Media Type:
Songs
Title
"Freedom and the Martyrs" by Eskenderella Band
أغنية "الحرية من الشهداء" لفرقة اسكندريلا
Subject
Song
Description
The song's lyrics were composed by poet Amin Haddad and sung by Eskenderella Band in the aftermath of the Mohammed Mahmoud street protests in November 2011, which resulted in the killing of over 40 protestors. The video clip shows the band singing it for the first time during the December 2011 cabinet sit-in, which continued for weeks before the military forces attacked the protestors, clearing out the sit-in.
The song celebrates the life and sacrifices of the martyrs, who have kept the revolution alive and are the source of freedom for Egyptians.
Eskenderella was formed in 2000 but became much more known after the 2011 revolution. Members of the band participated in the 18 day Tahrir Square sit-in as well as other phases of the revolution and their songs also document these different phases. Their music is inspired by Egyptian musical heritage, such as Sayed Darwish and Sheikh Imam, and is based on traditional Arabic melodic progression and improvisation.
Creator
Amin Haddad and Eskenderella Band
Source
Publisher
YouTube
Date Published
Rights
Standard YouTube licence
Related Resources
Language
Arabic/English
Date Created
21/12/2011
Tags
Citation
Amin Haddad and Eskenderella Band, “"Freedom and the Martyrs" by Eskenderella Band,” Politics, Popular Culture and the 2011 Egyptian Revolution, accessed December 4, 2024, https://egyptrevolution2011.ac.uk/items/show/33.
Media
Translation
“Once upon a time
in an open window
a small songbird sat
sang a song and flew off
Once upon a time
A second bird
In the field hospital
Wanting to go back to the revolutionaries
O, you who fires at us
No matter how much who hit
And how many you kill
The birds in the sky are free
The blood of the martyrs is on the ground
O, you who fires at us
No matter how much who hit
And how many you kill
The birds in the sky are free
The blood of the martyrs is on the ground
Bringing flowers and light
A burning candle for six whole months
The blood of the martyrs is the sun at dusk
O you who tosses and turns at night
Not sleep nor patience will work
The sound of the martyrs is the dawn prayer
The sound of the martyr awakens you
Our names in the rosary beads
Count our names on your fingers
Khaled, Ahmed, Maged, Mina
Martyrs sing and martyrs fly
Martyrs that held fast
Martyrs that witnessed
Martyrs coming from Maspero**
To visit Mohamed Mahmoud
The blood of the martyrs is the sun at dusk
O you who tosses and turns at night
Not sleep nor patience will work
The sound of the martyrs is the dawn prayer
The sound of the martyr awakens you
Our names in the rosary beads
Count our names on your fingers
Khaled, Ahmed, Maged, Mina
Martyrs sing and martyrs fly
Martyrs that held fast
Martyrs that witnessed
Martyrs coming from Maspero
To visit Mohamed Mahmoud
Martyrs from Suez and Alexandria
Martyrs from the south, from the coasts and Bedouins
Egypt’s revolution is still alive
Tomorrow our crescent will be a full moon
Martyrs from Suez and Alexandria
Martyrs from the south, from the coasts and Bedouins
Egypt’s revolution is still alive
Tomorrow our crescent will be a full moon
The revolution’s sun is strong
It will keep the enemies away
Egypt is youth calling for freedom
And freedom is from the martyrs
The revolution’s sun is strong
It will keep the enemies away
Egypt is youth calling for freedom
And freedom is from the martyrs
The martyrs’ blood
Will not be lost
The martyrs’ blood
Will not be lost
O, you who fires at us
No matter how much who hit
And how many you kill
The birds in the sky are free
The blood of the martyrs is on the ground
Bringing flowers and light
A burning candle for six whole months
Freedom is from the martyrs
Freedom is from the martyrs
Freedom is from the martyrs
Freedom is from the martyrs
Freedom is from the martyrs”
in an open window
a small songbird sat
sang a song and flew off
Once upon a time
A second bird
In the field hospital
Wanting to go back to the revolutionaries
O, you who fires at us
No matter how much who hit
And how many you kill
The birds in the sky are free
The blood of the martyrs is on the ground
O, you who fires at us
No matter how much who hit
And how many you kill
The birds in the sky are free
The blood of the martyrs is on the ground
Bringing flowers and light
A burning candle for six whole months
The blood of the martyrs is the sun at dusk
O you who tosses and turns at night
Not sleep nor patience will work
The sound of the martyrs is the dawn prayer
The sound of the martyr awakens you
Our names in the rosary beads
Count our names on your fingers
Khaled, Ahmed, Maged, Mina
Martyrs sing and martyrs fly
Martyrs that held fast
Martyrs that witnessed
Martyrs coming from Maspero**
To visit Mohamed Mahmoud
The blood of the martyrs is the sun at dusk
O you who tosses and turns at night
Not sleep nor patience will work
The sound of the martyrs is the dawn prayer
The sound of the martyr awakens you
Our names in the rosary beads
Count our names on your fingers
Khaled, Ahmed, Maged, Mina
Martyrs sing and martyrs fly
Martyrs that held fast
Martyrs that witnessed
Martyrs coming from Maspero
To visit Mohamed Mahmoud
Martyrs from Suez and Alexandria
Martyrs from the south, from the coasts and Bedouins
Egypt’s revolution is still alive
Tomorrow our crescent will be a full moon
Martyrs from Suez and Alexandria
Martyrs from the south, from the coasts and Bedouins
Egypt’s revolution is still alive
Tomorrow our crescent will be a full moon
The revolution’s sun is strong
It will keep the enemies away
Egypt is youth calling for freedom
And freedom is from the martyrs
The revolution’s sun is strong
It will keep the enemies away
Egypt is youth calling for freedom
And freedom is from the martyrs
The martyrs’ blood
Will not be lost
The martyrs’ blood
Will not be lost
O, you who fires at us
No matter how much who hit
And how many you kill
The birds in the sky are free
The blood of the martyrs is on the ground
Bringing flowers and light
A burning candle for six whole months
Freedom is from the martyrs
Freedom is from the martyrs
Freedom is from the martyrs
Freedom is from the martyrs
Freedom is from the martyrs”
** The name of Egypt’s state television building on the banks of the Nile in central Cairo. It was the site of the killing of unarmed Coptic Christian protesters in October 2011.
Duration
5.04 min.
Player
