Ballad of the Leilas

For all fighters for freedom and equality in Iran

For dancing in the street

For leaving our fear behind

For tomorrow when we will laugh

For kissing hard

Hey

Let the wind be in Jina's hair,

A knot in Sarina's shoe laces

Justice from Romina’s neck

This regime must crumble

Hey

For the cough of Khuzestan

For the wound of Baluchistan

Broken sobs of Tabriz

Viva Kurdistan!

For our drying lake,

by a desperate supreme leader

Life must be lived on the ground

The Qur’an must be kept on a ledge

Fear not, fear not, we are one

Fear us, fear us, from this day on we are one

Woman, life, freedom, peace and hope and joy

From the red snow of Aban,

to the dark lies of Keyhan

To the desolate exile of the Afghan people

How you have suffered, my Iran?!

Hey

Let women be free,

fear not her mind and body

Breathe, breathe, stop killing,

let motherland be motherland

Hey

A window for seeing,

a window for listening

We have to ask the mirror

the name of our savior

The House (of Leadership), an unstable grave

the world must be without it

The ground trembles as you stomp your feet,

It is lonelier than you

Fear not, fear not, we are one

Fear us, fear us, from this day on we are one

Woman, life, freedom, peace and hope and joy

Farzad Kamangar said

to the Leilas at the warfronts

Whether he’s a king or supreme leader,

death to the oppressor!

Hey

From Hirkani to Karun,

Halab, Shalamcheh, Khan Sheikhun

We draw a line through blood,

here and now

Hey

From a single voice in a pulpit

Comes Howling, war, bigotry, separation

Atheists, Jews, Baha'is,

All isolated for a lifetime

Setting fire to the wings of flight

Brought the Phoenix back to a majestic life

Reaching for the bright summit’s light

Through the secret of this song

Fear not, fear not, we are one

Fear us, fear us, from this day on we are one

Woman, life, freedom, peace, hope and joy

Translated by Ellie Farahani

11 November 2022

Definition of terms:

Jina (Mahsa) Amini: An Iranian 22-year-old woman who died in a hospital in Tehran, Iran on 16 September 2022 following her arrest by the religious Morality Police for not wearing the hijab in accordance with government standards

Sarina Esmailzadeh: An Iranian 16-year-old teenager who died on 23 September 2022, of alleged severe beating on the head by security forces during the protest in Karaj, Iran.

Romina Ashrafi: A 13-year-old Iranian girl who ran away from home in Gilan/ Talesh with her 35-year-old boyfriend. Police arrested them and sent her back home despite the fact that she told them she feared for her life. Her father decapitated her with a sickle when she was sleeping.

Khuzestan: The southwestern province of Iran, where protests against water shortages and for civil rights among Arab people have taken place.

(Sistan and) Baluchistan: The second largest province of Iran, home to the Baluch people fighting for their rights.

Tabriz: The capital of East Azerbaïdjan province of Iran, home to Azeri people fighting for their rights.

Kurdistan: One of the western provinces of Iran, home to the Kurdish people fighting for their rights.

Qur’an: The holy book of Islam.

Keyhan: A newspaper published in Tehran, Iran. It is considered the most conservative Iranian newspaper.

Aban: The eighth month of Persian solar calendar, and the month of the the November 2019 uprising against the high cost of living that was brutally repressed by the Iranian government.

Beit (The House of Leadership): It refers to the office of Supreme Leader in Iran.

Farzad-e Kamangar: A 32-year-old Iranian Kurdish teacher, poet, journalist, human rights activist and social worker from the city of Kamyaran, Iran who was executed on 9 May 2010.

Hyrkani and Karun: It refers to the environmental crisis of Hyrcanian forests of northern Iran and Karun river, an Iranian 950km long river with the highest water flow in Iran.

Halab (Aleppo): The capital of the Aleppo Governorate of Syria. The city became almost synonymous with the horrors of the civil war in Syria.

Khan Sheikhun: It is a town in the Idlib Governorate of Syria. A chemical weapons attack was conducted on the morning of 4 April 2017 on the town.

سرود #آواز_لیلاها به زبان فارسی

برای تو کوچه رقصیدن/ برای دیگه نترسیدن

برای فردا که میخندیم/ برای بوسیدن

باد به موی ژینا/ گره به کفش سارینا

داد از گردن رومینا/ باید برن اینا

برای سرفه‌ی خوزستان/ برای زخم بلوچستان

شکسته بغض تبریز/ بژی کوردستان

برای خشکی دریاچه / به دست رهبر دستپاچه

زندگی جاش رو زمینه/ قرآن رو طاقچه

نترسید نترسید/ ما همه با هم هستیم

بترسید بترسید/ ما دیگه با هم هستیم

زن زندگی آزادی/ صلح و امید و شادی

از برف سرخ آبان/ تا ماست سیاه کیهان

غربت بیرنگ افغان/ چه دیدی ایران

بذار آزاد بشه زن/ نترس از ذهن و از تن

نفس بکش بسه کشتن/ بذار وطن شه وطن

یه پنجره واسه دیدن/ یه پنجره واسه شنیدن

باید که اسم منجی رو/ از آینه پرسیدن

یه بیت و دخمه سست/ باید جهان رو ازش شست

زمین زیر پات میلرزه/ تنهاتر از توست

نترسید نترسید/ ما همه با هم هستیم

بترسید بترسید/ ما دیگه با هم هستیم

زن زندگی آزادی/ صلح و امید و شادی

گفت فرزاد کمانگر/ به لیلاها تو سنگر

چه شاه باشه چه رهبر/ مرگ بر ستمگر

از هیرکانی تا کارون/ حلب شلمچه خان شیخون

خط می‌کشیم رو این خط خون/ اینجا و اکنون

پامنبر تک صدایی/ جنگ تعصب جدایی

بی‌دین یهودی بهایی/ یه عمر تنهایی

آتیش به بال پرواز/ سی مرغو کرده همساز

تا قله‌های روشن/ به رمز این آواز

نترسید نترسید/ ما همه با هم هستیم

بترسید بترسید/ ما دیگه با هم هستیم

زن زندگی آزادی/ صلح و امید و شادی

Ballad of the Leilas

سرود #آواز_لیلاها به زبان فارسی

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