Some people might choose to think of this Mohammad Mounir's song as a song about Egypt. Certainly whoever put the video together (and the people who commented on it) think so. I can see why: it's called "Freedom" and has words like "martyr" and "refugee." Serious business. Grab a flag!
I prefer to see it as a love song that borrows the language of nationalism to express love for a woman--to legitimize a forbidden love, to be exact. I think this makes it more interesting and a bit subversive.
To say to one's country, as the song does, "Your love is freedom; in love, nothing is forbidden" should not raise any eyebrows. But to say it to the one you love, especially if your heart is "going against the current," will raise hell. No one wants to be a refugee in their own country, which is why the best line in the song makes no sense if you are thinking a country is the object of desire: "Hold me, take me, I'm a refugee, and I am true for the first time..." Well, unless you're asking for political asylum!
What I'm saying is that love songs can be powerful and legitimate without having to be about God and Country. Let's try listening to them that way and see what happens.
2 comments:
Serious business. Grab a flag! :D
It's a trait of many of Mounir's songs I guess that they operate on these two levels: romantic love and nationalism (yes, in a way as if the former needs to be redeemed by the latter).
But this particular song I've always experienced as talking about love for a person. Although I happen to be an Egyptian in diaspora and am occasionally prone to the blindly patriotic effect of songs with the word "nile" or "samra" in their lyrics! :)
those of us "outside" are always prone to the patriotic interpretation. Which is why I'd like to resist it.
BTW, nice blog. I particularly love the your self-introduction in Arabic!!
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