Marriage was rarely seen as a loving union to be nurtured, and married partners were discouraged from showing affection to each other in front of others. I saw parents refusing to allow their grown daughters to marry men they loved simply because the men didn’t yet own homes. Later, when I lived in the Arab world, I was disappointed to find so many young girls whose sole hope lay in nailing a rich husband so they could live the luxe life they saw on television. What an amazing culture the Arabs must have, and what insects we in the West must be for warring with these noble people, stealing their resources, and denigrating their spiritual traditions! The song has a metaphorical dimension it’s as if the Arab world itself were being asked to sell its beauty and richness for the baubles of consumerismand politely declining. What would it be like to be loved like this, to remain unmoved by promises of treasure, and to have the integrity to demand something better? And what a refusal:īars are bars, even if made of gold. An admirer’s heartfelt but conventional vow to smother his love object in jewels and other niceties if only she’ll stay with him forever is met with refusal. I was deeply moved the first time I heard “Aïcha,” finding good reason for the song’s phenomenal popularity: The music is tender, sweeping, passionate, beautifully arranged, and sung as if the singing itself could mend this broken world. In the year of its release, 1996, “Aïcha” topped the charts in Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands, Switzerland, and France, and its popularity continued to spread to other European countries, where, despite being sung in French and Arabic, it remained a hit until at least 2003. If you want to discern the secret ache of the Arab heart, you need look no further than the song “Aïcha,” co-written and sung by the iconic Algerian singer who popularized raï music, Cheb Khaled.

Aicha cheb khaled lyrics