Asharlee Bil Manadeel

He Singnaled with a Handkerchief

Music from Leila presents Helwa
Egyptian belly dance music

Asharlee bil manadeel a-ah
He singnaled with a handkerchief, oh
wa qal ana mashi
and said "I'm leaving"
Fustanu kohli tawiil a-ah
His dress is navy and long, oh
'aldarb ana mashi
his steps I'm following

Mahla el dala' minnak, yasiidi
It's so sweet, flirty from you, Sir
lamma tukuun za'laan
when you are angry
Asl el dala' fannak, yahuh
You are artist in flirting, people
yamdabin al a'yan
... rich people

Kullu alashanak, yasiidi
All for you, Sir
yasiid kul el hai
Lord of all the area
El nazra min 'ainak, yahuh
The look from your eyes, people
tekwui fuadi il gay
heals future feelings

Even though the lyrics in this (as in most other) songs are in the masculine form, the actual object of the feelings is a woman.

I'm very grateful for all my friends, who helped me to translate the lyrics of this song. None of my friends is a professional Arabic-English translator: some of them are fluent in Arabic, some English and a few - my self included - have some skill in both languages. It's often quite challenging to express both the idea and the literal meaning of the lyrics in a few words, as I consider it most useful to the dancers that the translation include both these aspects.