Music and lyrics by traditional
©2017 traditional
A ubiquitous Palestinian dabke song. One may hear this at weddings, community parties or almost any type of celebration, accompanied, always, by dance.
YaHalaly Yamalay
YaHalaly Yamalay
YaHalaly Yamalay
YaHalaly Yamalay
(The H is a "ch" sound.)
This dance and chant can accompany a dabke, if you know how to dance it, but you can also break things down more simply for younger kids and use the song as a way to celebrate the many time signatures prevelant in West Asian music. Teacher will lead the chant of "YaHalaly Yamalay" and choose a number, stomping or clapping that many beats with the kids as they go along. The number 7 is good luck, so when the teacher says "7" all the kids respond with "Yay!" The number 13 is generally bad luck, so the teacher will say "13" and the kids will boo...but, in Egypt, the number 13 sometimes corresponds to good luck, so when the teacher says "13 in Epygt!" everyone replies, "YAY!"
CMN's Multicultural Songbook is an anthology of some of the best songs originating from (or about) countries beyond the United States, often sung in languages other than English. In sharing songs of other cultures, we broaden the global understanding of our children so that they might see themselves as part of a larger world of people, not so unlike themselves, who hope, dream, play and learn in far-away lands sometimes in unfamiliar--but equally interesting--languages.
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