Lulu (letter+translation)

٢٠٢٠ ‫دﻳﺴﻤﱪ‬ ٢٣
‫اﻟﻐﺎﻟﻴﺔ‬ ‫ﻓريوز‬ ‫اﻟﺴﻴﺪة‬ ‫ﺣﴬة‬
،‫اﻟﻌﺰﻳﺰة‬ ‫ﺳﻴﺪيت‬
‫ـﺪ‬‫ﻗ‬ ‫و‬ ‫ـﺔ‬‫ﻳ‬‫ـﻜﻠﻴﺰ‬‫ﻧ‬‫اﻹ‬ ‫إﱃ‬ ‫ـﻴﺔ‬‫ﺋ‬‫ـﻐﻨﺎ‬‫ﻟ‬‫ا‬ ‫ـﻮ‬‫ﻟ‬‫ـﻮ‬‫ﻟ‬ ‫ﳌﴪﺣﻴﺔ‬ ‫اﻟﱰﺟﻤﺔ‬ ‫ـﺬه‬‫ﻫ‬ ‫ـﻚ‬‫ﻳ‬‫ـﺪ‬‫ﻫ‬‫ﻷ‬ ،‫ـﺠﻴﺪ‬‫ﳌ‬‫ا‬ ‫ـﻴﻼد‬‫ﳌ‬‫ا‬ ‫ـﻴﺪ‬‫ﻋ‬ ‫ـﺔ‬‫ﺻ‬‫ـﺮ‬‫ﻓ‬ ‫ـﺰ‬‫ﻬ‬‫اﻧﺘ‬
‫ﰲ‬ ‫ـﻪ‬‫ﺗ‬‫ـﺎ‬‫ﻓ‬‫و‬ ‫ـﺒﻞ‬‫ﻗ‬ ‫اﻟﱰﺟﻤﺔ‬ ‫ـﻬﺎء‬‫ﻧ‬‫إ‬ ‫ﻋﲆ‬ ‫ـني‬‫ﺴ‬‫ﺣ‬ ‫ـﺮص‬‫ﺣ‬ ‫ـﺪ‬‫ﻗ‬ ‫…و‬ ‫ـﻴﺪي‬‫ﻬ‬‫ﺷ‬ ‫ـني‬‫ﺴ‬‫ﺣ‬ ‫ـﺘﻮر‬‫ﻛ‬‫ـﺪ‬‫ﻟ‬‫ا‬ ‫زﻣﻴﲇ‬ ‫ـﻊ‬‫ﻣ‬ ‫ـﻤﺘﻬﺎ‬‫ﺟ‬‫ـﺮ‬‫ﺗ‬
.٢٠١٤ ‫ﻧﻴﺴﺎن‬ ‫ﰲ‬ ‫ﻟﻨﺪن‬ ‫ﻣﺴﺘﺸﻔﻴﺎت‬ ‫أﺣﺪ‬
‫ـﻌﺔ‬‫ﻣ‬‫ـﺠﺎ‬‫ﻟ‬‫ا‬ ‫ﰲ‬ ‫ـﺘﻪ‬‫ﺳ‬‫ا‬‫ر‬‫د‬ ‫ـﻨﺎء‬‫ﺛ‬‫أ‬ ‫ـﻴﻚ‬‫ﻧ‬‫ـﺎ‬‫ﻏ‬‫أ‬ ‫ﻋﲆ‬ ‫ـﻪ‬‫ﻓ‬‫ـﻌﺮ‬‫ﺗ‬ ‫ـﻨﺬ‬‫ﻣ‬ ‫ـﻚ‬‫ﺑ‬ ‫اﳌﻌﺠﺒني‬ ‫ـﻦ‬‫ﻣ‬ ‫ـﻮ‬‫ﻫ‬ ‫و‬ ،‫ـني‬‫ﺴ‬‫ﻟﺤ‬ ‫ـﻲ‬‫ﻫ‬ ‫اﻟﱰﺟﻤﺔ‬ ‫ـﻜﺮة‬‫ﻓ‬
‫و‬ ‫اﻻﻧـﻜﻠﻴﺰﻳـﺔ‬ ‫إﱃ‬ ‫أﻏـﺎﻧـﻴﻚ‬ ‫ﻳﱰﺟﻢ‬ ‫ﺣﺴـني‬ ‫ﻛـﺎن‬ ،‫ﻋـﺪة‬ ‫ﻟـﺴﻨﻮات‬ ‫و‬ .‫اﻟﺴـﺒﻌﻴﻨﺎت‬ ‫ﰲ‬ ‫ﺑريوت‬ ‫ﰲ‬ ‫اﻻﻣريﻛﻴﺔ‬
.‫اﻟﻌﺮﺑﻴﺔ‬ ‫ﻳﺘﻜﻠﻤﻮن‬ ‫ﻻ‬ ‫اﻟﺬﻳﻦ‬ ‫اﻻﺻﺤﺎب‬ ‫ﺑني‬ ‫ﻳﻨﴩﻫﺎ‬
‫و‬ ،‫اﳌﴪﺣﻴﺔ‬ ‫ﺗـﺮﺟـﻤﺔ‬ ‫ﰲ‬ ‫ﺣﺴـني‬ ‫اﻓـﻘﺖ‬‫ر‬ ‫ﻗـﺪ‬ ‫و‬ .‫اﻟـﻔﻨﻮن‬ ‫و‬ ‫اﻟﱰﺟﻤﺔ‬ ‫أﺣـﺐ‬ ‫ﻃـﺒﻴﺒﺔ‬ ‫أﻧـﺎ‬ ‫و‬ ،‫ﺣـﺪاد‬ ‫ﻣـﻲ‬ ‫أﻧـﺎ‬
.‫اﻟﻄﺒﻌﺔ‬ ‫ﻫﺬه‬ ً‫ﺎ‬‫ﻻﺣﻘ‬ ‫أﻋﺪدت‬
‫ـﻞ‬‫ﺋ‬‫ـﺎ‬‫ﺳ‬‫و‬ ‫ﻋﱪ‬ ‫ـﺎ‬‫مي‬‫ر‬ ‫ـﻊ‬‫ﻣ‬ ‫ـﻞ‬‫ﺻ‬‫ـﺘﻮا‬‫ﻟ‬‫ا‬ ‫ـﺖ‬‫ﻟ‬‫ـﺎو‬‫ﺣ‬ ‫ـﺪ‬‫ﻗ‬ ‫ـﻨﺖ‬‫ﻛ‬ ‫ـﺪ‬‫ﻗ‬ ‫و‬ ،‫ـﻚ‬‫ﻟ‬ ‫ـﻨﺴﺨﺔ‬‫ﻟ‬‫ا‬ ‫ـﻴﻞ‬‫ﺻ‬‫ـﺘﻮ‬‫ﻟ‬ ‫ـﻴﺰ‬‫ﺑ‬‫ر‬ ‫ـﻰ‬‫ﻬ‬‫ﺳ‬ ‫ـﻘﺘﻲ‬‫ﻳ‬‫ـﺪ‬‫ﺻ‬ ‫ـﻜﺮ‬‫ﺷ‬‫أ‬
. ‫اﻻﺟﺘامﻋﻲ‬ ‫اﻟﺘﻮاﺻﻞ‬
‫ـﻮن‬‫ﻓ‬‫ـﻌﺮ‬‫ﻳ‬ ‫ﻻ‬ ‫ـﻦ‬‫ﻳ‬‫ـﺬ‬‫ﻟ‬‫ا‬ ‫اء‬‫ﺮ‬‫ـﻠﻘ‬‫ﻟ‬ ‫و‬ ،‫ـﻚ‬‫ﺑ‬ ‫اﳌﻌﺠﺒني‬ ‫و‬ ‫ـﻠﺘﻚ‬‫ﺋ‬‫ـﻌﺎ‬‫ﻟ‬ ‫و‬ ،‫ـﻚ‬‫ﻟ‬ ‫اﻟﱰﺟﻤﺔ‬ ‫ـﺬه‬‫ﻫ‬ ‫ـﺪي‬‫ﻬ‬‫ﻳ‬ ‫أن‬ ‫ـني‬‫ﺴ‬‫ﺣ‬ ‫ـﺎء‬‫ﺷ‬ ‫ـﺪ‬‫ﻗ‬ ‫و‬
‫إﻟﻜﱰوﻧـﻴﺎ‬ ‫ﻟـﻮ‬ ‫و‬ ‫اﻟـﻄﺒﻌﺔ‬ ‫ﻫـﺬه‬ ‫ﻧﴩ‬ ‫ﻳـﻬﻤﻨﻲ‬ ، ‫ﻫـﻨﺎ‬ ‫ﻣـﻦ‬ ‫و‬ . ‫ﻟـﺒﻨﺎن‬ ‫ﻋﲆ‬ ‫أﻛرث‬ ‫اﻟـﺘﻌﺮف‬ ‫ﻳـﻮدون‬ ‫و‬ ‫اﻟـﻌﺮﺑـﻴﺔ‬
‫ﻓﻬـﺬا‬ ، ‫أوﺳـﺎﻃـﻚ‬ ‫ﺿـﻤﻦ‬ ‫اﻟـﻌﻤﻞ‬ ‫ﻫـﺬا‬ ‫ﺑﻨﴩ‬ ‫اﳌـﺒﺎدرة‬ ‫أﺧـﺬ‬ ‫ﺷـﺌﺖ‬ ‫ان‬ ‫و‬. ‫اﳌﻌﻨﻴني‬ ‫اﻟـﻨﺎس‬ ‫مبـﺘﻨﺎول‬ ‫ﻟـﺘﻜﻮن‬
.‫ﺑﻪ‬ ‫أرﺣﺐ‬ ‫آﺧﺮ‬ ‫ﺧﻴﺎر‬
... ‫ﻧﺤﻠﻢ‬ ‫و‬ ‫اﻟﻨﺠﻮم‬ ‫إﱃ‬ ‫ﻧﻄري‬ ‫ﻣﻌﻚ‬ .‫اﻟﻨﺠﻮم‬ ‫إﱃ‬ ‫ﺳﻔريﺗﻨﺎ‬ ِ
‫أﻧﺖ‬ ،‫ﺗﻌﻠﻤني‬ ‫ﻛام‬
. ‫اﻟﺤﺐ‬ ‫و‬ ‫اﻟﺘﺄﻟﻖ‬ ‫و‬ ‫اﻟﺠامل‬ ‫و‬ ‫ﺑﺎﻟﺼﺤﺔ‬ ‫ﻋﻤﺮك‬ ‫اﻟﻠﻪ‬ ‫أﻃﺎل‬ ،‫ﻧﺤﺒﻚ‬
‫اﻹي‬ ‫او‬ (‫واﺗﺴﺎب‬ ‫)ﻳﺘﻀﻤﻦ‬ ‫اﳌﻮﺑﺎﻳﻞ‬ ‫ﻃﺮﻳﻖ‬ ‫ﻋﻦ‬ : ‫ﻣﻌﻲ‬ ‫اﻟﺘﻮاﺻﻞ‬ ‫ميﻜﻨﻚ‬ ‫و‬ ‫ﻫﺬا‬
Mayhaddad2013@gmail.com‫ﻣﻴﻞ‬
ِ‫ﻟﻚ‬ ‫ﺗﻘﺪﻳﺮي‬ ‫و‬ ‫ﺣﺒﻲ‬ ‫ﻛﻞ‬ ‫ﻣﻊ‬
‫ﺣﺪاد‬ ‫ﻣﻲ‬

