What’s in a Name?
A catalog of belly dance songs with many names
Have you noticed that belly dance songs often have multiple titles?
There’s a word for that: “Polyonymous”
If you didn’t know that word, don’t worry – I didn’t either.
Even my spell-checker thinks it’s a typo!
Songs can come under different names for many reasons:
- They’ve been translated into different languages
- A recording uses the opening line of the song (or its chorus) instead of the actual title
- Avoiding copyright (this is really common in Turkish recordings)
- Transliteration into the Latin alphabet (this is really common in Arabic recordings)
- Artistic license, printing errors… you name it!
No matter why it happens, it’s confusing!
It makes music shopping tricky, and requesting music from a live band even harder!
So waaaaaay back when I was a baby belly, I started keeping a list of songs with duplicate names.
I rediscovered that list recently, and decided to share it with you.
So over the next weeks and months, I’m going to post my list, expanding it with more information about each song. And as I discover more duplicate song names, I’ll add them the list.
You can help too
If you have any other songs with duplicate names (or any other names for songs already listed here) you’d like me to add to the list, email me at info@bellydancegeek.com.
Be sure to include as much information as you know, including the duplicate titles, the artist or album of a recording what language the lyrics are in, and any other interesting details.
The List
To learn more about these songs, scroll down, then click on the song you’re interested in.
And check back soon! I’ll be adding more songs over the next weeks and months.
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...
read moreNebtidi Mnain el Hikaya
“Where would our story begin?” 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? Summary “Nebtidi Mnain el Hikaya” is an Arabic classic about love conquering all. The main section is a sweeping, lyrical motif (often but not always used for veil work), but it also has up-tempo sections. Like many Arabic classics, the full version is quite long. Most recordings for...
read moreRagizi Apopse i Kardia
“It breaks your heart tonight” 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? Summary “Ragizi Apopse I Kardia” is a Greek pop hit about lost love. It’s great for lyrical veil work, depending on the tempo, and most Greek bands will know it. Various Names “Ragizi Apopse I Kardia” (Sometimes spelled “”Raghizi Apopse I...
read moreErev Shel Shoshanim
“Evening of Roses” 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? Summary “Erev Shel Shoshanim” is a classic choice for lyrical veil work. It is a romantic, sensual Israeli love song. It has also been recorded with Armenian lyrics under the titles “Yarus”, “Amen Aravod”, and “Varter”. Various Names “Erev Shel...
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