Poem III.
Hebrew Orthography
//בושרה הנייא /אה אה עלא וצול חיבי קול חיבי ***
//בושרה //הנייא
אעטף עלייא * ונצר םן רבי אעטף עלייא
יווקאל הנייא //יא לא//לאן וחובי פי גִונבי ** יווקאל
דעני בלחאק //יא //לאלאן //ונבית //מוענק* //ונכרוג
//אחמק ** //בשמלי מגִמוע נטחאק ונסאהתר
ונתבכתר ** //בשמלי /מגִמוע **
Arabic Orthography
//بوشره هنييا /اه اه علی وصول حيبي قول حيبي ***
//بوشره //هنييا
اعطف علييا * ونصر من ربي اعطف علييا
يووقال هنييا //يا لا//لان وحوبي في جونبي ** يووقال
دعني بلحاق //يا //لالان // ونبيت //موعنق * // ونخروج
احمق ** //بشملي مجموع نطحاق ونساهتر
ونتبختر ** //بشملي /مجموع **
English Translation
Joyous news—ah, ah—of the arrival of my love--say “my love”!
Have compassion for me—triumph is from my God, have compassion for me!
It is said “joy,” ya la lan, with my love by my side.
He called me to touch, ya la lan,
I sleep embraced
and leave out of my mind.
In our reuniting, I laugh
and let loose and strut.
Standardized Version
بُشرى هنية اه اه علی وصول حبي قُل حِبي
اعطف عليَّ والنصر من ربي اعطف عليَّ
يُقال هنية يا لا لان وحُبي في جُنبي
دعني باللحاق يا لالان
ونبات مُعنق
ونخرُج احمق
بشملي مجموع نضحك
ونسهتر ونتبختر
Notes:
1. "Bushra haniyya" is a well-known part of the modern nūba repertoire. In contemporary Algeria, it is used as a darj in the mode dhīl. However, only the first two words in the first two lines in the manuscript overlap with the text in the contemporary practice.
2. The end-rhyme in the first three lines is bī, but the repetition at the end of the first two lines tends to mask this uniform aspect.
3. Many of the song-texts in this manuscript include the interjection of syllables like alālān, yā la lān, and ṭānī ṭāna. This is a common practice in sung muwashshaḥāt, including in the modern nūba practice in the Maghrib. Usually, however, such syllables are not included in written texts. We have kept such syllables in the standardized Arabic version and the English translation, even though they should be understood as sung interjections and not as parts of the poetic form as such.