Lulu (the pearl)
A musical performance
By: The Rahbani Brothers
English translation:
Hossein Shahidi & May Haddad
1

Performed in Piccadilly
theatre,Beirut, and during
Damascus International
Exhibition, 1974
2

Dedicated to Fairuz,
her family and fans and
non-Arabic readers who
wish to find out more
about Lebanon 
3

The mad man has the right
to prosecute the world
Airplanes are grey
the color of pigeons
The bombs explode in silver
like the color of the sun
People in trenches
People in bars
Freedom is a joke
Justice is a lie
The prison has expanded
And all verdicts on the face
of the earth are void
4

1
The shoe shiner is sitting by the side of the stage, with
his box of polish. Lulu enters the scene, singing to herself.
She has a bunch of keys in her hand. She goes to the door
of her house to try the keys.
Lulu Do you remember me?
Do you remember me?
We who were sitting in that high attic
We would be sitting under the arches
During winter
The shoe shiner Who’s that? Lulu the Moody?
God bless for your safety
Lulu Is this Jirjee, really?
The shoe shiner Yes, it is Jirjee
Lulu You’ve grown old, man
The shoe shiner Yes… that’s life
You haven’t changed a bit
It seems you have many keys on you
Lulu I lost the key to the house,
6

so I borrowed the prison keys
The shoe shiner What?
You’ve done your term?
Lulu I still had another month
The shoe shiner They pardoned you?
Lulu No
They found out I was innocent
So they let me out
The shoe shiner Holy God!
After fifteen years in prison
You’ve turned out innocent?
What a government!!!
Shoe shine!!!
7

The shoe shiner keeps shouting
With each shout, new people enter the stage
Shoeshine … Lulu the Moody is out of jail
Shoeshine … Lulu the Moody is out of jail
Woman Lulu the moody is out of jail?
Shoe shiner And she’s turned out innocent
Man Lulu the Moody is out of jail?
Woman (2) Lulu the Moody is out of jail?
8

2
All Welcome Lulu
You went away and you returned
And you are innocent
You went to jail and got out
O you are the sun that
was imprisoned by night
Welcome, welcome, welcome
The shoe shiner I am the only one who
said fifteen years ago:
Lulu is innocent
She did not kill Yunis...
No one believed me
All Welcome Lulu
How we wish we knew
that you were coming
So we could put up decorations
For the sun that is coming
Back from the dark
9

Someone Listen Lulu! In those days,
They put lots of pressure on me,
So I had to testify against you
All It was a mistake
That has happened
Let forgetfulness
Wipe away the past
And its sorrows
The shoe shiner It was a mistake
That has happened
Days will make you forget
And tomorrow you will accept
All Welcome Lulu
You went away and you returned
And you are innocent
You went to jail and got out
O you are the sun that
Was imprisoned by night
Woman Listen Lulu!
I swear by my uncle’s soul
They told me to say what I did
10

And that you are innocent,
Innocent, innocent
The girls The truth comes back
To make us conscious
Just as awakening makes us
conscious
It gleams like a raised sword
And you are the innocent flower
All You rose and rose like a star
You rose and rose and rose like a star
Man (1) Hey, it’s not such a big deal
She went to jail and it is over
11

Man (2) And so what if we testified against
her? This woman keeps
Changing her mind
Ra’d the Mad Don’t you know that she is moody?
The shoe shiner And you who have given her
Injustice for fifteen years
Man (1) We have apologized
and got this over with
She’s free to forget, or not to forget
See you
The shoe shiner You were all false witnesses
You blamed her for the crime
to save your own skins
All Shut up
Man (1) And why are you so angry?
Maybe she’s forgotten?
12

3
Lulu (singing) Forget? How?
For fifteen years
I was in this world
And I was not in this world
Summers and winters
Were coming and going
The world without me
Forget? Forget?
13

Only if I could forget
Forget? How?
The prison and its sleepless nights
Longing for the moon
And the moon is behind the window
The moon never asked about me
And did not bring any news
And to forget? Forget?
Like everyone, who forgets?
You were the ones to put me behind
bars, and I screamed: “I am
innocent”
You left me there and went away
To an evening and a party
And you never said
That there are people
With no celebrations
And no freedom
So cold, I could not sleep
14

I drew on those walls
A big sun, during that night
And sat next to it to warm up
Look:
You accused me of murder
And I spent fifteen years in jail
And in the end I turned out innocent
So you owe me a murder for which
I have paid in advance
I don’t care:
I want to kill one of you
15

4
All gather at the judge’s house
All Where is His Excellency the Judge?
The judge’s wife He’s in. I hope all’s well? What’s up?
Man Lulu’s out of jail
The judge’s wife Which Lulu?
Man Lulu the Moody one
The judge’s wife We are honored
So what if she’s out of jail?
The judge is up to his neck in work
16

5
Enter the Judge
The Judge What’s up brothers?
All Our master the judge!
Man Do you know about Lulu?
The Judge Well, of course
We found the real culprit
and let her out
17

Man And she’s turned out innocent
The Judge (reaching for his houka)
Get me some fire, my daughter
Woman But it was also Your Honor
who put her in jail
The Judge Fire, Sofia
Man (1) She pulled out a knife and said:
“You accused me of murder, and I
went to jail for fifteen years, and in
the end I turned out innocent.” And
she said: “So you owe me a crime for
which I have paid in advance. I want
to kill one of you”
Man (2) Is this acceptable, Your Honor?
Man (1) We have no one but you to turn to
The Judge Did she say whom she wanted to kill?
Ra’d the Mad: Anyone at all
The Judge Alright then, tell us who this ‘anyone
18

at all’ is, and we’ll have him protected
Man It could be any one of us
It could be your wife
The judge’s wife: Me?
Man It could be Your Honor
The Judge Me? Why?
The mad Because you sentenced her
The Judge I saw that the majority wanted that
So I issued a sentence in line with the
majority view
Man Come on there is no more security
Woman Summer’s coming along
How do you want us to leave our
doors open and sleep?
The Judge’s wife Hey, look then:
I’ll find a way of making sure
every one in town is protected
19

