a Tajik love song for the Persian New Year

Some of my favorite music of all time hails from the Central Asian nation of Tajikistan where they speak a particular dialect of the Persian language, which is also spoken in Iran and Afghanistan.

In the wake of the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, Tajikistan descended into a brutal civil war that left tens of thousands dead and 10-20% of the country internally displaced. As the war began winding down in early 1997, the Tajik folk-rock band Parem performed the song “Medonī yo ne?” می دانی یا نه / медонӣ ё не? (“Do you know or not?”) in the capital Dushanbe to mark the Persian New Year known as “Nowruz” in March 1997. Nowruz نوروز / наврӯз literally means “new day” (the Persian now or naw نو / нав and the English new are etymologically related) and coincides with the spring equinox. I think the lyrics are as much about love as they are about the rebirth and hope Nowruz symbolizes.

Here’s my humble attempt at translating the lyrics from the original Tajiki Persian:

My sweetheart, I am in love with you, do you know or not?

I’m in love with your two scattered locks, do you know or not?

Everyday, I am waiting for you, do you know or not?

I’m waiting for your faithful love, do you know or not?

Do you know or not, that I am dreaming of you?

Do you know or not, that I am searching for you?

I’m like a butterfly around a candle, flitting about and burning.

Like a butterfly around a candle, burning out of love for you.

*Fun fact* The Tajiki dialect of Persian is written in a modified form of the Cyrillic alphabet since the Tajik people lived under Soviet rule for over six decades. There is a growing movement in Tajikistan today to reconnect culturally with the rest of the Persian world, including learning how to read and write in the original Perso-Arabic script. I personally love the Cyrillic script as well since it’s more phonetic and therefore a bit easier to read!

*Another fun fact* The group’s name “Parem” means “let’s soar!” in Persian (coming from the verb parīdan پریدن / паридан meaning “to fly”). Fitting, considering how uplifting their music is!