Al Ya Ein Moulayetin

 

“Two Girls by the Spring”

This article is part of my series on common belly dance songs that appear under different titles.

To find more, or to suggest another many-named song, visit What’s In a Name?
 
 

I need your help: the background info I was able to find on this one is a little sketchy. But since my goal for this project is to identify duplicate songs, not provide full background info, I decided to go ahead with this one.

If you have a better translation or other details, please let me know. Just be sure to cite your source, so I can credit it properly.

 

Summary

“Al Ya Ein Moulayetin” is a Lebanese debke classic.

While it’s traditionally used for debke, belly dancers love it for its catchy melody and heavy, earthy beat.
It’s a great choice for a middle-section piece, and many dancers use it for cane.

It’s also popular in Turkey, where it’s known as “Șașkin”.
 

Various Names

 

“Al Ya Ein Moulayetin” (Arabic)

“Two girls by the spring”

(Lyrics in Arabic and rough English translation)

Because it has been transliterated from Arabic script to the Latin alphabet, it has many spellings:

• Al Ya Ein Moulayetin
• Ya Ain Moulayetin
• Ala Ein Moulayiten
• Ya Ayn Mulayiitayn
• 3al 3een molayeteen (the number 3 is sometimes used for the letter “ayin”, pronounced in the back of the throat)

(And a lot more!)
 

This song was most famously recorded by Lebanese star Samira Toufik.

Even though it’s a very commonly-used classic, clear information on the meaning and lyrics is hard to come by!

I heard that the lyrics are based on an Iraqi poem (available in Arabic here), but I don’t have separate confirmation on that. The song’s lyrics are a conversation between a person who meets two girls by the spring. They talk about an upcoming wedding, and wish the bride and groom well.

If you have a better translation (or clearer information), let me know. Please include your source, so I can cite it properly.
 

“Șașkin” (Turkish)

“Confused”

(Lyrics in Turkish and English)

The letter “ș” is pronounced “sh” in Turkish, so this is also sometimes spelled “Shashkin”.

The Turkish version of this song was made popular by Erkin Koray. It has also been recorded by many others.

It is NOT a translation of the Arabic version; it has completely different lyrics and meaning. In this version, the singer is frustrated because the woman he loves is confused and can’t decide what she wants.

(Note: Can Bonomo’s “Șașkin” is a completely different song. Different melody, different lyrics.)

 

Recordings

Important: many of the links below are affiliate links. That means that if you use them to buy, I’ll receive a small commission (usually a few cents). If you’re not comfortable with that, you can just search for the song title. That’s 100% okay by me.
 

• Al Ya Ain Moulayiten by Aboud Abdel
• Ala Ein Moulayiten by Alla Kushnir
• Ala En Mulayyiten by Mohamed Hussein
• Shashkin by Omar Faruk Tekbilek
• Șașkin by Erkin Koray

 

Your Turn

Have you danced to this song before?

Do you use the Arabic or Turkish version (or both)?

Do you use it for cane?

What’s your favorite recording of this song?
(Share a link if you have it, or the artist and/or album name.)

Do you know of any other names (or spellings) that this song goes by?

Do you know of any other songs with duplicate names that I should write about?
 

Share your thoughts in the comments.