The judge Everyone?
The judge’s wife Well, a policeman for every house?
The judge Madam, we don’t have enough
men for that
The judge’s wife Well, if you can’t protect the people,
then it’s better to arm them
Give each person a gun to carry
with them
The judge The place is full of guns already
Ra’d the Mad I would say, let’s get Lulu the Moody
over here; let her set here eyes on
the person she wants to kill; and kill
him
The judge’s wife Never, we can’t leave the choice to
her She may choose one of us to kill!
We should make the choice for her
The judge Please keep quiet
You want to get us involved in
a crime too?
20

The judge’s wife In that case, look, you fix her up with
a charge that can send her back to
jail, and I’ll make sure that His Honor
the Judge will sentence her
The Judge What do you want with “His Honor
the Judge”? Let them fix her with
some watertight evidence, without
telling me about it, and I … as I am
convinced
All Your Honor
Sentence her, sentence her
The judge Look, this is woman keeps changing
her mind. She won’t do anything
All Sentence her, sentence her
The judge Fifteen years ago
you were shouting:
Sentence her, sentence her
On the stage, the courtroom scene
reminds us of Lulu’s trial, with the same people
21

The judge Silence
Lulu This is not right …
They are all false witnesses
Man She had a hunting rifle with her
Woman She told him:
“If I let go of you,
God shall not let go of me”
22

Man (2) I swear she is the person
who killed Yunis
Lulu I am innocent, Your Honor
Back to the present
The judge Now, after fifteen years, and after it’s
become clear that she’s innocent ,
you’ve come back to shout,
“Sentence her, sentence her”,
because you want to escape the
innocence of her eyes
You are scared for your own lives
What about her life?
Does it not have a price?
The judge’s wife What?
It looks like you’re on her side
What are you waiting for?
Why don’t you call someone
to arrest her?
23

Man Let us stitch her up with the charge
of threatening and the rest
The judge Threatening? At most she’d be in jail
for a few days, before she gets a
lawyer who will discharge her
The judge’s wife Does he have to discharge her?
The judge My Lady, Madame, as long as she
pays, they will discharge her, even if
she has killed half the country
The judge’s wife Now that we’re talking of discharge,
dear, can you get the Dahhan’s family
driver out of jail?
The judge Now is not the time for that
The judge’s wife Look at this … I cannot get anything
done in this household
The judge Is this ‘house work’?
This is court house work
The judge’s wife Pay attention to what you say to me
Look! Look! All these people are
24

complaining against Lulu, and you’re
siding with her
For the sake of public interest, if you
don’t arrest her, I’m going to my
family’s home
The judge Have a safe trip
The judge exits
The judge’s wife Look at this!
Ra’d the Mad Hey, you guys, this woman is mad
You should be asking me about her
The judge’s wife Oh, Ra’d
25

Has anyone told you that when a
madman speaks the sane people
understand?
Ra’d has solved the problem
Man Alright then
Fix her up as a lunatic and get us
out of this trouble
Ra’d the Mad This town isn’t big enough for two
The judge’s wife I’m going to get hold of a
psychologist who would write a
report about her and get her into an
asylum
Leave it to me
26

6
Lulu, outside the door of her house, singing
Lulu There’s a coffee shop at the
crossroads With a hearth, and fire
burning inside it
My lover and I would stay there
Covering it with our secrets
I came and saw inside it
27

Two little lovers
Sitting on our seats
Stealing the journey from us
O yellow leaves
We’re growing we’re growing
The roads …the houses
Grow older and older
The world comes to an end
And all that remains is my homeland
That stays a little child
Like an arrow coming back
From a time journey
I crossed the streets,
no one smiled to me
All my friends have grown older
And all that there was has changed
They’ve become part of the past
They’ve become the gold of
forgetfulness
28

7
The shoe shiner That’s exactly what you see:
Coming and going
Since fifteen years ago, the more
time passes, the less customers I
have
Lulu Fifteen years ago,
your fingertips were black
Are they still black?
The shoe shiner They’re black, even more black
While my hair has gone white
Lulu Are you getting tired?
The shoe shiner What’s there for a shoe shiner like me
to get tired of? You could say that if I
were sitting in an office!
Lulu I remember. There were three of you
Shoe shiners here: You, Fadoul, and
Radi
The shoe shiner Radi still passes by me
29

Lulu What about Fadoul?
The shoe shiner Fadoul?
It worked well with him; he smuggled
a quantity of tobacco coming from a
boat and became rich
Lulu Bravo!
Look, wasn’t there someone here
who opened a restaurant, where he
would entertain people and make
macaroni; his swarthy wife kept
moving like this
The shoe shiner Yeah. He kept making macaroni till
his wife ran away with an Italian guy
Lulu What… How the world has changed
You’ve been brushing shoes since
the day I went to prison
Can you count how many times you
have moved the brush?
The shoe shiner I haven’t tried that, but I know that if
you put the shoes I’ve shined heel-to-
tip, they would reach the end of the
world
30

Lulu You know, Jirjee , even though I’ve
come back to my home and have
become free, I feel a stranger and sad
You miss even the prison when you
leave it. I feel that the prison has
become my home
The shoe shiner That’s because you haven’t yet
gotten used to freedom
Freedom is a responsibility;
it’s confusing
Lulu No, it’s not like that
It’s not like that at all
Even here we can’t say what we
want and do what we want
Do you know where the best place
for freedom is?
The shoe shiner Where?
Lulu The Asfourieh mental asylum
The shoe shiner Don’t confuse things too much
You can be free wherever you are
31

Lulu Do you have paper and pen?
The shoe shiner Yes
Lulu Write down as I say
We’ve got to start the work
We must make a list of the names
of the people in the town and choose
the one we want to kill
The shoe shiner Are you sane?
Lulu I’ve already paid fifteen years
in advance
Should I let them go to waste?
Write down as I say
The shoe shiner Whatever you say
Lulu The judge
The shoe shiner Shoe size 42
Lulu The lawyer
The shoe shiner Shoe size 43
32

Lulu His Excellency Mansour Beik Al-
Aghawati and his Lady Wife
The shoe shiner “His Lady Wife”?
Are you inviting them to
a cocktail party?
Lulu Put down your own name, too
The shoe shiner Me too?
Lulu Put your name down!
The shoe shiner Aren’t I your secretary?
Lulu Hey . Why can’t you get it ?
We’re going to register everyone
in town and kill only one of them
Your chances of dying are one half in
a thousand
The shoe shiner Well, it’s just that people like me
aren’t that lucky
Lulu Yes, what can I do about that?
Your time would be over
33

The shoe shiner Whatever you say… welcome
8
Enter the judge and the police commissioner
The judge Lulu?
Lulu Welcome
Your Honor, the Judge
The judge Do you recognize me?
Lulu How could I not?
Your name’s at the top of the list
The judge What list?
34

Lulu You will find out tomorrow
What can I do for you?
The judge I want you to stay inside your home
Lulu Why?
The judge Don’t ask too many questions
I am speaking to you in an
affectionate manner
Lulu Yeah, it is obvious, the affectionate is
obvious
If someone’s got something to say,
they can’t say a word
They’ve got to keep quiet
Lulu enters her house
The judge Your Excellency, the Commissioner:
Get them to watch over her well,
without being noticed
The commissioner There are many places from which
they can observe her – a little bit
behind the coffee shop, on the
35

second street – without letting her
notice
9
Enter the doctor and his nurses
The nurses Dr Nammour!
The doctor Your Madam has asked for my help
The judge Is your Excellency the psychiatrist?
The doctor Yes Sir
MB. MS. PhD
Here you are
36

The nurses Doctor from Harvard, Boston
The United States of America
The judge Greetings
The doctor Yes?
The judge Do you know the story?
The judge Yes, yes
There’s a mad woman around
The judge We want you to use some trick,
some psychological method, to give
us
a report which says she’s a threat to
the public and it’s dangerous for
her to remain outside the hospital
The doctor I see. I see
Where is she?
Can I speak to her?
The judge You find your way
The doctor Is she vicious?
37

The judge She says she wants to kill
The doctor Is she armed?
The commissioner She came over here with a bunch of
keys
The doctor Oh, keys! And why not?
I know people who have committed
crimes with one key
The commissioner All options are open
The doctor I have a few questions
The judge and Go ahead please
the commissioner
The doctor Does she look calm and poised at
times?
The judge and Yes, doctor
the commissioner
38

The doctor (Blows a short whistle)
And then changes all of a sudden?
the commissioner
The doctor (Blows a short whistle)
And changes completely?
the commissioner
The doctor (Blows a long whistle and looks
surprised)
39

The judge and Is there something to it?
the commissioner
The doctor There’s nothing to it
The judge Doctor: we’re in a very critical
condition. We’re scared that she
might hurt someone
The doctor Don’t worry. She won’t do a thing
Where is she?
The commissioner How are you going to be able to
talk to her?
The doctor This is my job
I will soon write a report that will
send her to Asfourieh mental hospital
The judge An urgent report
The doctor Of course, of course
Your Honor the Judge
Assuming she attacks me, what
should I do? Shall I run away?
The judge No… Just shout 
40

