Monday, January 18, 2010

Persian Cats' Tehran

These are clips from Bahman Ghobadi's film No One Knows About Persian Cats (Also see Variety's review). In an interview, he has released his film for free internet distribution. But these kind of films need a dark salon, a collective beat and crowds breathing on each other's neck.

Here, an e-taste:

Ekhtelaf, Hip hop By Hichkas



Lyrics:
Inja tehrane [This is Tehran]
Yani shahrike [i.e. a City]
Harchi ke toosh mibini baese tahrike [where everything stimulates]
Tahrike roohe to to ashghaldooni [Stimulates the soul into trash bin]
Mifahmi to ham adam nisti ye ashghal boodi [you understand you are not a human, but a trash]
Inja hame gorgan [here, everyone's a wolf]
Mikhau bashi mesle barreh [you wanna be a lamb]
Beza cheshat koor shan ta man vakonam ye zarreh [let your eyes go blind till i open them a little]
Inja jangale la'anti shookhi nistesh [this is a damned jungle, it's not a joke]
Khabari az gol o bastani choobi nistesh [no flower and no icecream stick]
Inja jangale bokhor ta khordeh nashi [this is the jungle where you should eat or be eaten]
Inja nesf oghdeyan nesf vahshi [Here, half are deprived and the other half are savage]
Ekhtelaafe tabaghati inja bidad mikone [class divisions wreak havoc]
Roohe mardomo zakhmi o bimar mikone [bruise and sicken people's soul]
Faghire o mayedare neshastan toye taxi [poor and rich are sitting in a taxi]
Hame mikhan keraye nadan [everyones to not pay the fare]
Haghighat roshane khodeto be oon raah nazan [Truth is obvious, don't pretend you don't see]
Roshan taresh mikonam pas bemoon jaa nazan [I make it more clear, don't run away]

[CHORUS] [x2]
Khda pasho man ye chansaali bahat harf daram [Get up God, I've got a few years worth of things to say]
Khoda pasho o nasho narahat az karam [Get up God, and don't get mad at me]
Kojahasho didi tazeh avval karam [What have you seen? I have just started]
Khoda pasho man ye ashghaalam bahat ha(r)f daram [Get up God, I'm a trash, I have things to say to you]
Namaki ba charkhesh [Peddler with his cart]
Kenare ye benze [Near a Mercedes]
Ke hamoon charkhesh [whose wheel]
Kerayeye benze [is the rent price]
Man o to o oon boodim az ye ghatre [you and I and him were from a drop]
Hala bebin faseleye maha che ghadre [Now see what is the distance]
Dalile charkheshe zamin nist jazebe [Gravity is not why earth turns]
Poole ke zamino micharkoone (jalebe) [Money turns the earth (interesting)]
In rooza avval poole baad khoda [These days, it's first money then God]
Hame ra'ayatan ma kadkhoda [Everyone's a peasant, we are the lords]
Bachehe mikhad ba faghire bazi kone [The kid wants to play with the bum]
Baba nemizare [Dad doesn't let]
Faghre kasife chonke faghat yeki dare (baazi) [poverty's dirty 'cause has one (game)]
Hame agahim az in balaya [We're all lords from up here]
Hata fereshteham nemiad in vara [Even angels don't come this way]
Ta nashim fanaa ma [Till we don't vanish]
Adame marizam [ I am sick]
Harfamo dark kard [He understood me]
Tamoom nakardam harfamo ha [But i am not done talking yet]

[CHORUS] [x2]

Ta halaa shode asheghe ye dokhtar beshi [have you ever fallen in love with a girl?]
Mikham harf bezanam roktar, beshin [I wanna talk more frankly, sit down]
Piishe khodet migi inne eshghe tarikhi [you tell yourself this is a historical love]
Vali duffet baye bache mayedare [but your ??? is with a rich boy]
Khab didi kheire [sweet hallucination]
Yadeb bashe gheire [???]
Khodet bezan gheyde [cut your strings]
Harchi adam dorovaret mibini chon eibe [from all people around you, because it's a shame]
Yeki savare mashine khoda ba poozkhand rad mishe [One passes by you riding god's car, smirking at you]
Ba kineh mikoni doaa [with grudge, you pray]
Ke manam mikham mayedar sham [that "i want to be rich too"]
Oghdaro konam darkesh [to understand inferiority]
Doaa nakon bi asareh [Don't pray it's no use]
Nemikonan darkesh [They won't understand]
Mikhai bekhabi [You wanna sleep]
To bidari kaboos bebin [see nightmares when awake]
Bia baham be in donya fohshe namoos bedim [Let's swear at this world]
Bayad koor bashi ta nabini faghro harja [you ought to be blind to not see poverty everywhere]
Kenare khiaboon nabini faghr o fahsha [to not see poverty and prostitution on the street sides]
Khoda pasho ye ashghal bahat harf dare [God, get up a junky's got things to say to you]
Nakone to ham be fekre inni ke ki sarf dare [Maybe you too are wondering who is worth it?]

And another one, Jazzi, By Rana Farhan

6 comments:

123 said...

Thanks for this lovely post, Naj. Hichkas is my favorite too. By the way where do you find the movie from? Liked what you said about people in cinema and cinema... ghorbaanet,

Pedestrian said...

Saw this 2 nights ago and cried my eyes out naj! bought the cd from ali agha, our loyal grocery store ;)

Anonymous said...

Loved Rana Farhan’s jazz and bluegrass songs. I found more on her web site at ranafarhan.com. I think Persian language goes well with jazz music and is very expressive. Thank you for the post.

Anonymous said...

Tehran has a very vibrant music scene, who knows what the people will come up with up the regime allows them to express themselves.

Joaquin said...

Is there any way to get the lyrics in native script? I am studying Persian (Farsi), and this would help me learn the language more.

Naj said...

Joaquin; good for you. If you transcribe it in native script I will correct your errors :)