Al-Jasmi's 'Good tidings' a sign of good fortune

“It is only a few steps away…and in front of the whole world you will say it, take the pledge to correct the wrong, you have the ability to change things….you will write tomorrow with your own conditions,…don’t remain silent what did being quiet get you or give Egypt?”

These are the words of a song that has gone viral across Egypt and the Middle East, which urges people to go and vote in the country’s presidential elections, in an attempt to give the likely winner Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi not just legitimacy but to convince the world stage that what took place last July was not a coup and Al-Sisi is the “people’s choice”.

The song was a “gift” from the Emirati singer Hussain Al-Jasmi, written by Ayman Bahgat Amar and composed by Amr Mustafa, who are both Egyptian. The song calls for unity, but unity to vote urges people to call upon their friends, family and people in general, beyond their cities and towns like the “beautiful Nubians” and the people of Ismailia who “for so long kept enemies at bay” and the list goes on. It is the responsibility of the people to correct the situation in Egypt by taking part in the election.

The video that accompanies the song is almost as interesting as the actual lyrics, it begins with people fishing in peace then as the song pumps up its tempo so does the video, as it gives you quick glances of various parts of Egypt all with one common feature: men dancing and holding placards that boldly state “participate”, “vote”, “go”, “put right”, “our hopes are big”, “sign of good tidings”, “your conditions” and “Egypt”. These signs keep flashing before our eyes throughout the 3:47 minute long video, with comical images of a bus driver who is too busy dancing to hold the steering wheel of the bus, or the camel rider who let go of the strap and dances away just like the builders, workers, farmers, disabled, women, artists and even divers, making Egypt seem like a happy vibrant dancing nation.

Undoubtedly, the song is very catchy and has a tune that invokes energy within you as well as generating a joyous feeling and naturally makes you want to dance, which explains the reason the song has become so popular in Egypt and across all sections of society; it is being shared constantly on social media, played all day in local cafes, on public transport and taxis as well as people have it as mobile ring tone, wherever you go there is no escaping the “sign of good tidings”.

There are so many ironies to everything to do with “sign of good tidings” but probably the biggest one is that the singer is not Egyptian and he is urging Egyptians to vote while his own country, the UAE, has no concept of democracy and has never held an election. Not to mention that this is an internal matter which “foreigners” should not have a say in.

The next irony lies in the fact that the composer of the song is a fierce supporter of Hosni Mubarak and is against the January 25 revolution, yet he has no qualms urging people to vote, something that would not have been possible had it not been for the revolution.

The song’s lyrics raise many questions. “Take the pledge to correct the wrong, you have the ability to change things….you will write tomorrow with your own conditions…don’t remain silent what did being quiet get you or give Egypt?” It seems that the writer, composer and singer have forgotten that this ability to change things existed since January 2011 and the people have been trying to write their own conditions before any election took place.

The team behind the song seem to contradict themselves further as they insinuate that Egyptians have been silent and inactive, despite the fact that the Egyptian media has been saying and trying to convince the world for months that whatever is happening in Egypt is “the people’s will”.

Although the song has proven to be very popular and, with the help of mainstream media, it spread rapidly, it drew criticism from the wider public, most notably the famous Egyptian singer Hani Shaker who said “the song made the Egyptian people seem like a nation of dancers; giving them a bad reputation on the world stage”.

A large number of parody videos have been made including those featuring Tom and Jerry or the Minions from Despicable Me all dancing to the song.

In spite of Al-Jasmi’s efforts many Egyptians will boycott the election and this song will do nothing but convince them that singing and dancing do not a democracy make.

Link to the song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QUBvVTNRp4Q

The views expressed in this article belong to the author and do not necessarily reflect the editorial policy of Middle East Monitor.