Poem VI.
Hebrew Orthography
כמלך תועדבני ותרצֹא באלביעאד ** / אלאלאן
ותחמל עלא קלבי ועלא יחתמל ** אלאלאן
ואנאס יקולו פי אלמתל ** אלאלאן יא מן דרא ילעק
בעצבאעו אלעסל אלאלאן מה יזול יגִרי עלא
דאך אלעמל ** אלאלאן ***
Arabic Orthography
كملك توعدبني وترضى بالبيعاد **/ الالان
وتحمل علا قلبي وعلا يحتمل ** الالان
واناس يقولو في المثل ** الالان يا من درا يلعق
باصباعو العسل الالان مه يزول يجري علا
داك العمل ** الالان ***
English Translation
Like a king you torment me and are pleased with separation—alalan!
You besiege my heart, and why besiege?—alalan!
In the proverb people say, alalan,
O the one who knows to lick the honey from his finger, alalan!
is still pursuing this task, alalan!
Standardized Version
كملك تُعذبني وترضى بالبِعاد الالان
وتحمل على قلبي وعلاه يحتمل الالان
والناس يقولوا في المثل الالان
يا من درى يلعق باصباعُه العسل الالان
ما يزول يجري على ذاك العمل الالان
Notes:
1. The use of the Hebrew term mezulzelet in the heading to this Arabic-language text is unclear.
2. A version of this song-text is found in an early version of the al-Ḥā’ik songbook in the Moroccan nūba tradition.
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.