If You Mean What You Say

| سعود بن بندر بن محمد | ألحان و غناء: عبادي الجوهر |
الترجمة بواسطة الموقع

This song is the pinnacle of awareness of destructive love and the lover’s utter helplessness in the face of it. Unlike previous songs where the lover laments the beloved’s coldness or trickery, here we encounter a dilemma both sweet and painful: the beloved is perfectly perfect, never failing in any way, and it is precisely this perfection that captivates the lover, robbing them of their will and making forgetting impossible. Thus, the lover pleads with their beloved, begging them to commit a sin—even a small one—to grant them a lifeline and contrived excuses to escape the prison of this mythical love.

English Translation

If, as you claim, you truly wish me well,

then help me forget your love which has utterly swept me away.

It has completely transformed my entire life,

causing me to forget my companions, my time, and my very place.

My love for you is far more profound than all ancient legends;

It has no other description or definition in the dictionary of passion.

Yet, without a doubt, I can foresee how our end will be,

and I anxiously anticipate our separation, second by second.

Make me resent my own self—even if through some tiny fault of yours

So that I may find an excuse to return to my own pastime.

But the painful truth is that no shortcoming has ever manifested from you,

and this flawless perfection only deepens your reality within my very existence.

Explaining:

كانك على قولك, “If it’s truly as you claim,” revealing a powerful internal dialogue where the lover demands their partner prove the sincerity of their claim that they wish them well.

“حبك اللي خذاني,” meaning it has completely seized me; “taken over” here is a powerful metaphor signifying the total loss of consciousness, will, and self.

“خلى حياتي تنقلب كلها غير,” meaning it has changed all the balance of my existence; the world is no longer the same as it was before this love entered my life.

أبلغ من جميع الأساطير: a sublime analogy that transcends the boundaries of reality; for their love story surpasses in its purity and depth the timeless tales of love recorded in the annals of history.

أحسب حساب فراقنا بالثواني: the agony of anticipation; for the lover does not experience the joy of the present moment, but is tormented by the acute awareness of the inevitable end, whose approach he measures in seconds of wasted time.

كرهني بنفسي لو بذنب صغير: a painful, tragic plea; he asks his beloved to fabricate a sin or a small transgression, so that his heart may find a justification (an excuse) to convince his conscience to leave and return to the time before he knew her.

ما بدى منك تقصير: “You showed no neglect or coldness”; and herein lies the crux of the matter, for the beloved is pure, perfect, and sincere, and this purity is the strongest bond preventing escape from her.

يزود واقعك في كياني: “Your essential presence is firmly established in my depths”; Every time he remembered her purity and flawlessness, his love for her intensified, and her presence deepened as an absolute truth within him.

The song “You’re As You Say” presents a rare and profound paradox in the philosophy of love. Lovers usually seek the perfection of their partner, but here the lover cries out against this very perfection; for the beloved’s absence of flaws (“You showed no shortcomings”) deprives him of the ability to break free or retreat. Love here transforms into a powerful, predestined force, surpassing even the myths of the ancients. The grandeur of Eastern love is evident in this strange plea: “Commit a sin so I may escape.” The lover prefers to consciously tarnish the details of their encounter rather than remain captive to the anticipation of an inevitable separation, counting its days in seconds, preferring to return to his former life, even with a broken heart and flimsy excuses.

Arabic Text

كانك على قولك تمنى لي الخير
كانك على قولك تمنى لي الخير
ساعدني أنسى حُبك اللي خذاني
اللي خذاني

خلى حياتي تنقلب كلها غير
خلى حياتي تنقلب كلها غير
و أنسى الحبايب و الزمن و المكانِ
و الزمن و المكانِ

كانك على قولك تمنى لي الخير
كانك على قولك تمنى لي الخير
ساعدني أنسى حُبك اللي خذاني
حُبك اللي خذاني

حُبي لك أبلغ من جميع الاساطير
حُبي لك أبلغ من جميع الاساطير
ماله بقاموس الهوى وصف ثاني
الهوى وصف ثاني

لا شك أنا أشعر بالنهاية وش تصير
لا شك أنا أشعر بالنهاية وش تصير
و أحسب حساب فراقنا بالثواني
فراقنا بالثواني

كانك على قولك تمنى لي الخير
كانك على قولك تمنى لي الخير
ساعدني أنسى حُبك اللي خذاني
حُبك اللي خذاني

كرهني بنفسي لو بذنب صغير
كرهني بنفسي لو بذنب صغير
القى به أعذاري أعود لزماني
أعود لزماني

المُشكلة أنه ما بدى منك تقصير
المُشكلة أنه ما بدى منك تقصير
و هذا يزود واقعك في كياني
واقعك في كياني

كانك على قولك تمنى لي الخير
كانك على قولك تمنى لي الخير
ساعدني أنسى حُبك اللي خذاني
حُبك اللي خذاني
ساعدني أنسى حُبك اللي خذاني
حُبك اللي خذاني

ساعدني أنسى حُبك اللي خذاني
حُبك اللي خذاني
ساعدني أنسى حُبك اللي خذاني
حُبك اللي خذاني
ساعدني أنسى حُبك اللي خذاني
حُبك اللي خذاني