I'm Calling You - Ahmed Kaabour

I'm calling you¹

I shake your hands

I kiss the ground beneath your feet²

And say, "I will redeem you"³

I dedicated to you the light of my eyes⁴

And I give you the warmth of my heart

And the tragedy that I live 

      is that my fate is the same as yours

I have not become worthless in my country

Nor have I shrunk in fear

I stood in the face of my oppressors

A naked, barefoot orphan

I've carried my blood on my hands 

      and never half-masted my flags

And I've preserved the green grass 

      on the graves of my ancestors

---

Ahmed Kaabour [Ahmed Qabour] (born 1955) Lebanon

Translator not stated

Source: lyric Arabic Music Translation

1. "You" is plural
2. "feet" - lit "soles"
3. "redeem" - i.e. be prepared to die for
4. In the sense of giving up one's life

Based on poem written in 1966 by Tawfiq Ziad