Lebanese singer Azar Habib’s song “Am Tekbar Al Farha” (My Joy is Growing), which was first heard in Lebanon during the 1970s, has reached the top of Sweden’s charts this year.
Last August, a Swedish student found an old Habib tape in the luggage of his father, who was one of the UN solders in south Lebanon. He thought the words sounded Turkish.
The student and his friend translated the song in a rough fashion, thinking that it was talking about a hat, and then posted their translation on a Swedish website, where a Web firm saw it and made a video.
"The Hat is Yours" was an instant hit on all the Swedish radio and TV stations, and became popular among the Swedish, most of whom had never heard of Habib.
“I’m very happy about the unexpected fame achieved by a forgotten song that has been revived in Sweden,” Habib told a Swedish newspaper.
Ironically, the song came spontaneously to Habib, who was invited, along with poet Elias Nasser, to a high school graduation party for a young girl. Nasser wrote the song in minutes, and Habib composed the tune and sang it on the spot – Albawaba.com