10
The doctor approaches and knocks on Lulu’s door
Lulu (From behind the door)
Who’s it? (She comes out, with a wig
in her hand)
The doctor What’s going on?
Did you kill him?
Lulu I can’t comb it properly
The doctor Did your excellency call me?
Lulu Are you the hairdresser?
The doctor Yes, yes
41

Lulu I thought that you were busy?
Or maybe you’d rather have fun?
Come, get the comb and sort out this
wig for me
The doctor At your service… but
Lulu “But” what?
Get on with the combing. Phew!
The doctor What do you do?
Lulu I’ve just come out of jail
I have some income arranged for me
by my Grandpa and I live off that
The doctor You mean you don’t work
Lulu Thank God I don’t need to work
You know something?
The doctor What?
Lulu The moment I saw you I was scared
of you. I thought you were a doctor
The doctor Oh, really?
42

Maybe the white gown is misleading
because it’s shared by hairdressers
and doctors
Lulu They have much more in common
The doctor Like what?
Lulu Look: the dentist uses pliers, pincers,
the drill... it’s like he’s a workshop
on his own
The doctor Funny, funny
OK, and the throat doctor?
Lulu That one’s like the government
He opens your mouth, catches your
tongue and tells you to say “Aah”
The doctor Funny, funny
And the psychiatrist?
Lulu That one, may God have mercy on
his wife. He is the Asfourieh mental
asylum itself!
The doctor You are right…
43

Lulu Hey, what’s up with you, man?
You look like a hairdresser, but sound
like a doctor. You make my heart
skip.
Hairdressers look as nice and gentle
as their customer’s shadow. You’d
think it’s a woman speaking
The doctor You mean I am not entertaining you?
Lulu Not at all !
You’ll soon finish combing, but I’ve
not heard a single story from you.
Stories such as ‘a woman came here
to use the phone’, or ‘she sent her
husband packing to his family’s
home’
The doctor Yes… I don’t like talking too much
Lulu Oh dear, it’s not easy spending time
with you. Let me see … doctor?
The doctor Yes
Lulu May God break you hands
44

What kind of combing is this?
The doctor Alright. What are your hobbies?
Lulu What are my hobbies?
I like singing from time to time
The doctor You?
Lulu Yes, me
The doctor Oh really. What is your voice?
Soprano or alto?
Lulu I don’t know about these things
I just know how to sing. That’s it
The doctor Oh, Oh. I’ve played the piano for ten
years and my voice is tenor
The doctor begins to sing Santa Lucia in Italian,
accompanied by Lulu
45

Lulu (singing) Remember my love
The snow and the whinnying horses
Passing by at the gate of night
And their sound
Would take us on a journey
Towards the horizon and fire
I asked you to swear, my love
Do not forget me, my love
When you hear this song
Think of me, my love
Those were the horseriders
Snow and whinnying horses
46

Passing by at the gate of night
Female and male nurses form a circle and begin to dance
to a Russian beat; the set changes to give the appearance
of the valleys of Siberia
47

11
Lulu and the shoe shiner are in front of her house, talking
Lulu The young man who used to say he’d
love me until the sea dried up and all
the stars in the sky fell off like yellow
leaves – do you know who I mean?
The shoe shiner No
Lulu And he wanted to marry me, and
engage me … Do you know who I
mean?
The shoe shiner No
Lulu He’d sit on that stone bench, waiting
for me every day, and for breakfast
48

he’d have five plates of fool (fava
beans) and two plates of hommos
(chickpeas)
The shoe shiner I still haven’t recognized him
Lulu He’d have you polish his shoes
He was the only guy with shoes
bigger than his feet
The shoe shiner Now I recognize him
Nayef Bou Dara’
Hey, today his feet are bigger
than his shoes
Lulu Why?
The shoe shiner He works so hard that his feet grows
beyond its size
Lulu What are his news?
The shoe shiner He’s doing great
He’s a real estate agent; has fixed
himself up pretty well; bought an
apartment and gotten married
49

Lulu Married?
Just like that?
The shoe shiner Long time ago…
Lulu As they were taking me to prison,
he was standing crying
He was leaning against this door,
telling me, “I’ll wait for you until the
end of the world”
The shoe shiner But as soon as you were in prison,
the world came to an end
Lulu So he forgot me?
And all the while, I was wondering
how I’d meet him and tell him;
“I have kept you waiting so long, and
I want to make up for the lost time.”
But maybe he’s right, Jirjee
Fifteen years is a lifetime
Fifteen times they’ve harvested the
wheat
50

The shoe shiner And fifteen times they’ve pressed
the grapes
Lulu Fifteen times the winter has come
and gone
The shoe shiner He didn’t visit you even once?
Lulu Not once
His handkerchief and his hands
waving to me are still on my mind. I’d
ask myself, where is he that he can’t
come and visit me? I get worried
Sometimes I’d think of him as a
martyr, telling myself that he might
have died because of love, like we
used to read about lovers
Then I’d tell myself that Nayef was in
good health and tough it doesn’t
make sense that he would die of
depression
He’s the kind who could wait. Not
once did it cross my mind that he’d
get married
51

The shoe shiner What do you think?
Distance is dryness and love is like a
bulb, if it’s not lit all the time, it
crackles
Lulu And with all that, it can still be
controlled
The shoe shiner In the poor man’s world, love doesn’t
mean very much. The loaf of bread is
stronger
Lulu I wish I had stayed in jail. I’d stay
alive with the hope of seeing those I
love. I’d imagine how they’d want to
run to meet me
The parties; staying up all night; and
the happiness that comes from
inside. But it seems that those
closest to you, if you stay away too
long, they’d take care of themselves
without you
They’ll find space for themselves.
52

They’ll take your wife and your
children. They’d sleep in your bed.
They’d grow up and move into your
room
If you come back, you’d have come
back from the past to spoil their lives.
Those who go, should not come back
She exits
53

12
The shoe shiner’s wife enters with food
The shoe shiner’s wife I’ve got you food
The shoe shiner Let me have it and sit down here
The shoe shiner’s wife Look, man, your children came
back from school today and asked
me about you. They don’t get to see
you
The shoe shiner You know. It is for them that I stay up
all night long over here. I’ve got to
make a living. I have to watch for
people like a hunter watching for
birds
54

The shoe shiner’s wife They may send them back from
school. We need to pay for their
books
He gives her some money
The shoe shiner I’ve got no more
The shoe shiner’s wife Look, Mr Shoe Shiner, I had
better suitors than you before we got
married
One was a nutcracker with a spit that
would bring the mountains down, but
the mountain could also drown him
Then came along a concrete mason
who’d get to the top of buildings like
an eagle, but one small mistake and
he’d fall down. I chose you!
Your job is tied down to earth. Even if
you were to fall down one day, your
kids hands would reach you
55

I thought we had run away from
danger, but it seems it has come
chasing us. Stay away from Lulu!
The shoe shiner You said my job is tied up with earth.
There’s no fall in it,
but there’s no rise in it, either
Leave me alone so I make up some
story that would work for the kids on
winter nights. Get up and go home
The shoe shiner’s wife What’s wrong?
We started off happily
The shoe shiner And we’re still better than ever
The shoe shiner’s wife I long to hear something sweet
from you
56

The shoe shiner (sings) I fear that love
Will send us its messengers
I fear that tomorrow
We will light up its lanterns
That the time for talking will pass
And that the time for tears will come
And that we will go to the Judge of
Love
To complain to him of love
The shoe shiner and his wife sing:
Shoe shining, shoe shining, shoe
shining
A job, and not a job
shining
There’s toil in it, as well as money
Count the dimes and count the
quarters
57

shining
The shoe shiner Our capital is a little bit of color
And a box, and a brush
And my voice goes here and there
All the time back and forth
The shoe shiner’s wife I fear that you might be in love,
pondering outside women’s doors
The shoe shiner What a thing to say? Who’s going to
look at a man who is broke?
We’ve got kids waiting for us
Laugher entertains them
They’re waiting at the door
And then they’ll grow up and go away
The shoe shiner’s wife They need bread, knowledge
and clothes , and they need toys from
the toy vendor
The shoe shiner Of course…
The house is full of quarters
58

One , two, three
The shoe shiner’s wife A quarter
The shoe shiner and his wife
Roll on dimes
Roll on quarters
A loaf covered in shoe polish
 
59

13
Enters a bunch of tough guys and outlaws
Abou-Shabak Hello, Uncle
The shoe shiner Greetings. What’s up?
Abou-Shabak Madame Lulu, please
The shoe shiner I’m her secretary
Abou-Shabak These prestigious people all carry
their signs of greatness. This the
Boss Abou-Nurr; Abou-Shabak, did
12 years in the castle prison; Sobhi
the Bedouin, 11 years
60

