ما جال في خاطري أنّي سأرثيها

بعد الذي صُغتُ من أشجى أغانيها

I never thought that I would eulogize her

After I was composed from her most woeful songs

قد كنتُ أسمعها تشدو فتُطربني

واليومَ أسمعني أبكي وأبكيها

I used to hear her sing, so I was delighted

And today I hear myself crying and bewailing her

صحبتُها من ضحى عمري وعشتُ لها

أدفُّ شهدَ المعاني ثمّ أهديها

I accompanied her from the dawn of my life and lived for her

To pour the honey of meanings and then dedicate them to her

سُلافةً من جنى فكري وعاطفتي

تُديرها حول أرواحٍ تُناجيها

A charm from the harvest of my mind and emotions

That circulates around souls confiding in her

لحناً يدبُّ إلى الأسماع يَبْهَرُها

بما حوى من جمالٍ في تغنيّها

A melody that creeps into ears, dazzling them

With the beauty it contains in its singing

ومنطقاً ساحراً تسري هواتفُهُ

إلى قلوب مُحبّيها فتَسبيها

And an enchanting eloquence, its whispers

Flow to the hearts of those who love her, captivating them

وبي من الشَّجْوِ.. من تغريد ملهمتي

ما قد نسيتُ بهِ الدنيا وما فيها

And I have from the passion.. from my inspiration's singing

What made me forget the world and all that is in it

وما ظننْتُ وأحلامي تُسامرني

أنّي سأسهر في ذكرى لياليها

And I never imagined, as my dreams conversed with me

That I would stay up late in memory of her nights

يا دُرّةَ الفنِّ.. يا أبهى لآلئهِ

سبحان ربّي بديعِ الكونِ باريها

O pearl of art.. O most splendid of its pearls

Glory to my Lord, Originator of the universe, its Maker

مهما أراد بياني أنْ يُصوّرها

لا يستطيع لها وصفاً وتشبيها

No matter how my eloquence wishes to depict her

It cannot sufficiently describe and compare her

فريدةٌ من عطاياهُ يجود بها

على براياه ترويحاً وترفيها

She is uniquely among His gifts that He generously bestows

Upon His wilds, for their comfort and amusement

وآيةٌ من لُدُنْهُ لا يمنُّ بها

إلا على نادرٍ منْ مُستحقّيها

And a sign from Him, believed in only

By the rare ones among those deserving of her

صوتٌ بعيدُ المدى.. ريَّا مناهلهُ

به من النبرات الغرِّ صافيها

A far-reaching voice.. its springs overflowing

With the pure, strange melodies within it

وآهةٌ من صميم القلبِ تُرسلها

إلى جراحِ ذوي الشكوى فتشفيها

And a sigh from the heart's core that she sends

To the wounds of those who complain, healing them

وفطنةٌ لمعاني ما تردّدهُ

تجلو بترنيمها أسرارَ خافيها

And a discernment for the meanings she repeats

That illuminate their mysteries with her singing

تشدو فتَسمع نجوى روحِ قائلها

وتستبينُ جمالَ اللحنِ من فِيها

She sings, so you hear the whisper of her soul's speaker

And you perceive the beauty of the melody from within her

كأنما جَمعتْ إبداعَ ناظمها

شِعراً وواضعِها لحناً لشاديها

As if she combined the creativity of her composer

In poetry and melody for her chanter

يا بنتَ مصرٍ ويا رمزَ الوفاء لها

قدّمتِ أغلى الذي يُهدَى لواديها

O daughter of Egypt, symbol of loyalty to it

You gave it the most precious gift that can be given to its valleys

كنتِ الأنيسَ لها.. أيّامَ بهجتها

وكنتِ أصدقَ باكٍ.. في مآسيها

You were its companion.. in the days of its bliss

And you were its most truthful weeper.. in its tragedies

أخذتِ منذ الصِّبا تطوينَ شقَّتَها

وتبعثين الشَّجا في روح أهليها

You have, since childhood, shouldered its burdens

And sent agony into the souls of its people

حتى رفعتِ على أرجائها عَلَماً

يرفُّ باسمكِ في أعلى روابيها

Until you raised over its horizons a flag

That flutters with your name at its highest minarets

وحين أَحدَقَ بالأرضِ التي نَشَرتْ

عليكِ أفياءها شرٌّ يُعنّيها

And when evil that concerned it loomed over the land

That bestowed its kindness upon you

أهبتِ بالشعبِ أنْ يسعى لنجدتها

بالمال والجهد.. إحياءً لماضيها

You called on the people to strive for its salvation

With wealth and effort.. restoring its past

وطُفْتِ بالعُرْبِ تبغين النصيرَ لها

والمستعانَ على إقصاء عاديها

And you toured the Arabs seeking aid for it

And help against banishing its enemies

حتى إذا صدقتْ في العون همّتُهم

وجاءها النصرُ وانجابتْ غواشيها

Until, when their determination for support was sincere

And it was granted victory and its darkness receded

عاد الصفاء لها وارتاح خاطرها

بعد القضاءِ على ما كان يُضنيها

Serenity returned to it and its conscience was comforted

After overcoming what had distressed it

وأقبل الغربُ يسعى في مودّتها

لما رأى من طموحٍ في أمانيها

And the West began pursuing its friendship

When it saw the ambition in its wishes

يا من أسِيتُم عليها بعد غيبتها

لا تجزعوا فلها ذِكرٌ سيُبقيها

O you who reproached it after its absence

Do not despair, for it has a memory that will perpetuate it

وكيف تُنسى؟ وهذا صوتُها غَرِدٌ

يرنُّ في مسمع الدنيا ويُشجيها

And how can it be forgotten? When this is its voice warbling,

Resonating in the hearing of the world and moving it

أضفى إلهي عليها ظِلَّ رحمتهِ

وظَلَّ من منهل الرضوانِ يسقيها

My God, bestow on it the shade of Your mercy

And the shade of the spring of bliss that waters it

تبلى العظامُ وتبقى الروحُ خالدةً

حتى تُردَّ إليها يومَ يُحييها

Bones decay but the soul remains immortal

Until it returns to her the day He brings her to life