أبدى يمثل يوسف واعادا

فاجاد ثم اجاد ثم اجادا

Yusuf embodied and repeated

Excelling again and again

بغداد حيت منه عند قدومه

ضيفاً كريما حل في بغدادا

Baghdad where he was welcomed upon his arrival

As a generous guest in Baghdad

انا نحيي بعد كل عشية

من وجه يوسف كوكبا وقادا

We greet every evening

A planet and a leader in Yusuf's face

تلقى إذا أنعمت في تمثيله

في كل حادثة هدى ورشادا

If you bestow favors upon him in his performance

In every incident, guidance and integrity

ولقد يردك عن غرورك مشهد

يبكي العيون ويحرق الاكبادا

And it may save you from your arrogance a scene

That makes eyes cry and burns intestines

ولقد يريك من الخيال حقيقة

اوحى اليه بها النبوغ وجادا

And it may show you a reality of imagination

Inspired by brilliance and generosity

اقدر به من فاتح في فنه

القى اليه الفاتحون قيادا

I appreciate in him an pioneer in his art

The pioneers have given him leadership

ما كان للتمثيل بيت باذخ

فبنى له بيتا وكان عمادا

There was no prominent house for acting

So he built a house and it became a pillar

هم الذي يجد الكفاية عنده

هو ان يقود وليس ان ينقادا

They are those who find adequacy in him

It is for him to lead and not to be led

الفن في تمثيله متوثب

يطوى ليسبق غيره الابعادا

Art in his performance is enthusiastic

Folding to outpace distances

واذا الاتي طغى وعبّ عبابه

غمر الشطوط وحطم الاسدادا

And when the flood raged and foamed

Immersed the banks and crushed the dams

احبب اليّ بمسرح هو عالم

جم الحوادث يجمع الاضدادا

I loved in his theater a world

Collecting incidents, combining opposites

اما الشهود فوحدة في حسهم

فكأنهم يتعاورون فؤادا

As for the witnesses, they are one in their perception

As if they share one heart

ويريك عاقبة الضلالة والهدى

ويصور الانذال والامجادا

And it shows you the consequence of misguidance and guidance

And depicts the ignoble and the glorious

زره تجد صور الحياة جلية

فتود حين تزول لو تتمادى

Visit him, you will find clear images of life

Wishing, when they disappear, that they last

تر نعمة موفورة وبجنبها

تبصر شقاء دائما وجهادا

You see a abundant blessing, and next to it

You observe lasting misery and struggle

وترى اناسا يستمر ولاؤها

وترى اناسا بينها تتعادى

And you see people whose loyalty persists

And you see people among whom there is hatred

دنيا تطوف ذئابها بخرافها

وتعيث في تلك الخراف فسادا

A world whose wolves prey upon its sheep

And commit corruption among those sheep

يا من تجرد من عواطف قلبه

اني اعيذك ان تكون جمادا

O you who have stripped your heart of feelings

I implore you not to be inanimate

الفن يصلح كل من هو فاسد

حتى الذي ظن الفساد سدادا

Art reforms everyone who is corrupt

Even those who think corruption is integrity

الفن في قصص يمثل اهلها

يحيي الرميم ويبعث الاجدادا

Art in its stories depicts its characters

Reviving the feeble and resurrecting ancestors

الفن للاخلاق خير مهندس

يبتي الولاء ويهدم الاحقادا

Art is the best architect of morals

Cultivating loyalty and demolishing grudges

السلم كل مراده في نفسه

والسلم احرى ان يكون مرادا

Peace, all its purpose is in itself

And peace is most deserving to be purpose

ليس الذين الى العقول ركونهم

كالمؤثرين الى الهوى اخلادا

Not those who incline to minds

Are like those inclined to passion and stillness

ان الفضيلة في جميع شؤونها

بيضاء تأبى بالبياض سوادا

Virtue in all its affairs

Is white, refusing by its whiteness, blackness

يا ايها الآباء هذا معهد

يهدى ففيه هذبوا الاولادا

O fathers, this is an institute

That gives guidance, so refine in it the boys

وممثلين يضارعون عنادلا

وممثلات تشبه الاورادا

And actors that rival tall youths

And actresses resembling flowers

الفيتهم متكافئين براعة

ورأيتهم في فنهم اندادا

I saw them equal in the skill of art

And equal in their artistry

في الفن سحر لا يمل جماله

واليه يرجع من اراد بعادا

In art there is charm whose beauty never fades

And to it returns whoever wants distance

ولقد يطير بمن له هو شاهد

فكأنما هو راكب منطادا

And it may carry whoever witnesses it

As if he were riding a flying carpet

اما الدموع فقد خرجن من الكوى

وهي العيون جماعة وفرادى

As for tears, they came out from the inner depths

And the eyes, collectively and individually

ووقفن في وجل يصخن بمشهد

فيه الذبيح يحاور الجلادا

And they stood in awe of a scene

In which the victim converses with the executioner

ابقيت يوسف في العراق لاهله

ذكرى تزيد المعجبين ودادا

I kept Yusuf in Iraq for its people

A memory increasing affection

وغرست تنمى في قلوب شبابه

حباً سيبقى مورقا ورادا

And I planted growing in the hearts of its youths

Affection that will remain flourishing and blooming

احمل الى مصر تحية اختها

بغداد ان سألتك عن بغدادا

I carry to Egypt the greetings of its sister

Baghdad, if you asked about Baghdad