Have you ever thought of the effect of words? You should! For all of us in the internet, it should be clear what a big effect words can have because we all have just words to communicate here, to say what we like, express our feelings, keep our friendship and experience the magic of words.

I try my best to be careful with words. I deeply believe in the magic of words though sometimes silence can have a bigger impact.

And some words have such big and deep meanings that it is not so easy to use them. They must be used carefully and very rarely in order to show and keep their effect.  Maybe I think this way because Persian is my language. Persian is a literary language. A very beautiful language in which words have a very deep meaning! In a way it is the same in other languages too. In all languages, there are always some words that can be only understood well when you are a native speaker!

The magic of the meaning of words can be interesting, amazing and even funny. I like a song very much when it has a story, or maybe I like the song for its story. The story of meaning of the words! :-)

When I was around 9-10, the song above was on TV for the first time. A simple pop song!  The singer was a man with a big mustache named Fereydoun Foroughi. A singer with a soft thick voice! He didn’t have many songs. Just a few! This was one of his famous songs.

The name of the song is “Namaaz”. In Persian it means pray, or saying a prayer! The words of the song were so simple in describing his lover — a common topic in all cultures I think! :)  All in love think that their lover is different and they try to describe her or him!! Without this kind of thinking, surely the number of our poems and songs would decrease very much. :)) 

Anyhow this song suddenly became popular and was mentioned on the news and in the newspapers, just because of a phrase repeated in its lyrics. It was: “Seeing you every day is like a prayer; hearing from your lips: ‘I love you.’”

Clergymen demanded the song be forbidden because of the word “prayer”. They said God’s words were being said in vain. It is blasphemy, they said. To me it was funny! Going to extremes and being zealous are very funny and silly. Surely one of the most beautiful things in life is moderation.

Anyhow, despite the song’s success, it became problematic so they found a very funny and silly solution.

Just one day later there was a new version of the song everywhere. Instead of the word “Namaaz” the singer used the word “Niyaaz” which in Persian means: “Need!” Needing to see your lover was not blasphemy!! :-))

Just look at the magic of words! In Persian, Niyaaz and Namaaz have just one letter difference. The song was played everywhere and so popular.  I was just a child but the story was very interesting for me. It made laugh.

I liked the song very very much and I still do because the beloved is described with very simple and beautiful words. Simple words with very deep meaning. And I always loved that the first version had the word “Namaaz” because to me “Love” is a very special and meaningful word, even holy in a way. In fact, God is the source of love, so to me it was more beautiful to use the word “Namaaz”. Something that comes from God must be treated like God. Why not?

And the other reason is that when we are saying a prayer, in fact we are thanking God for  something. And what can we be more thankful for than love? It is not beautiful to use the word “Need” about love. Love should not be a kind of need. Love is too beautiful to be counted as a need, though the reality is that love is mankind’s biggest need!!

I thought maybe this song is interesting for you after hearing this story, so I attached it for you but it is the “Niyaaz” version just because its quality was better. You can easily find the other version with the word “Namaaz” which is the popular version. There is a version of this song that was redone by another famous Iranian pop singer using “Namaaz” again but Foroughi’s version is still more popular. :-)

And I have tried to translate the song for you so you can see how the beloved was described in my homeland at that time. Maybe it is interesting for many of you that are the same age of myself and remember that time in Iran too.

The words of this song are very simple. Of course, they are nothing compared to the very beautiful poems we have from our famous poets in Persian. But this song is good for its simplicity.

Also, you can see how in different cultures, people compare their lovers to the most valuable things in their country. In my land, rain is important so in many poems the beauty of love or a lover is likened to the rain. Rain is valuable here so when you love someone as much as the rain that’s a lot of love. But just imagine if an English speaker tells his lover: “I love you as much as rain” — I guess he will be killed at once!! :)) The magic of words!! :-)

Enjoy listening to the song and reading the lyrics and please send me a song that has a story for you too. The story of the magic of words? The story of love? The story of a childhood memory? Anything you like! :-)

Saying a Prayer (Namaaz)

-Your body reminds me the heat of a summer’s noon.
-Your eyes, the color of the rain!
-When I don’t have you, life is like a prison.
-Your sorrow reminds me of the bitterness of prison.
-Seeing you every day is my prayer;
hearing from your lips: “I love you”
-You are wonderful, like the moment when rain falls.
-You are the blood in my veins.
-You are like a red rose in a dream; as delicate as a dream.
-I am the one who will wither without you
-Your breath whispers the long poem of existence
-Being with you is my best poem.
-Seeing you every day is my prayer;
Hearing from your lips: “I love you”
-You are like the temptation of catching a butterfly.
-You are like the delight of flying a kite in the free sky.
-You are always like a story full of adventures.
-You are like the delight of putting a doll to sleep.
-Seeing you every day is my prayer;
Hearing from your lips: “I love you”
-You are beautiful like the shapes of clouds.
-Petunias turn pale upon seeing you.
-If storied men know you are here
they will rush on unicorns to steal you away.
-Seeing you every day is my prayer;
Hearing from your lips: “I love you!”