Lyrics and Translation of Moo Be Moo by Reza Bahram

Updated: 8 July 2019

The Music + Lyrics posts that I do are never among the most popular (although some of you have told me they’re your favorites- thanks!), but I still like doing them because I’m a huge believer in using music to learn languages. What makes Iranian music tricky, though, is that many songs have lyrics set to deep poetry from Hafez or Mowlana, which is completely unhelpful for learning everyday, conversational Persian (not to mention the fact that the translation comes out butchered compared to the original). On the other end of the spectrum are the pop songs which are fun to dance to, but whose lyrics are basically 1,001 nicknames to call your lover or ways to say “I love you/I miss you/I can’t live without you/Why did you leave me.” (And honestly- I’m not a huge fan.) And then a few weeks ago, I got an email from a reader who is learning Persian and using music in his studies, and he suggested the lyrics and translation to Moo be Moo by Reza Bahram. After listening to it, I thought it was not only beautiful but also one of those songs smack-dab in the middle of the spectrum- nice to listen to (albeit quite the tearjerker!) and helpful for studying Persian. So, here they are- the lyrics and English translation of Moo Be Moo by Reza Bahram. And be sure to check out the cultural note and Persian phrases from the song at the end! 

Lyrics and Translation of Moo be Moo by Reza Bahram

moo beh moo* ghadam ghadam / [hair] strand by strand, step by step

beh zolf-e to ghasam ghasam / on your tresses I swear

reside eshgh-e to beh jân-e man / your love has come into my life

beh yâd-e to nafas nafas / in your memory, panting

boride-am* az in ghafas / I’m sick and tired of this cage

zendân ast jahân-e man / my world is a prison

eshghat cherâ tâvân-e man shod / why was your love my punishment

rafti ghamat pâyân-e man shod / you left and the grief was my end

az har gonâhi tobeh kardam / I’ve repented from every sin

cheshmân-e to imân-e man shod / your eyes became my faith

to râ chon jân-e khod midânamet / because I know you as my life

to râ chon sâyeh mipendâramet* / because I think of you like my shadow

harche to duri man saburam / however far you are, I’m patient 

marâ az gham jodâ nemikoni / you won’t separate me from sorrow

marâ yek dam sedâ nemikoni / you never call me

man ke gozashtam az ghoruram / I swallowed my pride

ghabl az to man âshegh nabudam / before you I didn’t know love

to âmadi bâ har negâh marâ gereftâram koni / you came to capture me with every look

in gharâremân nabud az eshgh bizâram koni / this wasn’t our deal that you make me weary of love

be yâd-e to man bigharâram / I’m restless at the thought of you

ay vây hanuz cheshm entezâram* / oh, I’m still awaiting you

to râ chon jân-e khod midânamet / because I know you as my life

to râ chon sâyeh mipendâramet / because I think of you like my shadow

harche to duri man saburam / however far you are, I’m patient 

marâ az gham jodâ nemikoni / you won’t separate me from sorrow

marâ yek dam sedâ nemikoni / you never call me

man ke gozashtam az ghoruram / I swallowed my pride

ghabl az to man âshegh nabudam / before you I didn’t know love

Cultural notes and vocabulary

Mipendâramet

The word mipendâramet comes from pendâr (thought), which you might notice is similar to the Spanish “pensar” (to think) or the English “ponder” or “pensive”. This word forms one of the three pillars of Zoroastrianism, the religion of ancient Persia prior to the Islamic conquest in the 7th century and a religion still practiced by a minority in Iran today. It goes:

پندار نیک / pendâr-e nik (good thoughts)

گفتار نیک / goftâr-e nik (good words)

کردار نیک / kerdâr-e nik (good deeds)

You might find variations of the words, but the message is the same. For instance, surrounding the Faravahar symbol at the Fire Temple in Yazd, it says andishe instead of pendâr (which means the same thing).

Meanwhile, one of the fire temples in Tehran writes: pendâr-e pâk (pure thoughts), goftâr-e râst (truthful words), kerdâr-e nik (good deeds).

Cheshm entezâr

Much like the heart, the eye plays a huge role in the Persian language. If you open the dictionary, you’ll find a good 2 pages dedicated to phrases with cheshm. On the blog, we’ve seen this organ in gestures, superstitions, in ways to pay someone a compliment, and grouped with other body parts which form the basis of words related to nature. 

In the song, we see cheshm entezâr (چشم انتظار) which is another phrase you can add to the list. Literally “eye anticipation,” cheshm entezâr means that you are waiting anxiously for someone to arrive. You’re in that waiting period where your eye is eager to see the moment of the person’s arrival. 

.چشم انتظارتم، زودتر برگرد ایران

Cheshm entezâretam, zud-tar bargard Iran. (I’m eagerly waiting for you. Come back to Iran soon.)

Boridan

Boridan (بریدن) is a verb that means “to cut”, but a more informal meaning of it is when someone is tired of/frustrated/exasperated by something and/or lost motivation/will to do something. Think of the end of the semester when you’re studying for final exams and you’re fed up.

.از درس خواندن بریدم

Az dars khundan boridam. (I’m fed up with studying.)

Iranians are awesome wrestlers, and if you’ve ever been to a wrestling match where the Iranian team is participating, at some point you’ll hear this. It happens when the Iranian contender is dominating, and it’s obvious the opponent has become too exhausted to go on (and possibly even stalls for time). That’s when the crowd starts chanting “Borideh! Borideh! Borideh!” to cheer on their fellow countryman. Just check out this clip from the 2015 Freestyle Wrestling World Cup match between Iran and the US. You can make out borideh from about the 7th minute on, just as Behnam Ehsanpour makes a killer comeback (and God knows we’re so loud that even AC/DC’s Back in Black can’t drown us out!).

Moo beh moo

It’s also worth noting that the song title and first phrase, moo beh moo (مو به مو), literally “hair by hair,” means “exact/in detail/precise/meticulous” as in:

.مو به مو شرح بده

Moo beh moo sharh bede. (Explain in detail.) 

But judging by the context of the song and how he goes on to talk about her hair, I’m guessing he means this more literally, as in he swears on each and every strand of her hair that he loves her.

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