ظهرتْ على قممِ البروجِ ثلوجُ

ظهرتْ على قممِ البروجِ ثلوجُ

وهوتْ كما يتطايَرُ المَحْلوجُ

وهوتْ كما يتطايَرُ المَحْلوجُ

Snow appeared on the tops of the towers,

Snow appeared on the peaks of towers

And fell like fluttering ginned cotton.

And fell like fluttering clouds

قُم يا غلامُ وسقّنِيها قهوةً

قُم يا غلامُ وسقّنِيها قهوةً

تذرُ الصحيحُ كأنّهُ مَفلوجُ

تذرُ الصحيحُ كأنّهُ مَفلوجُ

Rise, boy, and give me that wine to drink,

Rise, O boy, and serve me coffee

Which leaves a healthy man as though paralyzed,

The righteous drink it as if paralyzed

مع عصبةٍ رُزقوا الحِجى في دينهِم

مع عصبةٍ رُزقوا الحِجى في دينهِم

لكنّهم عندَ الشرابِ عُلوجُ

لكنّهم عندَ الشرابِ عُلوجُ

With a band endowed with reason in their faith,

With a gang granted protection in their religion

Yet when drinking, they are barbarians.

But when drinking they are ruffians

لم يسأموا شُربَ الطلا حتى بَدا

لم يسأموا شُربَ الطلا حتى بَدا

للفيلِ في سُمِّ الخياطِ ولوجُ

للفيلِ في سُمِّ الخياطِ ولوجُ

They never tired of drinking wine until it seemed

They did not tire of drinking wine until

An elephant could enter the eye of a needle.

The elephant showed a twist in the tailor's poison