Dariush - Qeysar (Gheisar or Gheysar) - 2010

Artist: داریوش Dariush
Song: قیصر Qeysar (Gheisar or Gheysar)
Lyrics by: روزبه بمانی Roozbeh Bemani
Music by: علیرضا افکاری Alireza Afkari (Based on the soundtrack of "The Deer" by Esfandiyar Monfared Zadeh)
Year: 1389 (2010)

Youtube link:
[gt0kWGuL9Y4]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gt0kWGuL9Y4[/video]

Disclaimer 1: It is a multidimensional song and it has many layers of meaning. I only want to mention three main layers of it:

1-The most apparent one is that the poet has dedicated his poem to Behrouz Vossoughi and his legendary films before the revolution.
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0903750/

2- The second layer is about the films themselves. There are allusions to four major films in this song. All of these films belong to "Film Noir" genre in Persian cinema before the revolution. All of them depict the reality of Persian society in a bitterest way.

3- The third layer and the most important one is that the poet has compared the situations in those films with the current political and social situations in Iran.

Disclaimer 2: I have translated this song in two possible ways. The first line shows the literal translation and the second line in parentheses shows the meaning behind those words.

Qeysar*
(Gheisar)

این روزا گوزن و سر نمی برن
In roozâ Gavazn o sar nemiboran
These days they** don't chop off The Deer's*** head
(These days the tactics for killing someone have been changed)
می شکنن شاخشو میفرستن تو باغ
Mishkanan shâkhesh o mifrestan too bâgh
They break its antlers and send it back to the forest
(They kill one's personality and bravery, then let the person go)
این روزا طاقو نمیریزن سرش
In roozâ tâgh o nemirizan saresh
They don't tear down the roof over its head***
(They don't take up someone's home and properties)
سر گلشونو می کوبن به طاق
Sar-e gallashoon o mikooban beh tâgh
They bang the head of their herd against the roof
(They make the person go insane by the use of torture)

آخر نمایشا عوض شده
Âkhar-e namâyeshâ avaz shodeh
The endings of the dramas have been changed
(The situations have become vice versa in the country)
همه نقش همو بازی می کنن
Hameh naghsh-e hamo bâzi mikonan
All of them play each other's roles
(The people who once were good have become totally bad)
اونایی که چشمشون به قدرته
Oonâyi ke cheshmeshoon be Ghodrat e
Those who keep an eye on Ghodrat***,
(Those who crave for power,)
هم پیاله هاشو راضی می کنن
Ham piyâleh hâsho râzi mikonan
toady to the people who are toasting*** with him
(go to extremes for gaining it)

نمی دونم اگه برگردیم عقب
Nemidoonam ageh bargardim aghab
I don't know if we turned back time
(I don't know if it was the same in the past or not)
دل طوقی واسه کی پر می زنه؟
Del-e Toghi vâseh ki par mizaneh?
then, for whom Toghi's**** heart would go?
(If those supporters of justice lived in the current situation, would they support justice again?)
اگه فرمونو یه شب دوره کنن
Ageh Farmoon o yeh shab doreh konan
If they corrupted Farmoon* one night,
(If they bought our heroes and trusted men,)
چندتا چاقو پشت قیصر میزنه؟
Chand tâ châghoo posht-e Qeysar mizaneh?
then, how many times would Farmoon stab Qeysar* in the back with a knife?
(then, what treasons would they commit against their country and beloved ones?)

نمی دونم اگه برگردیم عقب
Nemidoonam ageh bargardim aghab
I don't know if we turned back time
(I don't know if we put those good people in the past in the current situations)
داش آکل به عشق کی سر می کنه؟
Dâsh Âkol beh eshgh-e ki sar mikoneh?
then with whom Dâsh Âkol**** would fall in love?
(then, would they do the same things which they had done in the past?)
اگه رستمو ببینه روی خاک
ageh Rostam o bebineh rooyeh khâk
If he saw Rostam**** falling on the ground,
(If an honourable man saw his enemy weak)
پشتشو بازم به خنجر میکنه؟
Poshtesh o bazam be khanjar mikoneh?
then, would he refuse to stab him with a dagger?
(then, would he refuse to take revenge according to his code of honour?)