Sobhi the Bedouin I took revenge for my cousin
Abou Shabak You have good taste…
Leon Tarabishian
Leon Eight years, man
Abou Shabak That’s right. And these brothers are
all newcomers, each one’s done five
years, but they have not yet been
convicted
The shoe shiner Lulu’s done fifteen years
The tough guys She’s the crown on our heads
The shoe shiner I hope you mean the best for her
Abou- Shabak We heard Lulu’s out of jail, so we
thought we had to visit her and pay
her our respects. Men of Greatness
visit each other
The shoe shiner But Lulu’s not one of men of
greatness
61

Abou-Shabak What do you mean? Isn’t she the one
who was convicted of murder?
The shoe shiner And turned out to be innocent
Abou-Nurr Innocent? Someone must have
said let’s spin her out
The shoe shiner Who would want to do that?
Abou-Shabak Those who do the spinning in
all the cases
The shoe shiner Poor woman…
They’ve all turned against her
Abou-Shabak God’s honest truth?
You know, you gave me an idea
If they’re all against her, then we’re
for her
The tough guys Yeah
Abou-Shabak And let her keep her head high…
Brothers, we can’t leave now
We must wait and see what happens
The shoe shiner Nothing will happen
62

The tough guys Something must happen
Abou-Shabak Don’t change your word
Is this how you underestimate her?
The shoe shiner Brothers, for God’s sake,
we don’t want any trouble
Abou-Nur Enough. Be quiet
Stop talking. Sit down
Abou-Shabak What’s bugging you?
By the lives of Men of Greatness,
even if she gives up, we won’t give
up
(A group of detectives pass by)
Who are these deadbeats?
63

The shoe shiner They are from the guys
Abou-Shabak Detectives?
The shoe shiner Yes
Abou-Shabak Is there something going on here?
The shoe shiner No, they just like our neighborhood
Abou-Shabak They’ve got nothing to do,
so they just go for a walk
Abou-Nur Their numbers are rising
They are running into each other
The town square is not big enough
for them
Abou-Shabak Leon?
Leon Yeah?
Abou-Shabak What?
Leon Come on, man. Let us get out of here
64

Abou-Shabak Say hello to Madame Lulu and tell her
we’ll be studying the matter with her
later. Move it, guys
65

14
Enters Nayef Bou-Dara’
Abou-Dara’ Hello, Jirjee
The shoe shiner (Without paying attention) Hello
Abou-Dara’ You don’t recognize me?
The shoe shiner Nayef Bou-Dara’?
Abou-Dara’ Yeah
The shoe shiner Where’ve you been, man?
We are not seeing your money
anymore?
It seems that you are polishing your
shoes by yourself?
66

Abou-Dara’ Lots of work, Jirjiee, lots of work
The shoe shiner And how are you doing with women?
Abou-Dara’ They’re like rain
Tell me, how is she?
I have not seen her yet
The shoe shiner She’s fine
Abou-Dara’ I’ve been missing her
The shoe shiner Aren’t you the one who’s gotten
married and says ‘women are like
rain’? What do you want with her?
Abou-Dara’ O brother…
Love has nothing to do with marriage
And the heart can expand
The shoe shiner This is not something that goes one
day and comes back the next
Abou-Dara’ It will come back
It will…
67

15
Enters Ra’d the Mad
Ra’d the Mad Hey, Bou Dara’! Hey man!
Abou-Dara’ Ra’d?
Ra’d the Mad I am your pupil
Abou-Dara’ To hell with such a pupil
What brings you here?
You still have not taken the stuff
home?
68

Ra’d the Mad You said you wanted to show me the
girl who was your fiancée
Abou-Dara’ Go to hell. Shut the hell up
Get out of my face. I told you, beat it
Ra’d the Mad You will see with your wife now
Do you want me to tell her that you
like the mad-woman?
Abou-Dara’ Go! Go tell her
He says he wants to tell on me to my
wife. Damn it
Has no one told you you’re crazy?
He’s sure to land us in trouble
tonight
Hey, Jirjiee, I am heading home
This wife of mine is not easy
God save me from lunatics
Tell Lulu I want to see her
Tell her to wait for me
69

16
Enters the Great Benefactor, Fares Beyk, wearing a
“tarboush” hat, carrying a walking stick
Fares Beyk Does she come late
The shoe shiner We’ll call her
(calls) Lulu!
Lulu (Lingering) Yes?
The shoe shiner (To Fares Beyk) Here you are
70

Fares Beyk Thank God on your safe arrival
my daughter. How are you my
daughter? We were delighted for you
God always makes the truth
triumphant. Yours Truly, Advocate
Fares Beyk. I defend people’s cases.
Here you are, this my Carte de visite
The shoe shiner Welcome, Sir
Lulu You defend people’s cases?
Alright, get closer then, get closer
Fares Beyk No, no, no
At the time, I was abroad
Lulu In that case
Help me secure my right
Fares Beyk That’s what I have come for
If you want to kill someone, I shall
find you some liar that everyone
wants to get rid of
Lulu May God grant you a long life
You are a truly honorable man
71

Fares Beyk To save your precious time, I have
written down his name and address –
Zakour, the accountant
Lulu What does he do?‫؟‬
Fares Beyk He’s a chatterbox. Promises people
things at election time and fools them
His job is to get nominated and spoil
the electoral lists by scattering the
votes
Lulu So he’s your rival in the elections
(She taunts him from distance)
Fares Beyk That hurts
Lulu If you are hurt, let it be because you
care for the people’s interests
Fares Beyk I came here because I care so much
If you help the society get rid of this
guy, the public will support you and
God will pay you back
Lulu (To the shoe shiner)
Write down Zakour’s name
72

Fares Beyk And we will back you up
Lulu May God reward you
What a decent man this Fares Beyk is
Fares Beyk God shall repay us for our toil
The Shoe shiner And may He grace all decent men
Fares Beyk And may He help us get an extra one
thousand votes
Lulu And may He fix you up some fat
ministry
Fares Beyk The true treasure is the one that one
receives on the day of resurrection
The Shoe shiner Commitments and promises for your
excellencies, and the dug up roads
for the citizens
Fares Beyk And you shall be heard
Give us lots so that we can give
others in their turn
All Amen
73

Lulu Put his decent Gentleman’s name
at the top of the li
17
Lulu You steal me from the sweet depths
of my sleep, I run away to far
distances, but you are ahead of me
I walk and earth walks in me
Till when will you go after me
We said farewell and your voice went
away
And the empty life called me
And when I closed the door on
myself
I found you between me and myself
I’m thrown on the sea of
forgetfulness
Sleep and all have left me
Your face never used to leave me
I try to swim, but your face drowns
me
74

Dancing and laughing and partying
the holiday nights with all my friends
around me
And now I look for a new love
With people’s eyes watching over me
You show up, I drop the glass
I am the only one in this crowd who
can see you
You steal me from among all of them
And in the snow of the past
you burn me
75

18
Nayef Bou-Dara’ enters and meets Lulu
Bou-Dara’ Lulu… Lulu
Lulu Nayef?
Bou-Dara’ (To himself) She recognized me
(To her) Oh, I’ve been missing you
Thank God you’ve come back safe
and sound. I’m so happy
Lulu Tell me about yourself
76

How many kids do you have?
Bou-Dara’ Four sons and a daughter
Lulu May God keep them for you. How are
you? Happy?
Bou-Dara’ No
Lulu Why?
Bou-Dara’ I’m bored. What can I tell yu?
Lulu You and your wife don’t get along?
Bou-Dara’ They made me marry her against my
will
Lulu Just like that? By force?
Bou-Dara’ I didn’t know what was going on
Believe me I never loved her
I was so upset over you being in jail
that my heart went blind and could
not see anymore. I woke up and
found myself trapped
77

But I kept on waiting for you. I swear
by my youth that I’ve been waiting for
you
Lulu That’s enough, Nayef
Bou-Dara’ Nayef Bo-Dara’ loves no one but you
Lulu That’s enough, Nayef
Bou-Dara’ Let our past come back
Let the old love light its flame
Lulu Nayef, what have you done to
yourself? Were you like this from the
beginning?
God damn you Lulu. What a blind
heart you had. How could fall in love
with you? Your cheeks are so big
Bou-Dara’ What’s with you, Lulu?
Have you gone mad? That’s enough
Lulu Let me flirt with you
Hey, Jirjiee? Jirjiee, come have a look
78

He is getting fatter just in front my
eyes
Bou-Dara’ I've been like this all my life
and all my life you’ve loved me
Lulu There was a boy who loved me and
I loved him and he would eat like wild
animals. And love would bless
everything. He was hanging around,
jobless, and love would bless
everything.
How I miss prison’s times. I run and
run, and look through the prison’s
windows to the world.
Maybe I went to jail so I would learn
the truth.
The girl who would always sit in front
of the mirror to please her fiancé, her
story was over
The hand that was in the corners,
planting games, went away. ‫ا‬ Love
moves on. Maybe that love was
nothing
79

