A Satirical Song in Judeo-Arabic Describing the Events of the First World War

J.S.

1914–1918

Hadj Guillaume

Fare well, O fathers! Implore Allah that He have mercy upon us.
Look, see! How are we going to make it? Hadj Guillaume is tormented [lit., his blood is burning].
O, alas! How this year has brought down darkness upon Guillaume.
He left in great thought, he did not want to leave us.
From Tunisia we were lifted up, and in Belgium we were settled down.
Old and young led us, O my God, have mercy upon us.
We sit in the trench, listening to the noise of the swamps.
Our heart is confused. And the day is getting longer for us.
We sit in the trench, while the Soviets surround us.
We fear relaxing our eyes; the enemy will attack us!
Today is a profane day, as we are riding [in] a boat.
On the return it breaks down and is replaced. We are dumped into the Dardanelles.
O Mother, why are you crying? Your tears stream down your cheek.
My heart confuses me much. God wanted it this way for us.
What has the might of Germany done to us? They made us guard in the mountain,
The men perish like flies. How disaster has befallen us!
I sent her a letter and I informed her. But about my pain, I did not tell her.
I left her in good faith; take care she [doesn’t] become terrified about us.
You tell her predictions: I dreamt of me sleeping under the cold.
Its face changes colors; all the night dreams of us.
They dressed us up in green uniforms; we passed through their hands; shaving throat after throat.
The Germans and Turks, O God, are upon us!
O Mother! The homesickness is strong. They place us to guard the road.
Love comes from all directions. I beseech the Lord to have mercy on us.
Germany considers itself strong. Yet with a 751 we hit it.
Its situation became hard; we crushed it entirely.
O my mother, do not worry. With the strength of my God I go and return.
With my photo you remove the nostalgia; This way God wanted it for us.
O my God, I am still young, I am going to join as a volunteer. I hold the Rifle and begin; to shoot against the Germans!
O my God, where are these forces from. The watch has screwed us up.
The general says to us: “Now!” O my God, look upon us.
I have four brothers. One went to the war; the other died.
The third spends the night in the trench. The fourth has vanished from us.
My Mother, hugging and saying to me, “God willing.” Today here, tomorrow away.
I am holding the Rifle for the first time. The general commands us.
I go outside; you tell me to sit. She tires from kissing and holds tight.
From the worrying her heart became ill; she tired from thinking of me.[?]
O my son, you go and leave me. Give me your address.
Each month, write me [lit., send me (a letter)] and inform me. I get joy and my heart gives me patience.
We are sitting at the mountain; we confront the Germans.
We smote them with an airplane. We killed them utterly.
I am thinking the entire night; poisoned am I by disaster.
All the road is blood. O Guillaume, you must regret.
Germany said to Austria, We seek to quarrel with France.
in order to take Paris like in the year seventy.
O Guillaume, it did not enter your head. Paris is not yours!
[If] you lose your men and your wealth, in Berlin you are done.
O Guillaume it did not enter your head. Berlin you were broken apart
Remove your power and mind. Joffre the powerful has taken you.2
The Germans enter Paris.
Joffre the powerful met him.
O Germans keep trembling! What you do, doesn’t bring anything.

Translated by
Neal
Kreisler
.

Notes

[The French 75mm artillery gun.—Trans.]

[Joseph Joffre (1852–1931), a French general who commanded the French army 1914–1916. He is celebrated for leading the Allied forces at the First Battle of the Marne (September 9–12, 1914).—Trans.]

Credits

J. S., “Ghnait Hadj Guillaume” [A Satirical Song in Judeo-Arabic Describes the Events of the First World War] (ca. 1914–18), pp. 2–8.

Published in: The Posen Library of Jewish Culture and Civilization, vol. 7.

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Creator Bio

J.S.

Unknown

Nothing is known about the author of this satire, which is a Judeo-Arabic version of a popular and malleable song widespread among Maghrebi Jews and Muslims during World War I. The French Arabist Joseph Desparmet (b. 1863) recorded more than thirty different examples, including added stanzas as well as longer ballads of the type presented here. The titular subject of the song “Hadj Guillaume” is the German emperor Wilhelm II, who was rumored to have converted to Islam. The constantly changing lyrics of “Hadj Guillaume” offered a variety of local perspectives on world news, usually demonstrating anticolonial support for the Germans but also appearing in pro-French versions, especially among Jews (many of whom served in the French army).

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