A little while ago I noticed a trend in Lebanese music most prominent in the 60s-70s but still present today. There's a tendency to talk to the forces of nature -- the moon, the wind, the birds, the night -- as old friends. Songs ask simple favors of the natural world, for a bird to deliver a message, for the wind to carry news, for the moon to hang out, the kind of favors you might ask a bestie.
There's something about that that brings me to tears. Nature isn't something to be conquered or something to be feared, it's just a friend like so many of our other friends, just bigger and older. Something about that gentleness, that casualness, that obviousness makes my heart sing and takes me back to evenings in the village.
The most on-the-nose example of this is Fairuz's We and the Moon Are Neighbors, first recorded in 1963. It describes the moon as an old friend who hangs out with us at night and listens to our music. Incredibly there's a 1973 rerecording with an introduction that acknowledges the moon landing that happened since the song was made, and rejects the fact that the moon is just "dirt and rocks" that you can walk on, insisting that "he remains the lantern of late nights \ And the companion of long walks".
I compiled a non-exhaustive list of other songs that do this with some translations and links below.
Introduction
We and the moon are neighbors. From the year this song came out to today, the moon has changed. They went up to him, They walked on him, He became dirt and rocks. But to us, he remains the lantern of late nights And the companion of long walks. Since we’re all here together, we’ll open the windows to the past, And share with you some songs you know. Can you remember who you were with when you first heard it? Many of us have changed lovers, exchanged friends, And O the fortune of those whose loved ones have remained since then. Upon hearing the moment will return along with all the memories.
Song
We and the moon are neighbors. His house is behind our hills. He comes by to visit, And listen to our music.
We and the moon are neighbors. He knows our dates, And he sprinkles on our brick roofs, A coral-like sparkle.
O the many times we’ve stayed up with him On nights full of joys and sighs. And O the many times at his rising, We explained love and the enchantment of storytelling
We and the moon are neighbors. When he came to visit, He sprinkles on the arches of our homes, A coral-like sparkle.
Are you from our home, O breeze passing through the night? Carrying the scent of our land, which blooms longing in our hearts? Are you from our fields, O messenger? From our blessed quarters? How is our home, can you say? Or have you been driven out, as we have?
O stranger far from home, O southern breeze.
You are from our country, O breeze O scent crossing the distance. Wandering, carrying the worries of the land, Whose people have been scattered around the world.
O Birds! Gather around to listen! O Poplar! Bend towards the water! ... O Moons! Descend to the earth! O Night! Darken the world!
And may our country remain surrounded by doves And may these mountains be laughed at by a purple cloud And when the wind blows on the buildings May the wind come and go at their door
And may our country remain laughing And may the night and I keep walking together quietly He [the night] tells me I will make the world dark for you so that you can arrive to them without being seen
O, Sun, [hurry up and] set, I have songs [to sing] about you.
O partridge of Sannin, up high O partridge of Sannin, in the mountains Tell my loved ones about me Tell my loved ones, O partridge
O partridge on the water, while you’re on your way Visit that neighborhood, on your way And bring me back a lock of hair on your wings For this poor shepherd, O partridge
O partridge descend to the fields And race the horses as you fly And if I am still on my lover’s mind Tell him I have become a shadow, O partridge
Their house is on the overlook, over the ridge Pouring into the world, their door is wide And I want to leave, I am returning to them And you can stay here alone, O partridge