It had to happen one day. Mevlana Jelaludin Rumi has been a favorite
poet of mine for a decade, yet I hadn't yet set any of his poetry to music.
That changed, and the results surprised me. I had always thought that when
I did it, the results would be something mystical and mysterious with a
strong middle-eastern flavor.
Wrong.
It turned out to be a simple and direct song. The transition from the
mournful minor to the plain major was a pleasant surprise while sitting at the
piano. The simplicity shocked me and brought tears to my eyes—I'm not sure why.
I've stuck a temporary MIDI file here to give the idea. There will be an official
accompaniment someday—piano—that will be much simpler in sound that the pseudo-klezmer
style in this one.
Here is the text of the poem, translated by Maryam Mafi and Azima Melita Kolin in Hidden
Music (2001):
I've had enough of sleepless nights,
of my unspoken grief, of my tired wisdom.
Come, my treasure, my breath of life,
Come and dress my wounds and be my cure.
Enough of words.
Come to me without a sound.
Lyrics: Jelaludin Rumi
Translated: Maryam Mafi and Azima Melita Kolin
Music: Jon Jones
November 9, 2003
Lyrics:
I've had enough of sleepless nights, of my unspoken grief.
I've had enough of sleepless nights, of my unspoken grief.
I've had enough of my tired wisdom, of wisdom born of grief.
I've had enough of my tired wisdom, of wisdom born of grief.
Come, my treasure, my breath of life,
Come and dress my wounds.
Come, my treasure, my breath of life,
Come and dress my wounds.
Come, my treasure, breath of life,
Come and be my cure.
Come, my treasure, breath of life,
Come and be my cure.
Come, my treasure, my breath of life,
Come and dress my wounds.
Come, my treasure, my breath of life,
Come and be my cure.
Enough of words. Come to me without a sound.