE.

[eskandar]

I hope I didn't scare you away with the Hazaragi song!

That one was definitely beyond my pay grade No, I just haven't been on Unilang much lately, but I'll try to check now and then.

[vijayjohn]

All right, maybe I'll try a song with more straightforward lyrics this time.

I need a little help. This is my first posting to this website. This is a note that I received from a lady friend in Iran. It is written in ENGLISH "Hi Azizzam MAN SHOMARE SHOMA RO SAVE NADEERAM SHOMA." can any of you translate this into English and provide me with an interpretation. I will be very much obliged. I see you can translate songs and provide meaning to them. I am glad I got here to ask. Thanks and Stay SAFE.

My best guess is something like "hi dear, I didn't save your number." (Sorry for getting to this so late btw!).

Anyway, this is a ghazal called "Sobh" sung by Habib Qaderi:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0KA-DqFCxkM
Lyrics (courtesy of https://www.facebook.com/14358463466483 ... 428181681/):

.صبحی به لب آب به سودای تو رفتم
.موجی شدم و مست به دریای تو رفتم

!دنیای مرا سوختی ،ای عشق جهانسوز
!اکنون کرمی کن که به دنیای تو رفتم

.تو سیل خروشنده و من شاخه یی خشکم
.هر جا که تو رفتی به قدم های تو رفتم

،گه خاک خراباتم و گه مست مناجات
!بنگر به کجا ها به تمنای تو رفتم

My attempt at a translation:

One morning, I went to the edge of the water for you.
I became a wave and went, drunk, into your sea.

O world-rending love, you burned my world!
Now grant me that I went into your world!

You are a roaring flood, and I, a dry branch.
Everywhere you went, I went in your footsteps.

If I am the land of ruins, and if (I am) the passion of a litany,
Look where I went at your behest!

EDIT: I'm not sure whether this will make sense, but I wanted to try anyway to explain why I wrote "you are a roaring flood, and I, a dry branch." I've noticed this sort of construction often in Persian poetry, and honestly, I find that English does something similar. However, it seems to me as if usually the copula in Persian is omitted in the first clause rather than the second, whereas I'd expect the opposite in English. In other words, in English, I don't think we'd say *you a roaring flood, and I am a dry branch, but we would say you are a roaring flood, and I, a dry branch.

[eskandar]

Anyway, this is a ghazal called "Sobh" sung by Habib Qaderi

Nice choice! I love this song. I remember Remy LeBeau posted it here years ago.

One morning, I went to the edge of the water for you.
This is a tricky one to translate but basically means "one morning, overcome with passion for you, I went to the shore (edge of the water)"
I became a wave and went, drunk, into your sea.

O world-rending love, you burned my world! yes, literally "world-burning"
Now grant me that I went into your world! here که means زیرا که or چرا که , so: "deign to show some kindness [to me] for I have gone into your world!"

You are a roaring flood, and I, a dry branch.
Everywhere you went, I went in your footsteps.

Sometimes I am the dust of ruins, and sometimes (I am) drunk on/mesmerized by a litany
[گه is a contraction of گاه and means "occasionally, sometimes". گه...گه is often used contrastively, eg. "sometimes, X, and other times, Y". Here the contrast is between being lowly and ignominious (خرابات in Sufi poetry usually refers to a wine tavern) vs. rapturous piety.]
Look where I went in hopes of [finding] you/out of desire for you!