لي جَدَّةٌ تَرأَفُ بي

أَحنى عَلَيَّ مِن أَبي

I have a grandmother who has mercy on me

She leaned over me more than my father did

وَكُلُّ شَيءٍ سَرَّني

تَذهَبُ فيهِ مَذهَبي

And everything that delighted me

Would be my way

إِن غَضِبَ الأَهلُ عَلَـ

ـيَ كُلُّهُم لَم تَغضَبِ

If my family got angry at me

They all did, but not her

مَشى أَبي يَوماً إِلَـ

ـيَ مِشيَةَ المُؤَدِّبِ

My father walked up to me one day

With the stride of a disciplinarian

غَضبانَ قَد هَدَّدَ بِالضَر

بِ وَإِن لَم يَضرِبِ

Angry and having threatened to hit

And that he would actually hit

فَلَم أَجِد لِيَ مِنهُ غَيـ

ـرَ جَدَّتي مِن مَهرَبِ

So I found no refuge from him

Other than my grandmother as an escape

فَجَعَلتني خَلفَها

أَنجو بِها وَأَختَبي

She put me behind her

So I would be safe with her and hide

وَهيَ تَقولُ لِأَبي

بِلَهجَةِ المُؤَنِّبِ

And she said to my father

In a reprimanding tone

وَيحٌ لَهُ وَيحٌ لِهَـ

ـذا الوَلدِ المُعَذَّبِ

Oh, woe to him, woe to

This tortured boy

أَلَم تَكُن تَصنَعُ ما

يَصنَعُ إِذا أَنتَ صَبي

Did you not use to do

What you do, when you were a child