Tracks
Liner Notes
Bernstein wrote this piece in honor of the forty-first birthday of his friend mezzo-soprano Jennie Tourel. The song incorporates an old Lebanese folksong, the Arabic words of which are paraphrased in the lyrics: “The boys in the dark olive groves assemble.” Bernstein can be heard singing this tune in the 1967 film Journey to Jerusalem.
Lyrics
Sung in English
Text by Leonard Bernstein, after a Lebanese folksong
A last little bird on a palm feather riding,
Black and clean in the afterglow.
A lone little girl in the olive grove hiding,
Crooning soft as the sun sinks low: oo, oo,
Hu! ‘rrfah!
An old little jeep through the mountains crawling,
Tough and tiny against the sun,
A young Arab shepherd upon his knees falling,
Allah, Allah, the day is done, ee,ee, ee,
Hee! ‘rrfah!
The boys in the dark olive groves assemble,
Hand in hand in a dancing ring,
Their eyes to the sun, and their lips atremble,
Drunk with love and the chant they sing:
Walad ela ‘Una, Norkod taht el zetuna!
Ah! Ha! ‘rrfah
Credits
Composer: Leonard BernsteinPerformers: Angelina Réaux, Mezzo-soprano; Barry Snyder, Piano
Publisher: Universal Polygram International Publishing
Premiere: February 13, 1955, Washington, D.C.
Katherine Hanse, soprano; Evelyn Swarthout, piano
