Behind the Arabic translation: No woman, no drive
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The
Saudi women’s driving demonstration last month was an attempt to normalise the
very conservative kingdom’s society view towards women driving a car. The issue of forbidding Saudi women from
driving cars has long been attacked both at the local and global levels. However, in harm with the global climate of revolutionised
minds, women in this society have recently doubled their attempts to drive
against the local traditions and rules. Regardless
of how legitimate this step was, within the internal logic of this male driven
society, it represented a challenge of the inherited.
The
prompt response was strongly determined and in an artistic style. The new song built on the revolting tradition
of Bob Marley: No woman, no cry was more than significant. The original song was a reggae masterpiece for
which Bob Marley was long remembered.
For
him, its importance derives from the memories he had had in his experience of
growing up in Trenchtown District, Kingston.
As a lyric of deep nostalgia, it gained a very wide popularity among
reggae music lovers of the early 1970s and those of today. Nowadays, the significance of the song lies
in the trail of meanings it opens up to.
Some
people took it as a message which meant getting over one’s girlfriend. In a sense, it was understood as: I am not
getting back to her, I am not going to suffer.
However, the real meaning was addressing a woman and requesting her not
to cry as he was reassuring her that he would come back! Between the two meanings there is a large
discrepancy, though.
Hence,
the way the song was understood affected how it would be translated to different
languages. If taken as a message of
getting over an ex, the context drives the text far away from the intended
meaning, which the last part of lyrics reveals.
When translated into Arabic, for example, it would lead to a different
context. The question here is: which
meaning did the new song reveal?
The
message of the Saudi version echoed the standard male society's position towards
women driving cars. Though trying to keep
the same distance from both sides, the lyrics defend the official social position,
reminding women that, like queens, it is better and more prestigious form them not to drive. Regardless of with whom they side, the Saudi
version seems to be lost in translation.
However,
trying to assign the new song to one particular understanding of Bob Marley’s reggae
song is not easy. It sounds more of an
exploitation of the success of the latter to respond to the defiance act made
by Saudi women on October, 26th 2013.
A
very meaningful refrain reveals what lies behind the title of the song: ‘everything’s
gonna be alright’
The
Saudi song is an attempt to make everything alright and assure the Saudi society
that things will be OK even with this struggle over the issue of the social and
religious legitimacy of women driving cars.
The issue has, however, gone beyond that already.
NO WOMAN, NO CRY
"So dry your eyes I say, and while I'm gone
everything is going to be alright
everything is going to be alright now
no woman no cry, no woman no cry"
everything is going to be alright
everything is going to be alright now
no woman no cry, no woman no cry"
Almiaad Lingua, a professional translator
www.almiaad.com
+216 52198284
What are the possible translations of the new Saudi song into Arabic?
ReplyDeleteHi Ali Mtiri!
ReplyDeleteThe possible translation should reflect the meaning expressed in the article, I believe!