وَلاحٍ لَحاني كَي يَجيءَ بِبِدعَةٍ

وَتِلكَ لَعَمري خُطَّةٌ لا أُطيقُها

A jester pestered me to bring innovation

A censor scolded me, seeking to introduce a strange innovation,

That, I swear, is a scheme beyond my ability

And that, by my life, is a plan I cannot bear.

لَحانِيَ كَي لا أَشرَبَ الراحَ إِنَّها

تُوَرِّثُ وِزراً فادِحاً مَن يَذوقُها

Pestering me not to drink wine, for it

He blamed me so I would not drink the wine, claiming

Bequeaths a mighty sin upon the taster

It leaves a heavy burden of sin on the one who tastes it.

فَما زادَني اللاحونَ إِلّا لَجاجَةً

عَلَيها لِأَنّي ما حَيّتُ رَفيقُها

So the jester increased my determination

But the censors only increased my stubborn persistence

For I haven’t lived as its companion in life

For it, since I remain its companion as long as I live.

أَأَرفُضُها وَاللَهُ لَم يَرفُضِ اسمَها

وَهَذا أَميرُ المُؤمِنينَ صَديقُها

Shall I reject it when Allah hasn’t rejected its name?

Shall I reject it when God has not rejected its name,

And this is the Commander of the Faithful, its friend

And this, the Commander of the Faithful, is its friend?

هِيَ الشَمسُ إِلّا أَنَّ لِلشَمسِ وَقدَةً

وَقَهوَتُنا في كُلِّ حُسنٍ تَفوقُها

It is the sun except the sun has embers

It is the sun, except that the sun has a burning blaze,

While our coffee surpasses it in every goodness

While our wine surpasses it in every grace.

فَنَحنُ وَإِن لَم نَسكُنِ الخُلدَ عاجِلاً

فَما خُلدُنا في الدَهرِ إِلّا رَحيقُها

So we, even if we don’t reside in eternity now

So even if we do not dwell in Paradise straight away,

Our eternity in time is naught but its extract

Our paradise in this age is nothing but its nectar.

فَيا أَيُّها اللاحي اسقِني ثُمَّ غَنِّني

فَإِنّي إِلى وَقتِ المَماتِ شَقيقُها

O jester, serve me then sing to me

So, O blamer, pour me a drink, then sing to me,

For I’m unto the time of death its boon friend

For I am its sworn brother until the time of death.

إِذا مِتُّ فَادفِنّي إِلى جَنبِ كَرمَةٍ

تُرَوّي عِظامي بَعدَ مَوتي عُروقُها

When I die, bury me next to a grapevine

When I die, bury me beside a grapevine,

To water my bones after death with its roots

That its roots may quench my bones after my death.