The Land of Cedars

“Soaring telephone fees cut off Lebanon’s poor from their phones”.

“Threat of internet outages continue in Lebanon amid Ogero (the Lebanese telecommunication official body) Strike”

“Lebanese currency crashes below 35,000 (Lebanese pound) against dollar”

Keep the above in mind for a bit.

On September 12 2022, I released an acoustic/stripped down version of the song ‘The Land of Cedars’ which appeared on my latest EP Where time stood Still.

You can listen to it here.

I was asked by the people that help me release and market my music to write a blog, as usual, to talk little bit about the song. For some reason, I wanted to to start this blog with a quote about Lebanon, historically known as ‘The Land of Cedars’.

So, today, September 03 2022, I decided to write this blog. Now like any great writer :) I wanted to get my facts straight before writing anything or quoting anyone. And what would any great modern day writer do to get his/her/their facts straight? … They would refer to good ol’ Wikipedia!:)

So I opened Google, typed ‘Lebanon’ , pressed the search bottom and the first 3 ‘Top Stories’ I got (on September 03 2022 even before the Wikipedia link) are the above headlines. This is EXACTLY why I wrote the song ‘The Land of Cedars’.

I wanted to induce a little ‘light-heartidness’ before because things are going to get sad, serious and real.

I just got back from Lebanon to my home in Dubai a couple of days ago. I can’t really count the number of times I’ve travelled to and from Lebanon’s airport but, despite the ever changing circumstances, people and feelings I encounter in every travel, 2 constant emotions will never change; They will be my lifelong partners in every trip.

Number 1: the feeling of elation and excitement the moment my plane lands in the Lebanese airport. I would be in a hurry to push the people (I don’t do that of course, but in my mind I am), get to passport control, grab my luggage and get outside of the airport and smell the air that’s filled with the aroma of… guess what?… Garbage (there is a huge garbage dumpster next to the airport) but even with that I feel like I’m on top of the world. Really, there is no feeling like when you're home; where you truly belong.

Number 2: The sombreness and emptiness I feel in the departure lounge leaving Beirut.

I really love Lebanon and, for this reason, my heart aches every time I see a news headline such as the above.

The country has been plagued with corruption, war and sectarianism since the 70’s and, in the last 3 years ( after the 2019 justified ‘revolution’), the country is spiraling into a deep, dark abyss at lightning speed. Inflation, power outage, the Beirut explosion, unavailability of medicine, unavailability of bread, threats of war, corruption, poverty….. and the list goes on and on and on… and nothing is being resolved. Most of our politicians, who are the main reason behind this total collapse, are still in power and still continuing to drain the life out of the people.

‘The land of Cedars’ chronicles the life of any Lebanese person not born with a silver spoon in his/her/their mouth. It is about any Lebanese person who just wants to live a normal honest life; go to school; get an education; build a circle of friends; work; make some money; start a family; live a normal comfortable life in peace; dream a little; smile; grow old and die peacefully.

These are not ambitious goals. These are not impossible dreams. These are very down to earth and regular aspirations for any person who breathes in this world. This is the basic right to life. Sadly, for the Lebanese person, these are unattainable goals. The right to live is so out of reach that they would rather risk their lives and the lives of their children to be smuggled out of this hell hole and, in the end, die at sea (read more about the boat that sank on the shores of Tripoli in April 2022).

Lastly, I am constantly asked by people that are familiar with my music why many of my songs, including this one, are sad. My answer to this question is this; we need to showcase the negative and highlight it in order to deal with it, each in his/her/their way. We can not just keep on pushing the problem “under the rug” so to speak.

Doctors need to find cures; economists need to find solutions for monetary crises. True uncorrupt leaders need to overthrow the corrupt politicians… And artists and musicians need to talk about and write songs about the negative stuff as well. Nothing reaches the soul better than a good song . Nothing triggers the emotions better than a good song. I’m not saying that my song is one of them, but if a song is good enough it will drive people to move mountains, fall in love, work hard, go to the gym, face their fears, end wars, connect people… And inspire people to get off their lazy butts and drive change. Just look at ‘Winds of Change’ by ‘the Scorpions’.

In the case of ‘The land of Cedars’, if it’s deemed worthy by the public of being a good song that will drive change, I want it to be an eye-opener for the Lebanese people to not have this hollow and ominous life of the protagonist in the song and meet his dreadful end. I want them to be driven by the song to give their life all that they have and live it to the fullest and die with a smile on their face. Life is worth it, isn’t it?

As I mentioned, I wanted to start this blog with a famous quote about Lebanon. Unfortunately, I started it with today’s gloomy news headlines. I really hope that the next time I write about Lebanon, I can use something more beautiful, more poetic and more descriptive of the love I feel for this place; The land of Cedars.

Stream the song here.