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e-flux conversations

Down with the World

You burn me
—Sappho, addressing passion

A song from my childhood, by Fairuz, Lebanon’s most famous singer, goes like this:

I wish
You and I were in a house
A house the furthest house
Erased behind the frontiers of darkness and wind
And snow falling, wounding the surface of all things,
Making you lose your way, so that you would never leave,
And you would remain,
Next to me you would remain,
While a thousand season of jasmine would blossom, and wither
And you would remain,
Next to me you would remain,
Next to me you would remain,
And not one drop of oil would be left in the lantern
I wish
I wish

The song is considered romantic, like most of her songs (except the patriotic ones); the musical arrangements are vanilla-sweet, and the tonality of her voice is pure, with a touch of melancholy. These are all the ingredients needed to make a cheesy pop song about love, which the YouTube videos uploaded by fans have internalized, adding images of isolated cottages, flowers and hearts to the formula.

Read the full article here.