Gulf Arabic: Level 3

يا شـوق

Ya Shōg

“O’ Longing”

عبادي الجوهر

 

 

• يا شـوق أنا قلبي لهوف على الليالي المقبلة

Ya šōg ana galbi lahūf ‘ala il-layāli il-migbila.

O’ longing, my heart is yearning for / anxious about the coming nights.

– lahūf or lahīf can mean both regretful, sorrowful, anxious, worried as well as yearning, desiring

 

• أخاف تطــري لك ظروف وأخــاف حبّي تجهله

Akhāf(i) tiṭrīlak iẓ-ẓurūf w-akhāf(i) ḥubbi tijhalah

I’m scared circumstances will suddenly change for you and I’m scared you will disregard my love.

– تطري  = Fuṣḥā طرأ (note that in dialects the hamzas rarely exisit outside of Fuṣḥā borrowings (like مؤمن ) but in real dialect words it often dropped or turns into a long vowel. (One of the few examples of the hamza being retained is سأل  even though this is سال  or even سعل  or a different word all together is used for the word “to ask” like نشد  in some Gulf dialects)

 

• واخاف أنا عينك تشوف غيري وحسنك يذهله ..

w-akhāf ana ‘ayinek tišuf ghēri u-ḥusnek yidhilah

I’m scared your eye will see someone else and he’ll be taken in by your beauty.

– شاف، يشوف  = dialect word for “to see”

– غيري  = some one other than me

 

•  واحـــد أنا ضمــن الألوف منــك الوداد أتأمّلـه

wāḥid ana ḍimn il-ulūf mink il-widād atammalah

I’m just one in a million hoping for your love.

– mink = in other dialects this is usually minnak

 

• الله أكبــــر يا الهنوف دمّـــي لكـم مـن حللّــه

Aḷḷah akbar ya il-hanūf dammi likum min ḥallilah?

God is great, o’ hanūf, who said it’s okay for you to hurt me?

– lit.: Who said my blood is halal for you (?)

 

• أنكرت لــي قلبٍ شغوف وأصبح فؤادك يخذله

ankart(i)li galbin šaghūf w-aṣbaḥ fu’ādek yikhdhilah

You denied me a loving heart and started letting down my innermost.

– قلبٍ  = note that the genitive tanwīn here is the generate indefinite marker in Gulf dialects (which is usually used in a gap between two words, not at the end of a sentence)

 

• إن كان لك جدة صروف انسى غرامي وأهمله

In kān lik jiddat ṣurūf, insa gharāmi w-ahmilah

If real adversities befall you, forget my love and disregard it.

– صروف = misfortunes, adversities

 

• ما دام قلبك مــا يروف ما في المحبّة مشكلة

Ma dām galbak ma yarūf, ma fi-l-maḥabba muškila

When your heart isn’t comfortable… There is no problem in affection.

– I don’t quite understand what is meant here. Maybe he means that they can just be friends and that would be fine?

 

• خلّك على قلـبي عطوف منك الجفا ما أتحمّله

Khallak ‘ala galbi ‘uṭūf, mink il-jifa ma atḥammalah

Be kind to my heart, I can’t handle you growing cold on me.

– خلّك  = note that the imperative of final weak verbs in some Gulf dialects is fa‘‘ like here “khall” or “khallak” with a personal pronoun (and not khallīk like in most other dialects)

 

• .. في داخلي شوقٍ وخوف طالع فؤادي واسأله

Fi dākhili shōgin u-khōf ṭāli‘ fu’ādi w-as’alah

Inside me there is longing and fear, look at my heart and ask it.

– طالع، يطالع  = to look at (in the Gulf dialects, however, in most other dialects form V is used: تْطَلَّع / طَّلَّع، يِتطَلَّع / يِطَّلَّع )

 

• أرجــوك يا عذب الوصـــوف قـلب الغلا لا تميّله

Arjūk ya ‘adhb il-wuṣūf galb il-ghala la tmayyilah

I’m begging you, o’ you of sweet features, don’t let your precious heart shift.

 

• .. لا بدّ لحظاتك تطوف تنهي بحياتك مرحـــلة

La budd laḥẓātik tiṭūf, tinhi bi-ḥayātik marḥala

Eventually, your moments will pass by and this stage of your life will come to an end.