Nena Ya Nena: a Bilingual Duet with Vaya Con Dios — نينا يا نينا: ثنائي ثنائي اللغة مع ڤيا كون ديوس

I’ve been re-listening to Vaya Con Dios lately (2016) for some unknown and certainly random reason. Some of these songs remind me of going out to bars and pubs when younger in Egypt where they would often play them. After all these years I actually just found out that it’s a Belgian band’s name and not a woman’s. And that this ecclesiastical voice belongs to the lead singer, Dani Klein.

One day last week as I was riding my bike around Venice Beach, I began humming “Ney, Nah Neh Nah”. Bit by bit I exchanged some of the English lyrics with [Egyptian] Arabic ones — using quite the ridiculous words, one might add. The trial was certainly amusing, so I decided to work on it and see what would happen. Few days later and with almost no equipment, the following rendition came to being with my own sensational voice. Bwahaha.

What remains remarkable is coming up with all this silliness while residing alone in Los Angeles, where, except a sole lunch with aunt every month or two, all my interactions are in English. Maybe it is the way my psyche was showing that it's missing its Egyptian roots or simply the Arabic language.

LYRICS


I got on the phone and called the girls, said

قابلوني هناك والبسوا الشيرز

عشان

Ney, Nah Neh Nah

In my high-heeled shoes and fancy fads

نزلت ومسيت عالبوابز

ف

Ney, Nah Neh Nah
Ney, Nah Neh Nah
Ney, Nah Neh Nah
Nah Neh Nah

When I pushed the door, I saw Eleanor

ينعل أبوه ده خنزؤر

Because

Ney, Nah Neh Nah

Sue came in, in a silk sarong

وكان معاها واد  خرونج

Going

Ney, Nah Neh Nah
Ney, Nah Neh Nah
Ney, Nah Neh Nah
Nah Neh Nah

Annie was a little late

 أڤورت باين فالبيت

عشان

Ney, Nah Neh Nah

Curly fixed another drink

 والليلة ماطلعت فشينك

ف

Ney, Nah Neh Nah
Ney, Nah Neh Nah
Ney, Nah Neh Nah
Nah Neh Nah

It was already half past three

 يا هايبعني يا هاشتريه

Dancing

Ney, Nah Neh Nah

Oh Lord, did we have a ball
بيرة سخنة و شريطين تامول

ياللا

Ney, Nah Neh Nah
Ney, Nah Neh Nah

هوبا

Ney, Nah Neh Nah
Nah Neh Nah

Recently in 2021, the fun was extended to short videos on social media. Check them out on here: The first of the series Taombellella-laombella2, Eddilo Fel Kazablanka, and the latest Shed el Lebas.

More bilingual silliness can be found on Meet Alf عقبة — a Song Written and Performed to Entertain my 92-Year-Old Grandmother [Video]. 

ALSO VIEW:

Phree Phlow

(H)ero
 

When The Sky Spoke Back

Thinking Allowed Is Aloud

The Womb

The Mystic and the Tripper

Trump Le Trompeur

Living On Insanity’s Brink

Tamarack Over Jack

قصيدة تسلم الأيادي ... لو كانت نضيفة

Sophia And The Djembefola

The Alpha-Beta Poem

Francophun يا Waladé

StaYin Yang ☯

Anastasis of the Poetry Quizard

 

Meet Alf عقبة — a Song Written and Performed to Entertain my 92-Year-Old Grandmother [Video] 

Poème Tragique

Find Your Tao: Phoolosophizing en Prosoetry

Poetitude

Lunacy — Poem Written at 19

Coming Back To The Real

Mima 56 — Written at 20

Beth’s Death — Written at 21

Have No Morsi —هاف نو مرسي