Ya Mustafa
"Ya Mustafa" also spelled "Ya Mustapha", is a well-known multilingual song from Egypt, composed by famous Egyptian Musician Mohamed Fawzi and which has been recorded in many different languages. Several different versions, including parodies, have been recorded. The song first became popular in Europe with the help of the Egyptian singer Bob Azzam, who released it in 1960 in France.
Lyrics
The song's original lyrics are in Egyptian Arabic, French, and Spanish, reflecting the multi-cultural Egyptian society at the time the song was written.Original lyrics
Cherie je t'aime, cherie je t'adore
Como la salsa del pomodoro
Cherie je t'aime, cherie je t'adore
Como la salsa del pomodoro
_____
:
Ya Mustafa, ya Mustafa
Ana bahebak ya Mustafa
Sabaa senin fel Attarine
Delwa'aty geina Chez Maxim
Taala ya Mustafa, ya ibn el Sarhan
Di el taamira agami we lef 'al giran
Wama yigi keifo keifo
Yeshra ala keifo keifo
Wama yigi keifo keifo
Yeshra ala keifo keifo
Ya Mustafa, ya Mustafa
Ana bahebak ya Mustafa
Sabaa senin fel Attarine
Delwa'aty geina Chez Maxim
_____
Quand je t'ai vu sur le balcon
Tu m'as dit monte et ne fait pas d'facon
Quand je t'ai vu sur le balcon
Tu m'as dit monte et ne fait pas d'facon
Cherie je t'aime, cherie je t'adore
Como la salsa del pomodoro
Cherie je t'aime, cherie je t'adore
Como la salsa del pomodoro
Ya Mustafa, ya Mustafa
Ana bahebak ya Mustafa
Sabaa senin fel Attarine
Delwa'aty geina Chez Maxim
Tu m'as allumé avec une allumette
Et tu m'as fait perdre la à tête
Tu m'as allumé avec une allumette
Et tu m'as fait perdre la à tête
Cherie je t'aime, cherie je t'adore
Como la salsa del pomodoro
Cherie je t'aime, cherie je t'adore
Como la salsa del pomodoro
Ya Mustafa, ya Mustafa
Ana bahebak ya Mustafa
Sabaa senin fel Attarine
Delwa'aty geina Chez Maxim
English translation
Darling I love you, darling I adore you
Like tomato sauce
Darling I love you, darling I adore you
Like tomato sauce
_____
O Mustafa, o Mustafa
I love you o Mustafa
Seven years in the Attareen
Now we meet at Chez Maxim
Come Mustafa, son of the Sarhan
These drugs are fresh and go to the neighbour
And when he gets high
He can take drugs as he likes
And when he gets high
He can take drugs as he likes
O Mustafa, o Mustafa
I love you o Mustafa
Seven years in the Attareen
Now we meet at Chez Maxim
_____
When I saw you on the balcony
You told me to come up and not in such a manner
When I saw you on the balcony
You told me to come up and not in such a manner
Darling I love you, darling I adore you
Like tomato sauce
Darling I love you, darling I adore you
Like tomato sauce
O Mustafa, o Mustafa
I love you o Mustafa
Seven years in the Attareen
Now we meet at Chez Maxim
You set me on fire with a match
And you made me lose my head
You set me on fire with a match
And you made me lose my head
Darling I love you, darling I adore you
Like tomato sauce
Darling I love you, darling I adore you
Like tomato sauce
O Mustafa, o Mustafa
I love you o Mustafa
Seven years in the Attarine neighbourhood
Now we meet at Chez Maxim
Versions
The song has been performed in many different versions by many different singers worldwide, including Greek, Turkish and Serbian languages, where they are very popular in the respective countries. There was also a Hindi version used in the soundtrack of a Bollywood film. The music of the song is influenced by Greek music. The song was very popular in the 1950s and early 1960s, but its popularity is revived with newer versions of the song.- In Europe the song became popular with the help of the Egyptian-born singer Bob Azzam, who released it in 1960 in France. Azzam's version was also a hit on the UK Singles Chart, where it spent 14 weeks and peaked at number 23.
