Inta Omri

In the late 70s and early 80s, our weekends were filled with trips to my mother’s village in the mountains of Lebanon. On Sunday nights, after long days of playing with our cousins, dinners with our aunts and uncles, cuddles with grandma and grandpa, we drove back to Beirut in our turquoise Volvo. My two sisters and I always fought over who got the window seats. But I soon discovered that the best “seat” was the little deck under the rear windshield. I lay there, watching the steep, winding roads to Beirut. I loved the glittering lights of cars behind us, and even more, I loved the quiet joy that filled the car as we listened to Mama’s music. Umm Kulthum was a favorite. The songs reminded Mama of the days she spent in Egypt as a teenager. For me, the songs weaved stories of love and magic, a dream land every little girl wished for. I didn’t know any better.  

Inta Omri 

Singer: Umm Kulthum 

Lyrics: Ahmed Shafik Kamel 

Music: Mohammad AbdelWahab 

Your eyes take me back to days gone by. 

They taught me how to regret the past and its wounds. 

You are my life, life whose morning starts with Your light. 

So many of my days have gone, my love, 

and my heart saw not one joy before you. 

It didn’t savor this world except for the taste of wounds. 

Now I have started to fear that my life will end. 

Only now I have started to love my life. 

You are my life. 

Every joy that captured my imagination before you,  

my heart and mind and soul have found that joy in the light of your eyes. 

You, the life of my heart, 

You, more precious than my life, 

Why didn’t your love find me sooner? 

This song has captured the imagination of many artists in the Middle East. So much so that the city of Dubai commissioned a choreographer to create a water dance to flow with the rhythms of the song.