31 July 2003Music
Like the Queen of Sheba

AISCHA


Just as if I didn't exist,
She passed right by me, without a glance,
Like the Queen of Sheba.
I said "Aischa, take it all, it's yours".

Here are pearls and jewels,
And gold to go around your neck
My life would be ripe fruits with the taste of honey
Aischa, if you loved me.

I will go wherever your breath takes us,
To the countries of ivory and ebony,
I will wipe away your tears, your pain
Nothing is too much for one as beautiful as you.

Aischa, Aischa, listen to me
Aischa, Aischa, don't go
Aischa, Aischa, look at me
Aischa, Aischa, answer me

I would speak words of poetry
I would play the music of the heavens
I would take the rays of the sun
To light up your regal eyes.

Aischa, Aischa, listen to me
Aischa, Aischa, don't go

She said, "Keep your treasures,
I'm worth more than all of that.
They are prison bars even though they are made of gold.
I want the same rights as you
And due respect the whole time
Me, I only want love."
Lately Magik 98.1 here in Samoa has been playing a cover version of "Aischa" by some group I've never heard of called Outlandish.

The original song was written and sung by an Algerian performer named Cheb Khlaed, the King of Rai - a blend of rock n' roll and traditional North African music. Khaled's voice is hypnotic. He has the ability to transport you to another space and time.

"Aischa" is such a beautiful song. If you don't know it you should try to find it online somewhere for a listen. You can download the mp3 from this Arabic music site I found.

I first heard "Aischa" back when I was lucky enough to be dating a belly dancer. She used the song in her repertoire. Even today I can’t hear the song on the radio (even though it’s not Khaled’s version) without thinking her twirling on the carpet at El Morocco in her gorgeous silvery white costume. It's a great image in my mind.

The lyrics are in French and Arabic. The insert has a the translation in English for those sad monoglots like myself.

Posted by andrew at July 31, 2003 11:34 AM


Comments

jhase Says:

I am very interested in the history of Aischa(the person). Who is this Aischa? Where did Aischa come from?

March 31, 2005 06:53 AM

Thanks for signing in, . Now you can comment. (sign out)

(If you haven't left a comment here before, you may need to be approved by the site owner before your comment will appear. Until then, it won't appear on the entry. Thanks for waiting.)


Remember me?


TrackBack URL for this entry:
http://www.americanidle.org/MT/mt-tb.cgi/309

Listed below are links to weblogs that reference:
'Like the Queen of Sheba'.