Why did I look at your face today?
Because there’s nothing in your heart
anymore
What you have come to tell me?
What’s behind the words? There’s
nothing shouting from inside; there’s
no sparkle in your eyes; there’s no
waves hitting your from inside; and
no trees are breaking
Go away. Go. Keep walking until you
reach the end of the world
Nayef leaves quickly
Lulu goes on by herself
Goodbye Nunu (the little one) … I
said Nunu, I did, he is like a train and
I used to call him nunu
Good job I went to jail and did not
marry him. There, I did fifteen years.
With him, I would have done life
sentence
Nayef came … Nayef went…
80

Stand here in front of me and go like
the shadow of a bird that sat on a
branch and then flew away. He left no
mark on the earth, or on my heart
Fifteen years were waiting for a
minute to end
(She sings) God be with you, our love
The one that is leaving us
Love has judged our love
And we got separated
Oh you who stay up all night
Who are waiting for us
If you think of lovers tomorrow
Go on remembering us
Your voice remains with me at night
It tells me, and I’m all ears
I’ll love you until all the night stars
Fall to earth one by one
Love came to an end
81

And the words fell silent
The heart closed up
And not a single star fell to earth
What flows as words
Stays as words
Everything comes to an end
Even dreams
And days wipe away days
82

1
Lulu’s in front of her house with the tough guys. She sings
and they listen happily
Lulu We are returning Oh love
We are returning
Oh flower of the weak people
We are returning Oh love
At love’s home
To the fire of love
We are returning
84

We say farewell to time
And we go so that time
Forgetting us in the land of the
forgotten
We say we are going
And we are returning
To the house of love
And we know not
You are so conceited love
Oh conceited love
Oh my love
Oh flower on the wall
We are the lovers
We will always be lovers
And we l live our nights
85

2
Lulu Greetings to Men of Greatness!
The tough guys God’s greetings be upon Men of
Greatness. God’s greetings be upon
you
Lulu Welcome
Welcome to all
The tough guys Greetings to people of virtue
Greetings to us and to you
Lulu Who killed Hanoun?
Abou-Shabak I am the one who killed Hanoun
Lulu Tell me more, Abou-Shabak?
Aub-Shabak He pulled his gun on me and took
position, there was a distance of
twenty meters between us and he
told me to raise my hands. I picked
up a dagger and gave it to him like
the Red Indians
86

Lulu Greetings to the Red Indians (Music
plays) Leon Tarabishaian
Leon (the Armenian) I’m here, man, I’m here
Lulu What happened at the sports field?
Leon There is this match, and me is the
goalkeeper. That one kicked him. It
was a goal. We lose game, he was
blamed
(Starts speaking in Armenian)
Man, this guy picked up Kalshnikov
and hit him
(Starts singing an Armenian song)
87

Abou-Shabak Where are you, our Arab brother?
Sobhi Sobhi the Bedouin said …
Abou-Nurr What did he say?
Sobhi Hani, this cousin of mine, would
usually get the Ghar tribe, the Bani
Qahtan together . May they be
cursed. They shot the boy and
orphaned the children
And the enemies taunted me and my
state changed. I got hold of my sword
and my horse and attacked the
horse-riders
And revenge was calling me
the drink of death sweetened
I attacked Fayez, Zayed, and Akram
Hodeidan
88

And Mahdaj and Medlaj.
I revenged, man
(They all sing)
O Huddein, I like to sleep
O Huddein, to rest a bit
But let the woman with black eyes,
look at me
Abou-Shabak Listen! Who killed Yunis?
Lulu I am the one who killed Yunis
And I have paid fifteen years for it
89

The tough guys Wow
Anyone other than him?
Lulu Other than him, only God knows
And no one else will ever know
The tough guys Salam
Lulu And there will be one tomorrow
The tough guys Who will that be?
Lulu The news will break tomorrow
And you will all find out
Abou-Shabak Hey Leon, help us
She looks like she’s really going to
kill
Leon Look, mate, I make no troubles for no
one. I want to run away from all this
Abou-Nurr Abou-Shabak, my uncle, sing us a
song
Abou-Shabak At your service
90

The sword of the men of greatness
ruled
Put aside medicine and pen
Your pistol in your hand, is the poet
that erases and writes wisdom
The sword of the men of greatness
sweeps long
And with each stroke a new ballad it
writes
The beautiful maid’s waist is inclined
And the light is a star far away
The tough guys By the edge of the sword
And the inclined waist,
And the night covering the brails,
If the men of greatness go away,
Who will play the role of the judge?
Lulu Nights are my home,
Clear days are its home
Be hard to address hardship
People of kindness no longer exist
Ooof, oof , my love
91

The tough guys begin a sword dance and leave
the stage when they’re finished
92

3
Enter the detective and the commissioner
The Commissioner What’s going on here?
The detective Sir, the tough guys who were here
with
her, were singing and talking about
their greatness. The shoe shiner has
been missing for two days
The Commissioner Who?
The detective The shoe shiner has been missing
for two days
The Commissioner This gang could be dangerous
Get me their records from the justice
department
93

4
Enters the shoe shiner’s wife, distressed and scared
The shoe shiner’s wife Hey, Sir, please, have you seen
Jirjee the shoe shiner?
The Commissioner Go ask about him at his home
The shoe shiner’s wife I’m his wife. He hasn’t come
home for two days. Jirjee! Where’s
Jirjee?
Woman For two days?
94

The shoe shiner’s wife And he’s not at home
Woman O goodness…
Where could he have gone to?
The shoe shiner’s wife Poor me!
Could anything have happened to
him?
(Enter people who have heard the shoe shiner’s wife)
Man This woman Lulu’s been saying she
wants to kill someone. Maybe she’s
killed him?
The Commissioner Don’t be scared
Ra’d the Mad The shoe shiner’s gone missing
The Commissioner Call for reinforcement
The detective Move, men, move
Everybody The shoe shiner’s gone missing!
The shoe shiner’s gone missing!
The shoe shiner’s gone missing!
95

The shoe shiner’s wife You mean she could have killed
him?
Abou-Dara’ The shoe shiner’s gone missing?
The Commissioner Search everywhere
The shoe shiner’s wife Please help me
Ra’d the Mad This is a total mess
This is a total mess
The Judge What?
He’s gone missing?
The shoe shiner’s wife` It’s because of you that he’s
gone
Don’t let his blood go cheap.
Fares Beyk It ended up on this poor man’s head
Thank God the rest of you are safe
The Judge’s wife Phew. She picked one
And we’re through with it
Abou-Dara’’ What a relief…
Thank God we’re safe
96

The shoe shiner’s wife God help me. Did you register
his name down in the book?
Man He’s dead
Long live the rest of you
The shoe shiner’s wife Hunger is going to reside in our
place
Ra’d the Mad One man’s misery is another
man’s blessing
Abou-Dara’ To hell with you. Shut up
Aren’t you listening?
Ra’d the Mad You’re all happy
You’re liars
The Judge Alright, brothers
Let’s say a few words to this poor
woman, the shoe shiner’s wife:
Madam Jirjee, your husband was
a decent and honorable man
who sacrificed his life for the town
Your husband is one of the heroes
who scarified for the whole society
97

He paid with his life for our lives
He’s a model of honesty
All And bravery
The Judge And graciousness
All And sacrifice
The Judge As a mark of appreciation of his
endeavors, the city will give him a
medal of honor
Ra’d the Mad The local members of parliament
should eulogize him
The Judge May God grant you patience
There’s nothing more for me to say
98

May God give you a healthy in place
of his. And Thank God we’re safe
The shoe shiner’s wife I want to take his revenge
The Judge’s wife Have strength
Ra’d the Mad Take turns, brothers, take turns.
Abou-D’ara Our thoughts are with you (Speaking
to himself) Thank God we’re safe
Fares Beyk Good job it wasn’t one of us
Abou-Dara’ It could have been me, so close
The Judge We have not had a party
for a long time
The Judge’s wife Would you like to party at our place?
We’ve got poker tonight
Abou-Dara’’ Of course
99

5
Their talking brings Lulu out of her house
Lulu What’s up with you guys?
What’s going on?
The shoe shiner’s wife Wehre’s Jirjee, Lulu?
Lulu I sent him off
Everyone You sent him off?
Lulu On a walk
The Commissioner A long walk?
Lulu Very long
Very long
Everyone Where to?
Lulu I sent him off on a road covered
with rose petals … I sent him off
to the land of childhood
The shoe shiner’s wife Where is he now?
100

