Ya Zaman El Ta2feye [English translation]

O times of sectarianism

F*** me and f*** you1

Keep your hand on your ID, and hold it as firmly as you can2

See how beautiful a [Lebanese] pound was: 3

it got you from here to there4

And O times of sectarianism

Everyone had his own jewelry store

I swear, a room cost a thousand pounds

in both Sabra Street and Kaslik! 5

You were carrying a pound that truly was a pound

whether you were Druze, Buddhist, or Catholic

See the merchant, O people

in every corner he has a partner

Whatever your religion is, may God help you

he will take from you and will never give you

Learn from him6 secularism

whether cash or by check.

O you who lives in Achrafieh7

F*** me and f*** you8

How are you? What are you doing these days?

By God, I am thinking about you.

The [pay] raise was given to you and me

but turned out not to suffice you nor me

O pioneers of the alphabet9, Chemistry, and Physics

You who crossed the seven seas10

And you beat Columbus to the Americas11

And you extracted Tyrian purple12

You made glass and made flasks13

What do you care about the family name?!14

About the words of the alphabet?

Bugger off my name and its letters

literally, f*** me and f*** you! 15

What is this international shame

O you pioneers of alphabet?!

Here is Patrick's ear in Ahmad's hand

and Ahmad's ear in Patrick's [hand]16

I swear, I only say this for your own benefit

O children of Baal:17 Phoenix has flown awaaaay18

O Muslims, O Christians

If you stay on the same path [as you are]

The [Lebanese] citizen will become

pagan, Jewish, and everything else

My friends, everything you have now

is only petty talk.

We have this Cedar19, that's great

But besides it, partner, what do we have??

We have an apple20, what greatness!

May God not rot it too!

And we have eggs with quawirma21,

raw liver, and pluck

We can converse in any language22

And we can piss in the jug

We have a rock with a fish on it23

We have Baalbek, Tyre, and Beiteddik24

We have a train, it seems,25

that moves embarrassingly in transit.26

We have freedom - yuck!

But, if you please

We have sectarian seasons

that leave but return strongly

And O times of secularism,

when will I see you? - That's metaphysics!

1. This is a sarcastic line. Sectarianism (in the first line) is a bit similar-sounding to “f*** me”.2. The ID card in Lebanon used to contain the holder’s religion, so it also symbolizes sectarianism here.3. Back in the days, 1 dollar was equal to 3.3 Lebanese Pounds. After the sectarian civil war, 1 dollar became equal to over 3000 Pounds then 1500, and this value is still constant. So, the same pound that had some value became almost useless.4. A pound, back in the days, was really the cost one would pay for transportation (whether by taxi or metro...)5. Sabra Street is a well-known very poor street in Beirut. Kaslik is a very beautiful modern area. The point here is that wherever you were in Lebanon, buying a room only cost 1000 Pounds, which can barely buy a bag of potato chips today.6. the merchant7. Achrafieh is a predominantly Christian area in Beirut8. Again, Achrafieh is a bit similar-sounding to “f*** me”9. The alphabet was invented by Phoenicians, ancient ancestors of the Lebanese.10. Phoenicians were also known for constructing ships from Cedar trees and sailing in the waters.11. There is a theory of a Phoenician discovery of America. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theory_of_Phoenician_discovery_of_the_Amer... 12. Tyrian purple is said to have first been used by Phoenicians.13. Also famous Phoenician products.14. Lebanese people like to ask one another what their family names are to know which part of Lebanon they come from and consequently what their religion and sect is.15. Again, “literally” is also similar to “f*** me”16. Patrick is a Christian name. Ahmad is a Muslim name. This is to say that they have torn each other’s ears out and are killing each other.17. Baal is a god that was worshipped in the Levant in ancient times. It features in the Bible and Quran as a false god that people worship besides God. In fact, a city in Lebanon is called Baalbek, literally the city of Baal.18. The bird symbolizes Phoenicia. In other words, Phoenicia is gone, so work on the present and forget the past.19. The Cedar is the symbol of Lebanon. It features on the Lebanese flag.20. Apples are probably the most abundant fruit in Lebanon.21. Quawirma is a kind of meat with some fat and onions that is usually eaten with eggs.22. Lebanese people are generally multilingual. Many are trilingual (Arabic, English, French). The minimum is usually bilingual.23. The fish here is the ichthys symbol that early Christians adopted as a secret symbol of Christianity. There is an ancient rock in Lebanon carrying that symbol (It was vandalized in 2013 by treasure hunters but the fish still somewhat appears).24. Beiteddine is a well-known 19th century Lebanese palace that was used by the Lebanese ruler then (and is still used as a presidential summer residence) and is partially open for tourists. The word literally means the house of religion, but it was changed here to Beiteddik to rhyme, and it thus became “house of the rooster”.25. Lebanon’s metro has not been working since the times of the civil war. There are still administrators who get paid for working on the metro, but there's no metro to begin with.26. These 2 lines are hard to understand. There might be mistranslations on my side.

• Artist:Ziad Rahbani