The Art of Change

Listening Post 316. “Human justice is like ice/Melts with sunrise/Give me the ney and sing/Singing is the justice of hearts.” The Lebanese singer-songwriter Tania Saleh put these words by her countryman Khalil Gibran to music in 2017. Now she is back with her seventh album, and an intensely personal take on justice. In the 90 years since Gibran’s death, many nations have gravitated toward his feminist views—but not his homeland, where gender equality is the victim of a sclerotic system of sectarian personal-status laws. If the writings of the celebrated fabulist, poet and essayist were not enough, however, maybe Saleh’s lived experience can push the needle. 10 A.D. is her exploration of life 10 years after divorce—and a suggestion that women’s rights in her country are 2,000 years behind. Though her lyrics are often bitter, Saleh—a leading figure on the alternative Arabic music scene—is looking for change rather than revenge. Her sharp language is tempered by illuminating detail and candor, by her beautiful voice and airy arrangements. Her groove, which she calls Indie Arabic, balances traditional Middle Eastern instruments, classical string quartet with piano and electronic touches. In Nameless Relationship (Din Imma, video 1) she crosses from marginalization into the formless terrain of divorce; but hope of a new relationship emerges with A Corner in Your Heart (Korneh Bi Albak, video 2). We Are in a Fix (Halitna Haleh, video 3) echoes the perfect storm: Lebanon’s polarization, enduring economic-political chaos and global pandemic. Against that backdrop, The Fan (El Marwaha, video 4), seems almost quaint, describing a party—and metaphor for a country—where she feels out of place. Though she finds space to lament modern ills like cell phone addiction and estrangement from nature, Saleh’s primary target is clear. Following a proud artistic tradition, she sings the justice of hearts, aiming to penetrate the heart of justice. (Kirkelig Kulturverksted)

Tania Saleh: 10 A.D. /  تانيا صالح : ١٠ م
Tania Saleh: Vocals, backing vocals
Øyvind Kristiansen: Piano, music programming
Hazem Shahin: Oud
Mohamed Adel: Electric guitar
Hany Bedair: Percussion
Ahmed Kamary: Qanun
Mohamed Al Ashry: Double bass
Moustafa Kerdany: Drums
Mohamed Sawwah: Trumpet
Berit Cardas: Violin 1
Emilie Lidsheim: Violin 2
Einar Kyvik Bauge: Viola
Sverre Kyvik Bauge: Cello
Andreas Rødland Haga: Double bass

Nameless Relationship / Din Imma / دين إمها
Lyrics & music: Tania Saleh

(From the Arabic lyrics)
A motherless relationship/That knows not where it is heading
Has no beginning has no end/Has no name has to title
A fatherless relationship/Knows neither night nor day
It is not sentimental not cerebral/Not forbidden not accepted
God knows where it came from/But there is something about it
I feel I deserve

Just like a fantasy/Just like a dream
For heaven’s sake where is it from/It is neither one sided nor two sided
It is not private it is not public/It’s just in the middle
A borderless relationship/Not belonging to any time or space
I only asked to pick a flower/Instead I get a whole garden
A motherless relationship/Not knowing where it is heading
Has no beginning has no end/Has no name has no title
God knows where it comes from/But there is something about it
I feel I deserve
Just like a fantasy/Just like a dream

A Corner in Your Heart / Korneh Bi Albak / قرنة بقلبك
Lyrics & music: Tania Saleh

If there’s a warm corner in your heart/I want to live there and make it my exile
If there’s a corner in your heart/With a sea view
I want to drown in it/For the rest of my days
A corner I can fit into without a trace/Like a small sheep napping
Between the branches/Let there be sky, birds, a flower field
And a ray of light
I only need to hear your heartbeat/To tune my chord

If there’s a warm corner in your heart/I want to live there and make it my exile
If there’s a corner in your heart/With a sea view
I want to drown in it/For the rest of my days
I know you’re not mine/My love is not selfish
If not in this lifetime/Maybe in another
If there’s a warm corner in your heart/Hide me there

We Are in a Fix / Halitna Haleh / حالتنا حالة
Lyrics & music: Tania Saleh

We are in a fix Sweetie/We are in a fix
We went to get some fresh air/Turns out fresh air is expensive
Bring me the necessities/And hand me some water
And forget lovemaking Sweetie/Tonight dinner is light
There are olives and a loaf of bread/And we still have four turnips left
If you want falafel bring some/And if you want something green bring some
But please come straight back home/And no flirting with cotton candy!

We are in a fix Sweetie/We are in a fix
We went to get some fresh air/Turns out fresh air is expensive
We are in a fix Sweetie/We are in a fix
We went to get some fresh air/Turns out fresh air is expensive
You hid all your pennies/For a rainy day
It is pouring now Sweetie/And I am drowning
We are in a fix Sweetie/We are in a fix
We went to get some fresh air/Turns out fresh air is expensive
We are in a fix
Sweetie

The Fan / El Marwaha / المروحة
Lyrics & music: Tania Saleh

I am invited to a party/And I hate to go out
Every outing is a long trip/Every outing is a hassle
I am as gloomy as an owl/Drowning in my misery
I write poetry wearing my pyjamas/The party is on the second floor
I dare you to see anyone or hear anything/The music is okay the food is fine
But a buffet without tabouleh/Is like painting with no color
I have to be either Frenchy or Anglophone/Or else spend the time scrolling my phone
I feel like dancing/Burning off some calories
But no one invited me except Valérie/VO: What’s wrong with Valérie she’s OK…

Hot flushes cold flushes/No one is coming my way
I am looking for something convincing/In every man I see
Either too young looking for a bride/Or too old looking for a nurse
Men my age want a twenty-year-old/VO: Twenty or maybe thirty but fifty?

I am sick of this circus/My head is tired of swinging
The fan in my hand is/Blowing the men away
VO: What is the result, so we know?

Too many women too many women
For women my age/Men get fifty percent off
How can we be discounted/When we are worth millions… Millions
VO: It’s bedtime