One of the icons of the 50s and 60s and music legends is Egyptian singer Abdel Halim Hafez. His voice is deep, melodic, and heart warming. He was primarily a singer but starred in many films and it is through these that my generation got to meet him. The black and white Egyptian movies are quite interesting to see and they still play on TV today. My sister is addicted to these! I found some clips on youtube (as usual!) and selected some interesting ones:

El Hawa Hawaya
This clip is part of one of his later work. The dancing is quite funny but the song is great. As always, the lyrics when translated into English end up sounding funny. The title roughly translates as “the love is mine” but this sort of lyrics is accepted in Arabic songs.
http://youtube.com/watch?v=iwKZ6lY8NEw

Esmar Yasmarani
This is one of his songs and I couldn’t find a version where he is singing. It’s my favourite of all his work. This clip is part of a movie. You can tell that there seems to be a problem between 2 of the people. The guy (him) is in love with the woman he is looking at. She is his ex and he used to sing this song to her which is why she is also feeling uncomfortable. They are at the table with their partners who are for now unaware of the situation or the history between these 2.
http://youtube.com/watch?v=3jl5ffvFp3g

Haga Gharibah
This is also great. It’s a duo with Shadia, another great Egyptian singer. Amazing voices. The title means “strange thing” and it refers to the way they are feeling. It’s the first time they are alone together and he confesses his love at 4:13 so for those who don’t speak Arabic, this is a treat. “Bahibbik” is the Egyptian way to say the L word to a woman. Very romanitc. The Egyptian dialect is the most melodic of all Arab accents which is probably why most songs are in the Egyptian dialect even if they are sung by others.
http://youtube.com/watch?v=AYlKNv4lGVI

Posted by nadine on Sunday, September 23rd, 2007 at 12:29 am.