Expalin Yaar e Dabestaani e Man.

Ari Siletz
by Ari Siletz
17-Jun-2011
 

Help explain the song "Yaar e dabestaani e man."

This song carries a lot of emotion for Iran protesters, especially students. But the quality of the lyrics doesn’t explain why it’s such a big hit. Agree or persuade otherwise. If disagree, show literary analysis.

یار دبستانی من

با من و همراه منی

چوب الف بر سر ما

بغض من و آه منی

حک شده اسم من و تو

رو تن این تخته سیاه

ترکهٔ بیدادو ستم

مونده هنوز رو تن ما

So far, this is great lyrics. We’re in the classroom. Draws a parallel to university student beatings but taps into the primordial fears and helplessness of a child being unjustly punished by an authoritative adult. It also recalls the simple love and friendship that only children can feel in their purest forms.

دشت بی فرهنگی ما

Big skip in metaphor! What dasht? We were in the classroom!

هرزه تمومه علفاش

خوب، اگه خوب

بد، اگه بد

مُرده دلای آدماش

دست من و تو باید این پرده‌ها رو پاره کنه

Another big metaphor skip! Pardeh doesn’t go with classroom or dasht. What sort of scene with a pardeh is the listener to imagine here? Is this a Rumi pardeh, a Khayaam pardeh…the word just seems to be there to say,“you are listening to poetry.”

کی‌ میتونه جز من و تو درد ما رو چاره کنه

You said it!

Share/Save/Bookmark

Recently by Ari SiletzCommentsDate
چرا مصدق آسوده نمی خوابد.
8
Aug 17, 2012
This blog makes me a plagarist
2
Aug 16, 2012
Double standards outside the boxing ring
6
Aug 12, 2012
more from Ari Siletz
 
Azin Izadifar

As much as I recall the late

by Azin Izadifar on

As much as I recall the late Iranian singer FARHAD sang this song years ago. And at some point students movement conected with it and later was used in the " Green Movement". I personally like the feelings this song brings to me, but these feelings are related to the movement not to the song itself. I still think it's a very powerful one and those GAPS never bothered me. It would be great if somebody would add a couple of lines in between. But overall it's not about the classroom , it's about our culture, therefore dasht and parde make sense.  


Ari Siletz

Paykar

by Ari Siletz on

Your point about lyrics and poetry being different art forms is well taken. The best lyrics don't necessarily make good poetry. But the craft of the lyric is to keep the words simple and let the music express the emotional complexities and nuances. A poem has to make its own music and is therefore allowed more complexity.Yaar e Dabestaani lyrics diverge from the simplicity rule by radically changing metaphors (as well as the social issue being addressed) mid-flight. And contrary to what you state, there are no musical interludes between metaphor switches to at least hide this flaw--either in the original Fereidoon Foroughi version or in some of the later renditions I have heard.

Note: The simplicity rule does not apply to classical Persian singing where actual poems are used. There, the simplicity rule is addressed and recaptured by the use of very well known poems. Obscure poems don't work well with Persian classical singing.


Paykar

Mash Ghasem

by Paykar on

Aziz explain why you think it is a weak song. I have a pro version of it. It is not morbid. The tempo is appropriate and it does have a positive ending; we know where morbidity takes us:)

Ari has a problem with a couple of metaphors; he reads it as if he is reading a poem. The space between the sections of the lyrics are filled with music that bridges the clasroom and  the 'dasht'...

Life is short and I do as much as I can- not very much.  Plus, at this point in time I have very little respect for IC ( politically it is has mostly turned into propaganda machine for Niac and the Monarchists whom feel compelled to be jubilant about  monarchs all over the world, not just about  a 'blimp' in our history- the Pahlavi regime)


Mash Ghasem

This song is at least ten years older than 2008 protests

by Mash Ghasem on

I recall hearing this song first time around Khatemi's first term. And if students sang it back then, it must have been around at least a few years for it to become popular and known enough for a 'group performance.'

The slow and , me thinks a bit morbid, pace of the song always kinda of bothered me, as well as questions why such a weak song is a 'protest' song. A friends explanation was that this song was originally either written or performed by folks in rehab, and it was sort of a narrative of their experience and recovery, hence its slow paced rhythem and...

The only good version of this I saw was durign the protest somewhere in a commuinty college in Khoram Abad. The students were singing this rather fast, while  moving in two circles, contra directions, and hand clapping very louldy. Now, that was a Yar Dabestani to hear, cheers 

P.S. Paykar  jan long time no see, good to read from you.


Anahid Hojjati

Ari jan, my moovafeghat is not needed

by Anahid Hojjati on

I think just the fact that the song has connected with people shows that it is a good song.  Pas ghaboolesh kon be class dovoom.


Paykar

Lyrics not poetry Ari

by Paykar on

Dasht-e be farhangi: denotes the prevailing cultural scene.

Pardeha: is just an allusion to things that cover up 'reality.' 

This an is excellent  song, encapsulating  what is wrong and what is to be done by those who have had a shared  experience.

 

 


Ari Siletz

شازده گرامی‌

Ari Siletz


قسمت اول شعر رو که منصور تهرانی نوشته، بیست آفرین. بقیه شعر رو که شعبون بیمخ کافه بهم زنی‌ ادبی‌ کرده، باشه همون ۱۰۰۰.


Shazde Asdola Mirza

خدا شعبون بی‌ مخ رو بیامرزه

Shazde Asdola Mirza


رفته بود و واسطه شده بود و آقای مدیر هم مثل شما گفته بود که ۲۰ میده. اما آقا شعبون ناراحت شده بود که: "ما با این هیکل گنده کشیدیم این همه راهو اومدیم اینجا - شما فقط می‌خوای ۲۰ بدی؟ بابا ۱۰۰ بده ۱۰۰۰ بده!"


Ari Siletz

Jenab Shazde

by Ari Siletz on



Normal
0


چون شما واسطه شدید، به چشم. بیست، آفرین!

آناهید خانم شما اگر موافقت بفرمایید البته.


Shazde Asdola Mirza

آری جان: حالا زیاد سخت نگیر

Shazde Asdola Mirza


یه نمره قبولی بده بهش بره کلاس دوم!


Anahid Hojjati

The quality of parts of lyrics does not explain its popularity

by Anahid Hojjati on

But I think there are several reasons why the song is popular:

1) great song to have as background when videos were released of beating of Iranian youth in 2009

2) some other artists have added more lyrics to it. I found some videos that the song is longer and someone has added lyrics starting with "yare dabestani man     shere ghamestani nakhoon"

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=MkXCm3W6zEo

3) people have done remix of this song with other popular songs. For instance, here, we have a remix with "Ey Iran"

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=5KuumJhConA&feature=related

So this song was able to connect with people because of what they went through in 2009 and then since the song got used in videos, it got associated with 2009 movement. Also different versions performed by many different artists, some even not Iranian, all increased popularity of the song. All this should give us ideas for what kind of song, may become successful next time.

thanks Ari for an interesting blog.