پای روضه ی خودت گریه نکن
Pâyeh rozeye-yeh khodet geryeh nakon
Don't wail over your own elegy*****
(Don't show your inner feelings)
وقتی گریه ننگ مردونگیه
Vaghti geryeh nang-e mardoonegiyeh
when wailing is a stain on masculinity
(when your society can't understand you)
دوره ای که عاقلاش زنجیرین
Doreh ii ke âghelâsh zanjiriyan
In a time when wise people are raving mad
(When those who claim they are so wise, make a lot of problems for the world)
سوته دل شدن یه دیوونگیه
Sooteh Del shodan yeh divoonegiyeh
being heartsick***** is a kind of insanity
(being sad for our lost loves and hopes is considered meaningless (by the society and those boasting wise people))

این روزا دوره ی غیرت کشیه
In roozâ doreh-yeh gheyrat koshi-yeh
These days they kill all those protective feelings*
(These days they don't want you to protect your country, honour and beloved ones)
کی میدونه قیصر این روزا کجاست؟
Ki midooneh Qeysar in roozâ kojâst
Who knows where Qeysar* might be
(Who knows if such patriotic and loyal people still live in this country)
بُکشی و نکشی، می کُشنت
Bokoshi o nakoshi, mikoshanet
It doesn't matter if you kill or not, they will kill you anyway
(They are so ruthless that they kill people without any good reason and just because of those people's beliefs)
اینجا بازارچه ی آب منگولیهاست
Injâ bâzârcheh-yeh Âb Mangooliyâst
This (world) is like Âb Mangooli's* plaza
(The world has become a place filled with betrayal, duplicity and cruelty)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
* All of those words have allusion to "Qeysar" movie. It is a very shocking movie in Persian cinema and is considered as the turning point in making movies in Iran. The story began when Fati, the sister of Farmoon and Qeysar, committed suicide. The brothers found out the reason behind her suicide, and it was that Mansour Ab Mangool raped her and made her pregnant. Mansour was the brother of Fati's closest friend. Farmoon, the older brother, wanted to take revenge, so he went to Ab Mangool plaza (a very old plaza in Old Tehran). He struggled with Mansour in front of Mansour's two younger brothers. One of those brothers stabbed Farmoon in the back and then all of them killed him mercilessly. When Qeysar found out the truth, he took revenge from the three brothers by killing them. Finally, the police shot him dead.
Every name and every incident in this movie is symbolic. The family name of Ab Mangool which was connected with that old plaza had a very deep meaning in it. "Ab Mangool" was an old word for indirectly mentioning alcoholic drinks in Iran, so that plaza was named after the commerce of alcoholic drinks in there. "Ab Mangool" also alludes to delirium.
Another major concept in that movie was the concept of "Gheyrat (Protective Feelings)". We can't translate that word simply by the definition because it is a culture-based word. This word can be found in every Middle Eastern country or, generally speaking, in every Asian country. For example "Gayret" in Turkish and "الغیرت" in Arabic. It means a very strong protective feeling for a person's home, family member, homeland and his honour. This word is considered very masculine and sexist. It is only about men and even gives them the right to kill women. In this song however, the poet only mentions its bright sides and beauty, and somehow purifies it.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qeysar_%28film%29

** In this song, the word "they" has a very vague concept, but I think the most appropriate interpretation of this word would be "dictators and their lackeys".

*** Here, we have an allusion to "The Deer" movie. In that movie, we have Seyyed as the protagonist. Seyyed was a very brave man and had a very beautiful wife. Unfortunately, his enemies tried to debauch him by making him a drug addict. They succeeded in their plans, and Seyyed lost everything in his life. At this moment, his best friend Ghodrat showed up. He was a thief and wanted a shelter and an accomplice for his thefts. He found Seyyed and saw that he was ruined. Ghodrat tried to help him rehabilitate. He was somehow successful. But at the end of the movie, when they wanted to celebrate their success by toasting, the police besieged the house and tore it down with missiles. Ghodrat and Seyyed were killed then.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0074565/

**** Dash Akol was the name of the protagonist in "Dash Akol" movie. It was based on one of the most famous stories by Sadegh Hedayat ("Iran's foremost modern writer of prose fiction and short stories" http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sadegh_Hedayat). Dash is the slang form of the informal word dadash which means brother. Dash Akol was a very honourable man in his town. He helped many people. After the death of Haji Almas, one of the great landlords in his city, he was appointed as Haji Almas executor for his properties. Haji Almas had a dughter named Marjan, whom Dash Akol fell in love with but kept his love secret. Dash Akol had a parrot whose name was Toghi. He had taught that parrot how to speak and confessed his love for Marjan in front of Toghi for so many times. He had a sworn enemy named Rostam who wanted to kill him in any possible way. After a while, a suitor came and asked Marjan for marriage. Because of his code of honour, Dash Akol accepted that. On the wedding night, he talked to that bridegroom and handed over the responsibility of Haji Almas family to him. When he was leaving the house, Rostam attacked him in the night and stabbed him in the back with a dagger. Although Dash Akol was hurt badly, he managed to kill Rostam. However, his injuries were so bad that he died too. Before his death, he called for his parrot and instructed it to go to Marjan in order to confess Dash Akol's love for her.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0066968/

***** "Sooteh Delan" unmistakably is one of the saddest and most realistic movies in the history of Persian cinema. Sooteh Delan is the plural form of sooteh del. Sooteh del means heartsick in English and if we want to translate it literally it means burnt heart. The title alludes to one of the most famous quatrains by Baba Taher ("an 11th century Persian poet and mystic" http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baba_Taher). In the movie, the protagonist was a mentally ill person, named Majid. His brother cared for him a lot but his excessive care ruined Majid's life. Here, the poet depicts a scene in the movie in which all the family members went to a Rozeh (A kind of funeral ceremony, which is held in someone's house for Shiite Imams or prominent figures of Islam every now and then) and didn't take him with them. Majid was a very emotional person and was hurt badly because of that action. Actually, Majid's family didn't take him with them because they thought that he would do a stupid action and people would laugh at the family.