- One of the singers to record this song was the Jewish–Turkish-French singer Darío Moreno.
- In Spain, in 1960, the song reached #1 in the charts in two versions sung by Bob Azzam and by José Guardiola.
- In Kosovo, the song was made in Albanian by Muharrem Qena.
- Bruno Gigliotti, the brother of the famous singer Dalida and founder of the Orlando record label, also covered the song.
- Dick Lee also has a version of this song, sung in English and several Singaporean dialects.
- Kyu Sakamoto also sang a version of this song in Japanese.
- In 1975, the Turkish Cypriot actress and singer Nil Burak sang "Ya Mustafa".
- The music was adapted by the Indian composers Nadeem-Shravan and appeared in the film Aatish starring Sanjay Dutt, Aditya Pancholi, Raveena Tandon, Karisma Kapoor. The vocals of Jolly Mukherjee, Mukul Aggarwal and Alka Yagnik were used for the song.
- The American singer and actress Angélica María made a recording in her album La Magia de Angélica María.
- The Lebanese singer Reeda Boutros has also interpreted the song.
- Catalan trumpeter :ca:Rudy Ventura|Rudy Ventura covered the song in the early 1960s as "Mustafà català".
- :ca:Carles Belda|Carles Belda performed "Mustafà català" in Catalan in Barcelona in 2008.
- The influential British folk-blues guitarist Davy Graham did his own instrumental jazzy version of the song on his album Folk, Blues and Beyond. A short version of this was played live by Led Zeppelin guitarist Jimmy Page in a BBC session, called "White Summer/Black Mountainside". Page's recording and acoustic style generally was heavily influenced by Davy Graham's work.
- Performed by Lola Novaković in Serbian in 1960.
- Performed by Yugoslavian singer Djordje Marjanovic in Serbian in 1961.
- Performed by Serbian vocalist Nenad Jovanovic in Serbian in 1977.
- A Danish version appeared in the 1960 movie "Soldaterkammerater på vagt". In this version the song is addressed to Mustafa, a laze camel. Performed by the actors.
- In Indonesia, this song is used as the yell of the Scouts, which is popular with the lyrics Sudah lama tidak minum Jamu, Jamu-Jamu dari Daun Nangka. Sudah lama tidak ketemu, ketemu dengan Pramuka.
- A German language version by Greek singer Leo Leandros reached number 2 on the German charts in 1960.
Appearances
The rhythm and melody of the song inspired many popular Egyptian chants, particularly related to Egyptian football. It is the most popular chant of Ahly fans, and is many directed at their most popular rivals Zamalek, they have used it to dis their rivals for more than 30 years. The Ahly chant has different lyrics and begins with a popular Egyptian folk term originally belonging to working farmers while digging the Suez canal, meaning "hey hey, COME ON! ", and is then followed by meaning "F*** the mothers of Zamalek".
In 2019, the most popular chant for anti-government Lebanese protesters targeted their Caretaker Foreign Minister Gebran Bassil, began with the famous Ahly chant against their rivals Zamalek, "Hela hela, hela hela ho", then followed by "Gebran Bassil k**s emmo," which figuratively translates to "Hela hela, hela hela ho, f*** Gebran Bassil," but literally insults his mother's genitalia. The Free Patriotic Movement, which Bassil leads, created an alternative version which failed to achieve popularity: "Hela hela, hela hela ho, Gebran Bassil mnħebbo," meaning "we love him." Meanwhile, feminist activists in Beirut coined an alternative pro-revolution chant: "Hela hela, hela hela ho, ay*i bi Gebran wa bi 'ammo." This slogan, meaning "...f*** Gebran and his father-in-law." This revision more directly insults Bassil, rather than his mother, and includes the President of Lebanon Michel Aoun.