This lament is based on a traditional Lebanese Good Friday hymn (Wa Habibi/Beloved). The melody follows a Byzantine theme and the singer's trills and guttural pulsations will probably sound dissonant to classically-trained ears.
Here's my rendition of the lyrics in English:
Oh mother, my mother
my path was sown
with bitterness and absinthe
Oh mother, my mother
my days of youth gave way
under the weight of swords.
Oh heaven, my heaven
send me water
to soak the desert
so that a soothing flower
may bloom
from my airy frame
Oh mother, my mother
bring me Spring
upon the cross.
Oh mother, my mother
my sun-drenched day
when will I find you.
Oh heaven, my heaven
dissolve these darkened clouds
so that I may cross the frontier
and on one evening
upon the mountains
to raise the call
Oh mother, my mother
in my hands today
the nails burn so.
Oh heaven, my heaven
send me water
to soak the desert
so that a soothing flower
may bloom
from my airy frame
Oh mother, my mother
bring me your Sun
upon the cross.
