118. Iran’s most famous singer

Mohammad Reza Shajarian may be the most famous singer in all of Iran.

He’s also Iran’s most famous protest singer — even though, strictly speaking, his music doesn’t directly protest the government at all. …

„Iranian literature is primarily poetry,“ explains Milani. „And Shajarian is a master of this literature and knows exactly what lines from which poems could be used at what moment in history. He says if you follow my songs, you can almost write the history of the last 40 years.“

As a recent example, Milani points to a song that Shajarian recorded after the regime began its crackdown last year.

„He sang this song [„Language of Fire“] from a poet that was kind of a Perry Como of Iranian poetry,“ says Milani. „If there were Hallmark cards [in Iran], his poetry would likely be a candidate to be on those Hallmark cards. And he picked one of this guy’s songs and rendered it into a virtual manifesto of that peaceful, democratic movement.“ / npr.org

Der Text des Liedes „Zaban-e Atash“ („The Language of Fire“) stammt von dem Dichter Fereydoun Moshiri (1926 – 2000) und lautet auf Englisch (Netzfund):

Lay down your gun, As I hate this very abnormal shedding of blood. The gun in your hand speaks the language of fire and iron, But I, before this fiendish tool, Have nothing but, the language of the heart, The heart full to the brim with love for you, Who are in love with the enemy. The language of fire and iron is the game of fury and bloodshed. It is the language of Genghis Khan. Come, sit down, talk, hear. Perhaps the light of humanity will get through to your heart, too.