[ On September 27, a song by Iranian musician Shervin Hajipour
‘broke’ Persian social media. He is singing of the mass protests
that began in Iran following the death of Jina (Mahsa) Amini. It went
viral -- viewed 40 million times within 48 hours.]
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AN ANTHEM FROM THE IRANIAN PROTESTS  
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Zuzanna Olszewska
October 4, 2022
MERIP (Middle East Research and Information Project)
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_ On September 27, a song by Iranian musician Shervin Hajipour
‘broke’ Persian social media. He is singing of the mass protests
that began in Iran following the death of Jina (Mahsa) Amini. It went
viral -- viewed 40 million times within 48 hours. _

Iranian demonstrators march down a street in Tehran, October 1, 2022,
MERIP

 

On September 27, 2022, a song by Iranian musician Shervin Hajipour
‘broke’ Persian social media. Hajipour posted a video
[[link removed]] on Instagram of himself
singing a song for the mass protests that began in Iran following the
death of Jina (Mahsa) Amini. Its lyrics were composed of tweets from
members of the Iranian Twittersphere explaining what the protests
meant to them, what they were fighting for and what was at stake with
the hashtag #برای
[[link removed]*NK-R] (for
the sake of)_. _They describe a litany of grievances, grief and rage
over a range of issues, beginning with the demand for women’s rights
that first galvanized the protests but also encompassing poverty,
environmental disaster, economic mismanagement and corruption,
religious repression and countless other traumas large and small.

The original tweets appeared in the video, giving context and
resonance to the lyrics, which condensed and simplified them for the
sake of rhythm and rhyme. The name “Pirouz
[[link removed]]”
refers to a plucky Asiatic cheetah cub, one of a critically endangered
handful left in the country, who was born in captivity and captured
the nation’s heart earlier in the year. The phrase “the image of a
return to this moment” refers to a heartbreaking snapshot
[[link removed]] of
a sweet, ordinary moment between a father and daughter, easily
recognizable to Iranian netizens as Hamed and Reera Esmaeilion.
Nine-year-old Reera died with her mother and 174 other passengers and
crew when Ukraine International Airlines flight 752 was shot down by
the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps on January 8, 2020.

Overnight, the video went viral. It was viewed 40 million times within
48 hours. It has been hailed as a masterpiece of protest art. In the
words of poet and scholar Fatemeh Shams, who teaches Persian
literature at the University of Pennsylvania, “We all cried with
this song multiple times since it’s been released. What a genius
idea, what a melody, what a voice. It comes right out of the heart of
this revolution. It shakes the idea of how poetry is and should be
written during revolutions.” Within days of the video’s release,
BBC Persian reported
[[link removed]] that
Shervin Hajipour had been arrested, and the original post was taken
down. But like the Persian protest songs of the past, albeit in
digital form, the video continues to circulate and resonate. It can be
heard playing in cars and in the background of the latest videos
[[link removed]] of
protests and attacks by security forces. New artists are recording
their own versions of the song to keep it and the revolutionary moment
alive.

– Zuzanna Olszewska

FOR THE SAKE OF…

For the sake of dancing in the alleys
Because of the fear you feel while kissing
For my sister – your sister – our sisters
To change the minds that have rotted away
Because of shame, because of being broke
Because of longing for a normal life
For the garbage-picking kid and his dreams
Because of this command economy
Because of this polluted air
For Valiasr Street and its worn-out trees
For Pirouz and his probable extinction
For innocent, forbidden dogs
Because of tears that never stop
For the image of a return to this moment
For the sake of a laughing face
For schoolkids, for the future
Because of this mandatory paradise
For imprisoned intellectuals
For Afghan children
Because of all of these becauses, no two the same
Because of all these empty slogans
Because of collapsing homes built on the cheap
For a feeling of peace
For the sun after long nights
Because of meds for depression and insomnia
For men, homeland, prosperity
For the girl that wished she was a boy
For women, life, freedom
For freedom
For freedom
For freedom

براى…

برای توی کوچه رقصیدن
برای ترسیدن به وقت بوسیدن
برای خواهرم خواهرت خواهرامون
برای تغییر مغزها که پوسیدن
برای شرمندگی برای بی پولی
برای حسرت یک زندگی معمولی
برای کودک زباله گرد و آرزوهاش
برای این اقتصاد دستوری
برای این هوای آلوده
برای ولیعصر و درختای فرسوده
برای پیروز و احتمال انقراضش
برای سگ های بی گناه ممنوعه
برای گریه های بی وقفه
برای تصویر تکرار این لحظه
برای چهره ای که میخنده
برای دانش آموزان برای آینده
برای این بهشت اجباری
برای نخبه های زندانی
برای کودکان افغانی
برای این همه “برای” غیر تکراری
برای این همه شعارهای تو خالی
برای آوار خونه های پوشالی
برای احساس آرامش
برای خورشید پس از شبای طولانی
برای قرصای اعصاب و بی خوابی
برای مرد میهن آبادی
برای دختری که آرزو داشت پسر بود
برای زن زندگی آزادی
برای آزادی
برای آزادی
برای آزادی

-Lyrics by Shervin Hajipour, translated by Zuzanna Olszewska

Zuzanna Olszewska [[link removed]] "An
Anthem from the Iranian Protests," _Middle East Report
Online_, October 04, 2022.

[For 50 years, MERIP has published critical analysis of Middle Eastern
politics, history, and social justice not available in other
publications. Our articles have debunked pernicious myths, exposed the
human costs of war and conflict, and highlighted the suppression of
basic human rights. After many years behind a paywall, our content is
now open-access and free to anyone, anywhere in the world. Your
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* Iran
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* Women
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* Jina Amini
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* Mahsa Amini
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* protest music
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* Shervin Hajipour
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