In this post I will talk about the additional information concerning this song.

Cleveeeeeeeeeeeeeeeerrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr! !!!!!

You should change your nick to (O)MegaClever!!!!!!

I can't wait for part two!

Standing ovation!


For a better-working link at YT:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IJE0_...eature=related

I'm listening to it now and I can't help my tears...
God, this is so ...
****, I'm just speechless.

God bless you, Dariush!
(and the Authors as well)

Originally Posted by Paul Orhan

I'm listening to it now and I can't help my tears...
God, this is so ...
****, I'm just speechless.

God bless you, Dariush!
(and the Authors as well)

Pawel, I'm so happy that you can sense this song's true meaning. It's so profound and no one could perform it better than Dariush.

Dariush's voice is not so powerful but it's full of emotion. He's a composer himself and he knows A-Z of music and poetry. He always cares for his country and people. It's no surprise that even when he was a drug addict, people loved him so dearly. He's a part of our culture.

He's a very very popular artist who gains his popularity merely via his art and personality.

Me and so many Persians can't see wrinkles on his face, because we want him to sing for us forever.

Now, I'm gonna cry too.

Oh my frigging God! I never knew he was a drug addict!
But it makes such a perfect (albeit sad) sense that he performs this song...
And now I know even better why his rendition is so personal!
Amazing piece!

His voice may not be the strongest but his interpretations are emotionally true and so spot-on!

Kudos to Dariush!


&

Kudos to You, Akıllım, for broadening my horizons again!

I've just finished the translation and put it in the first post.
Any comment would be appreciated very dearly.

Well, now that part two has been added I can only say that I love it even more.

It's absolutely astonishing to me that even if these lyrics are so much immersed in the Persian culture and cultural codes I could so well interpret this song as a comment to the present situation in Poland. This is just u.n.b.e.l.i.e.v.a.b.l.e.!

Clever, you've done one hot hell of a job!

Thank you so very, very, verymuch!

*********************
V_E_R_Y___C_L_E_V_E_R___1_9_8_0
*********************

Hello Mr. Owl and Mr. Paul lol
Bijan, my name is John. Paul gave me the link to this topic, because he knew I would be interested, and I'm taking the opportunity to say hello here.

But I also want to mention that I found your youtube channel today, and I sent you a friend request there. So please look for that? and I'll look forward to learning more about Persian music.

I'll also message you privately on another matter

By the way Bijan, that's an interesting background on the Turkish word "Gayret" and actually it fits with something that seems to stick in my mind, in perpetuity, as some sort of altruism ... I'll say it's a genetic thing, or maybe some would call it a chromosomal abberation? ... speaking of the protective nature of a man (or even a small boy) for his family. But mothers and sisters also have it in their nature too, of course, just as much as a man ... and this is such a deeply philosophical thing that it cannot and should never be addressed in a simple, frivolous, or thoughtless fashion. And I would love to see that movie

I also read a book of fiction about a year ago, with more or less the same basis as the movie you described, but then far beyond ..... Two young men (or teenage boys) became vengeful terrorists of a sort, after they were forced to witness their sister being molested by some type of palace-guard soldiers. Of course it angered and burned the brothers to the core ... Gheyrat? ... and their anger became the boiling point for a major disaster in the fiction that I read.

In other words, a literal definition of something like Gheyrat or Gayret is not often necessary because it's usually enough to just define it with a story that anyone could understand, and possible even relate to, such as the story from that movie. And this kind of thing exists (in some form) in every part of society all over the world but it just translates or expresses itself differently, according to cultural "norms".

I didn't mean to digress from your original purpose for this topic but the background that you described for the song is a very powerful subject all by itself

Originally Posted by jandros

Hello Mr. Owl and Mr. Paul lol
Bijan, my name is John. Paul gave me the link to this topic, because he knew I would be interested, and I'm taking the opportunity to say hello here.

But I also want to mention that I found your youtube channel today, and I sent you a friend request there. So please look for that? and I'll look forward to learning more about Persian music.

I'll also message you privately on another matter

Dear John, you've made my day with your beautiful post. You know I'm so enthusiastic about music and I dearly love to make freiends through the channel of music.

Thank you so much, I will accept your request in a few minutes. Thank you once again.