Go Bugaboo
Lullaby
Lullaby
(Persian)
(English)
Go bugaboo*, go desert bugaboo
Let my son alone!
My son has a father
Near his head is the Quran!**
He knows the Quran by heart
[My God] let the Quran be his guide
Holy Quran: let him grow old!**
Notes
*Bugaboo is in the sense of a bogeyman.
**Quran or Koran; is the holy book of Muslims.
In this lullaby the real word that has been used for "Quran" in Persian is "God's words" = "kalam ollah" ; which is also used in Arabic and Persian for Quran.
** It means "give him longevity"
Transliteration
Boro looloo
Boro looloo, boro loolooye sahraye
To az roodam che mikhahi?
Ke roode man pedar dare
Kalamollah be sar dare
Kalamollah be bar dare
Kalamollah nasibesh kon
Kalamollah to piresh kon!
"kh" like Spanish "j" or German "ch" in Bach.
*****
When we asked Fatimah about the second to last line of the song, she replied: "I don't know exactly what that mother means by her words, but I think it means that she wishes that the Quran shows him the way, or also maybe means that she wishes that God protects him in his life.
This lullaby is from the book:
Zhoukovskii, Valentin Alekseevich/ folk songs of Iran (in Quajar period), edited by Abdolhosein navaye, Tehran: Asatire, 2003".
Comments
Here's the computerized text: (we apologize if it doesn't display properly on your screen):
برو لولو |
Thanks and Acknowledgements
Many thanks to Fatimah Baji for contributing, transliterating and translating this song.
Khay'ly Mo'teh'shaker'am!