يا لَيلَةً بِالكَرخِ كَم لَذَّةٍ

سيقَت إِلَينا لَيلَةَ الكَرخِ

O night in Karakh, how much pleasure

Oh, that night in al-Karkh! How many delights

Was brought to us by the night of Karakh

Were driven our way on the night of al-Karkh,

سُقيتُها صَهباءَ مَشمولَةً

كَريمَةَ الجَدَّينِ وَالسِنخِ

I was served it, unmixed, pure

When I was served a ruddy wine, chilled by the north wind,

Noble in origin and ancestry

Noble in both its ancestry and its root,

سُلافَةً تَضحَكُ في كَأسِها

عَذراءَ صانوها عَنِ الطَبخِ

A clear wine that smiles in its cup

The choicest press, laughing within its cup,

A maiden whom they have protected from cooking

A virgin vintage, kept safe from the boiling flame.