Lulu Maybe he’s catching the light from
the sun . Maybe he’s tired and is
resting under an almond tree
The Commissioner We can’t understand
The Judge Now that we can’t understand her,
you should arrest her
(Voices from outside …”Raise your hands …”
Enter the tough guys, with their arms raised)
Abou-Shabak Is there no civility? Is there no
respect?
The Commissioner Be quiet!
Abou-Shabak OK, we’re quiet
We are under the law,
not over the law
The Commissioner You’re under arrest
The tough guys Why?
101

The Commissioner Because the shoe shiner’s gone
missing
Abou-Shabak He’s gone missing?
What’s that go to do with us?
There are people who go missing
The Commissioner Stand in that corner
(The Commissioner notices that the
shoe shiner’s entered, wearing a
smart suit)
Shoe shiner?!
102

6
Everyone The shoe shiner?
The shoe shiner God bless you all
What’s up?
The shoe shiner’s wife Where’ve you been?
The shoe shiner Lulu sent me over to her Grandfather
The shoe shiner’s wife Oh, God bless you
Thank God you’re safe
Lulu Didn’t I tell you I’d sent him off?
The Commissioner What did she send you off for?
103

The shoe shiner I went to her Grandfather to
get her some money
Ra’d the Mad Why didn’t you die?
The Judge Oh, Jirjee, you got us all worried
Ra’d the Mad It would have been a relief
if you had died
Abou Dara’ Let’s get this over with
We need someone to die
And the rest of us can relax
The Judge’s wife The bird of fear has come back
to fly over our heads
The Judge Thank God you’re safe, Jirjee.
Ra’d the Mad Hey, look at you guys
Look at you guys. As long as she was
sad, you were happy. When she
cheered up, you guys got sad. What a
world! What a world!
104

7
Lulu Oh, you Men of Greatness
The tough guys Yes?
Lulu You’re around and this lot
behave like this?
The tough guys They betrayed us
Lulu Go walk in front of their houses
for me a little bit
Do some terrorizing for me
The tough guys Alright
Lulu Don’t kill anyone yet. Just scare them
and plug their mustaches
Abou Shabak Our canes are rising to the sky
Abou Shabak will do the job
Lulu Oh, you Abou Shabak
Abou Shabak For the light of your eyes
105

Lulu Oh, yeah
Abou Shabak Oh, yeah
106

8
The shoe shiner’s wife I wish you had told me you
were going away
The shoe shiner Well, it happened that way
The shoe shiner (to Lulu)
Your Grandfather says hello, and
says he’ll visit you in the next couple
of days, and has sent you some
money
Lulu Oh, Grandpa, Grandpa! Look Jirjee,
I’ll never forget you. I’ll make you a
smoking sit that would blow your
mind away. But next time, don’t make
me worry so much
The shoe shiner Keep it a secret , we got delayed at
Darina Station
Lulu They waited for us so long, so long
At Darina Station
We didn’t know their names
And they didn’t know ours
107

At Darina Station
Night had fallen
and the passengers were waiting
One of them a dignified girl
And there was this boy, telling her
about the summer and the moon
And she would tell him she was
engaged
Oh, breeze, take us
Oh, breeze, bring us
To Darina Station
The car was small
And there was darkness and jealousy
Lovers leaving two by two
No one knew where to
108

9
Enters the Doctor
The Doctor Hello!
Lulu Welcome, the Hairdresser Sir
Are you going to do my hair?
The Doctor Sorry, I lied to you
I am not a hairdresser
I am a doctor
Lulu You know,
you have a beautiful voice
The Doctor Yes, yes
I know that
109

Lulu Then sing Santa Lucia for me
The Doctor Not now
This is not the right time …
It’s not the right time
Lulu Oh, how I wish you had stayed a
hairdresser. You would have sung
straight away. Now that you’ve
become a doctor, I need to throw a
party to get you to sing
The Doctor Please listen to me for a little while
The whole town is against you
And they’re conspiring to get you
Lulu This TV is driving me crazy. Isn’t it
strange to see someone jumping
inside your house?
The Doctor (Laughing) There was no TV
when you went to jail
It’s not a big deal
You’ll get used to it
Lulu I think I’m going crazy
110

The Doctor Maybe I should give you some
vitamins
Lulu No, thanks, I’ll get fat
I’m fine as it is
I want to go on wearing taille 38
The Doctor Well, let me give you something that
will calm you down, … a tranquilizer?
Lulu No, then I’ll get drowsy and fall
asleep I’ve lost fifteen years as it is
I came back to see everything’s
changed. And you want to send me to
sleep again? If I could, now I would
run, gallop, to catch up with the life
that’s escaped from me
111

The Doctor You are right
You are right
And I’ve come to help you
Lulu Doctor!
The Doctor Yes?
Lulu Honest to God,
do think I’m mad or something?
The Doctor Not at all,
honest to God,
not at all
Lulu And honest to God,
I also think you’re not mad
The Doctor Well, tell them then, tell them
(Runs toward the crowd)
112

10
The Judge This Lulu’s a problem
The town has created the problem
The town has to solve it
The Commissioner The convicts that hang around with
her disperse among the houses at
night
They have not harmed anyone,
but they do look harmful
Farey Beyk I am the one who stitched her up with
a murder charge. If she talks about
me, my political enemies will make
use of it
The Doctor I’ll repeat again:
Her mind works better than mine
Nayef Bou Dara’ I know: He who wants to hand around
with women, will pay the price for it
with being insulted. There’s not
getting away from that. But what she
says really hurts. She’s buried me in
filth and hatred. She should get a
taste of her own medicine
113

Everyone Lulu invites you to dinner in honor
of her Grandfather, and would be
delighted if you could accept the
invitation. Lulu
114

11
The lights are on in the Judge’s house. Her wife is singing
The Judge’s wife Oh, travelling saleswoman
Take me to the salespeople’s quarter
And for my lover, sell me something
In the middlemen’s quarter
My parents have left me
To guard the gardens
They told me this is what
they wanted me to do
To guard the gardens
My eyes could not stand it
And they go tired a little bit
The thieves came over
And stole all there was in the
orchards
My Mom lost me
At the final junction on our route
I cried, but she did not hear me
And the junction took me further
away from her
Please tell anyone who can hear me
115

And to my Mom so she could take me
back
12
The Judge Here you are!
She’s invited us to dinner
The Judge’s wife Well, let’s go then
The Judge ‘Let’s go’?
All your life you say you
can’t be bothered
Now you want us to go?
The Judge’s wife Look, man, we must go
First of all, we’ll absolve ourselves in
front of Lulu. And, we’ll be in a group
– all our friends are going to be there
The Judge For your sake, we’ll go
(Enters the Commissioner)
The Judge’s wife Welcome,
His Excellency the Commissioner
116

His Excellency the Commissioner,
Can’t you see that the tough guys
that hang around with Lulu are
worrying the public?
The Commissioner I was telling myself just that
The Judge’s wife You’re on your way home, and you
come across this guy who’s walking
around and twisting his moustache
The Commissioner You’re right
The Judge’s wife Wherever you go, there are tough
guys
No matter how you go around,
you come across tough guys
And then what?
The Commissioner Let me see what I can do
(They exit)
117

13
Enter Nayef Bou Dara’ with Ra’d the Mad,
whom he introduces to the Judge’s wife
Bou Dara’ God bless you
The Judge’s wife Greetings
Bou Dara’ My Lady, this is Ra’d
I’ve brought him along as
per your orders
The Judge’s wife Greetings to Ra’d
Do you know what you should do?
Ra’d the Mad Pardon me?
118

Bou Dara’ First of all, tell the lady who you are
Ra’d the Mad I am Napoleon
Bou Dara’ And what does Napoleon want?
Ra’d the Mad He wants a crown and a sword
The Judge’s wife And you know how to strike with
sword?
Ra’d the Mad When I strike a blow,
there’s no doctor who can treat it
The Judge’s wife Well then, we’ll give you a crown and
a sword. Bou Dara’’! You take care of
this Ra’d
Buo Dara’ (hands him a baksheesh) Take this
It’s the sweetener. And there’s as
much for you after the party, and
you’ll also be the hero
Ra’d the Mad But you must tell me why I have do it
The Judge’s wife Bou Dara’ will tell you exactly
what you have got to do
119

Bou Dara’ Go on, walk in front of me,
you hunk of a hero
Ra’d the Mad Napoleon, please!
The Judge’s wife Buo Dara’! You should make it very
clear to him what he’s got to do
Bou Dara’’ Never you mind
There will be nothing but what you
want (He exits)
The Judge’s wife They’re all cowards
Only I know how to get rid of her
120

14
In front of Lulu’s house, preparations are being made for a
big party. Cocktail tables; everyone dressed as chefs and
waiters. The shoe shiner’s wearing a smoking suit. They
begin to sing and dance
The shoe shiner Alright, brothers
We haven’t got much time left
The waiters We’ll get it done soon
We’ll get it done on time
The night is young and the party
will be great
The shoe shiner Hurry up, brothers
Arrange the food beautifully
The waiters We’ve laid out the table
The red napkins are there
And the wind is playing with them
The shoe shiner Who chose the food?
The waiters Abou Shabak chose the ingredients
Abou Shabak Once by the seaside
121

