قَد نَضِجنا وَنَحنُ في الخَيشِ طُرّاً

قَد نَضِجنا وَنَحنُ في الخَيشِ طُرّاً

أَنضَجَتنا كَواكِبُ الجَوزاءِ

أَنضَجَتنا كَواكِبُ الجَوزاءِ

We have all been roasted while in sackcloth;

We ripened while still green

We are thoroughly cooked, though sheltered in linen shades,

The stars of al-Jawza have roasted us.

Ripened by the Pleiades.

Roasted by the fiery stars of the summer sky.

فَأَصيبوا لَنا حُسَيناً فَفيهِ

فَأَصيبوا لَنا حُسَيناً فَفيهِ

عِوَضٌ مِن جَليدِ بَردِ الشِتاءِ

عِوَضٌ مِن جَليدِ بَردِ الشِتاءِ

So fetch Husayn for us, for in him

Fetch sweetmeats for us - therein lies

So bring us Husayn, for in him we surely find

is a substitute for the ice of winter’s cold.

Solace from the ice-cold winter.

A substitute for the frozen ice of winter.

لَو تَغَنّى وَفوهُ مَلآنُ جَمراً

لَو تَغَنّى وَفوهُ مَلآنُ جَمراً

لَم يَضِرهُ لِبَردِ ذاكَ الغِناءِ

لَم يَضِرهُ لِبَردِ ذاكَ الغِناءِ

Were he to sing with his mouth full of embers,

Were he to sing till his mouth filled with embers

If he were to sing with a mouth full of glowing coals,

it would not harm him, so cold is that singing.

That singing would not hurt him, for the cold of that song.

He would not burn, from the sheer coldness of that song.