Of Algerian Berber heritage and currently based in France, Souad Massi weaves together a variety of influences (and languages!) in her music. “Raoui” is the title track of her debut solo album from 2001, perhaps hinting at her own aspiration as a songwriter to be a “storyteller.”
| Oh storyteller, tell me a story | يا راوي حكي حكاية |
| I want it to be a tale | مادا بيك تكون رواية |
| Tell me about the people of the past | حكي لي على ناس الزمان |
| Tell me about One Thousand and One Nights | حكي لي على ألف ليلة وليلة |
| And about Lounja, daughter of the ogress [1] | وعلى لونجة بنت الغولة |
| And about the Sultan’s son | وعلى ولد السلطان |
| Once upon a time [2] | حاجيتك ماجيتك |
| Take us far away from this world | دنا بعيد من هادي دنيا |
| Once upon a time | حاجيتك ماجيتك |
| We all carry stories in our hearts | كل واحد منا في قلبه حكاية |
| We all carry stories in our hearts | كل واحد منا في قلبه حكاية |
| Tell us a story, and forget that we’re adults | حكي وانسى بلي احنا كبار |
| Think of us as children | في بالك رانا صغار |
| Who would believe any story | ونمنو كل الحكايات |
| Tell us about heaven, tell us about hell | حكي لنا على الجنة حكي لنا على النار |
| About the bird that never learned to fly | على طير اللي عمره ما طار |
| Help us understand the meaning of life | فهمنا معنى الدنيا |
| Once upon a time | حاجيتك ماجيتك |
| Take us far away from this world | دنا بعيد من هادي دنيا |
| Once upon a time | حاجيتك ماجيتك |
| We all carry stories in our hearts | كل واحد منا في قلبه حكاية |
| We all carry stories in our hearts | كل واحد منا في قلبه حكاية |
| Oh storyteller, tell it just as they told it to you | حكي يا راوي حكي كما حكوا لك |
| Don’t add anything, don’t leave anything out | ما تزيد ما نقص من عندك |
| We can see what’s in your mind | كاين نشفوا على بالك |
| Tell us a story to make us forget the present | حكي لنسينا في هاد زمان |
| Keep us in once upon a time | خلينا في كان يا ما كان، في كان يا ما كان |
| Once upon a time | حاجيتك ماجيتك |
| Take us far away from this world | دنا بعيد من هادي دنيا |
| Once upon a time | حاجيتك ماجيتك |
| We all carry stories in our hearts | كل واحد منا في قلبه حكاية |
| We all carry stories in our hearts | كل واحد منا في قلبه حكاية |
[1] Lounja is the heroine of a North African folktale that is similar in its main features to the European story of Rapunzel.
[2] The phrase حاجيتك ماجيتك is used in Algerian Arabic to introduce a story, the same way that “once upon a time” is used in English. It is basically equivalent to the expression كان يا ما كان, which is used across the Arab world and also appears in this song.