I had a café where the sea would
come to dine
The mezze would be in my hand
And the fresh fish
And the diners would pay a the end
of the month
The waiter AbouShabak,AbouShabak
Before he became a companion of
power and danger
He had a café
He had a café
The shoe shiner Our guests must by now
Be on their way
The waiters Welcome, all of them
We’re ready for them
122

The shoe shiner Hop, hop, hop /
If you don’t love me / I swear I’m
going to melt away
Your black eyes drive me crazy
And they steal
away the days of my life
They pull me and drag me away / It’s
all written on my heart
Turn your hips towards me, o girl
You blow my mind away / Why are
you so cold-hearted with me
And I’ll wait, under the arches, as the
summer arrives the world heats up
Abou-Shabak What do you think of this feast?
The shoe shiner Fit for kings. I’ve seen receptions, but
nothing like this. Last month, there
was this generous guard – you’ll like
him - he invited us. There was four of
us, shoe shines, three copper
polishers and knife sharpeners and
their wives. He made food for us, but
there was no comparing it with this
one
123

Abou-Shabak You’re right, there’s plenty of food.
But God forgive Lulu, she’s created
something very strange. You can’t
get your head around, if you’re an
Arab. Do you know a word of French?
Do you know German? Why would
you make European food?
The shoe shiner But there is a lot of food
Abou-Shabak That doesn’t do much for me
There’s no mezze
Abou-Nour He’s right. Where is the mezze?
Abou-Shabak Where’s the peppered zucchini?
Abou-Nour Where are the parsley basted
in sesame seed paste?
Abou-Shabak Do we have to through the whole list.
There are no pumpkin seeds, no
nibbles.
Leon There’s no Armenian sausage
124

The shoe shiner I’d look at differently: It’s a shame to
have so much food that can feed a
hundred people, when there those
who can’t get a square meal, or send
their kids to school
Abou-Shabak Too right. Each tray can feed a high
school. By the way, where do your
kids go to school?
The shoe shiner The preparatory school
Abou-Shabak Poor man. They’ll rip you off
If I were you, I’d pull them out
The shoe shiner Where shall I send them?
Abou-Shabak Send them to prison. Prison is the
school for men. At the very least,
they don’t charge you for books and
they don’t rip the shirt off your back,
and they teach you lots of skills
The shoe shiner What skills?
Abou-Shabak Well, the kid turns out
Has anyone told of the jobs that
125

prisoners can hold? Any kid who
does a good job of prison graduates as a thug, runs a
protection racket for gamblers,
becomes a lackey for a leader; and
what does a leader’s lackey become?
The shoe shiner A leader
Abou-Shabak That’s right. Look, this Corporal
Barabar’s a friend of mine. Don’t you
worry about anything. I’ll talk to him
and he’ll let them in without an
entrance test
The shoe shiner OK, but how are they going to go
there every day?
Abou-Shabak Nothing could be easier. On his way
to the Justice Office, he’d pick them
up in the prison van tomorrow
morning, and bring them back in the
evening.
126

15
Enter the commissioner, the detectives, and the guards
The Commissioner Arrest them
Abou-Nour Arrest who?
The Commissioner You guys
Abou-Nour Us? What have you got against us?
We can sort everything out through
understanding
Abou-Shabak Yeah. Yes, it’s me, Abou-Shabak. Yes
The Commissioner We’ve seen our court record
Abou-Shabak There’s nothing in it
The Commissioner Youssef al-Bouri, aka Abou-Shabak. A
one week prison sentence,
suspended, on charge of beating up
Trobil
127

The Commissioner Leon Tarabishian
Leon I’m here, man. I’m here
The Commissioner You were jailed for two days for
carrying a penknife
Leon Really?
There’s no Kalashnikov on my file?
The Commissioner No
Leon What happened to it?
Abou-Nour What a shame
What a waste of Men of Greatness
The Commissioner Sobhi the Bedouin
Sobhi I took revenge for my cousin’s life
The Commissioner Yeah, it was your cousin. You were
convicted for a fight over a bucketful
of sour cheese
Sobhi I am fully aware of the matter
I am fully aware
128

Abou-Nour Hey, Arab brother, what is this case
of yours? Fighting over a bucketful
of sour cheese? I wish it had been a
goat or something. This is crazy. Sir,
would you please read my court
record? Every crime in it would rock
the mountains
The Commissioner You … you have done nothing
Abou-Nour What? You’ve taken everything out.
What do you mean I’ve done
nothing?
The Commissioner You’ve done nothing
Your record’s clean
Abou-Nour What can I do if the government
decides not to record serious
crimes?
Sobhi Tell His Excellency ….
The Commissioner Quiet
You’re all under arrest
Abou-Shabak But, Sir, we’ve done nothing
129

The Commissioner This is preventive custody
Abou-Shabak What about the reception we were
invited to?
The Commissioner No problem. I’ll invite you out
Abou-Shabak No way. You bet your life,
I’m inviting you
Abou-Nour Stop quarrelling you two
I’m inviting both of you over
to my place
130

16
(In front of Lulu’s house. Everyone’s in evening wear and
smoking suites. Lulu appears with her Grandfather, in
evening wear)
Lulu May I introduce my Grandfather
Everyone Welcome. You’ve brightened our
houses / The red candle is poking fun
at the fire
A night has gone
A dream flew away
E Viva E Viva E Viva
Lulu E Viva
In my Grandfather’s honor
131

On his eightieth birthday
Let the night be worthy of the
occasion For the guardian of the
years
O Grandpa, O Grandpa,
O young old man
Your path is covered in snow
And your home is in midst of fogs
His pockets are full of gold
And his hands are filled with
generosity
His seven children
Each one of them
is in a different country
He waits for them, and waits for them
Until they return
(A lady form among the guests dances and oriental dance
As soon as she’s finished, Lulu sings)
132

Lulu How beautiful were the nights
Filled with the love
that was awaiting us
And he would come to meet me
And take us to faraway places
With night, and the sound
of running water
There was a mill near our house
By the water spring
There were fields in front of it
Covered in wheat
My Grandfather would make wheat
flour for the whole neighborhood
And they would party all night
And people would stay in the fields
Some with bags
133

Some with carriages
Coming and going
Ah, what nights we used to have
Ah, what sweet memories
are on my mind
We would sing, we would sing,
we would sing all along the road
Those days passed
And little by little
The mill fell silent
Still standing by the stream
And my Grandfather became
The miller of memories
Milling them night and day
134

(Enter Ra’d the Mad, dressed as Napoleon, a sword in his
hand, runs towards Lulu to kill her)
Ra’d the Mad Hey, Lulu!
Everyone Ra’d?
Ra’d the Mad I am Napoleon
Lulu Greetings to you
I thought the rainbow had fallen down
Thunder is going to fall over you
Hey, stay out of the path of that truck
Ra’d the Mad As if the driver’s blind
He was about to strike me down
on the road
135

Lulu I want to put you in a vault . Lower
you deep down, down, down After a
hundred years, a thousand years, a
million years, deep deep down
Ra’d the Mad Enough, for God’s sake
Look, Bou Dara’, you got me
involved in this business
The Commissioner Bou Dara’?
Everyone Shame on you
Bou Dara’ None of you has the right
to open his mouth
The Judge What have you done,
Bou Dara’?
Bou Dara’ You’re still talking?
Let our wife speak up
The Judge’s wife Enough. Enough
I don’t want to hear another word
Bou Dara’ Tell them this business is yours
136

The Judge’s wife He should have killed you
The Judge You?
The Judge’s wife Yes, me
Everyone What a shame
Fares Beyk She was very delicate when she
invited us over to their place
The Judge’s wife You’re all trying to save your faces
All of you wanted to get rid of her,
you cowards
Fares Beyk How can you say that?
What an irresponsible woman!
The Judge’s wife Shut up, you election rigger
137

Men Yes, yes,
you’ve been rigging elections
all your life
The Judge No need to make a scandal,
brothers
Bou Dara’ Go sort out your wife
(Commotion and noise)
Ra’d the Mad The state is attacking the people. The
states is attacking the people
(After things have calmed down)
Lulu The party’s over
Take me over to your place,
Grandpa
The mad man has the right
to prosecute the world
Airplanes are grey
the color of pigeons
The bombs explode in silver
like the color of the sun
People in trenches
138

people in bars
Justice is a lie
Freedom is a joke
The prison has been expanded
And all verdicts on the face
of the earth are void
How nice that the sun is rising
Let’s drink to your health,
Grandpa
Everyone Welcome
You’ve brightened our houses
The red candle is poking fun at the
fire
E Viva E Viva E Viva
139

Lulu (letter+translation)

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