At school, my mate Rob and I would hilariously break into this tune, any excuse, any given moment.
If you don't know the bit from Police Academy, it's okay, I won't explain it here.
And because it was 100 years ago, it was impossible to get a recording of it anywhere.
Now it's one of the tunes I've spent way to long tracking down where it's come from
(the others include Go West, and Take On Me) - they've got surprising versions behind them.
So here's my little shrine to "El Bimbo".
First, feast your eyes on this! Bimbo Jet from 1974
But in the movie credits, the tune is "Written by Claude Ganem and Performed by Jean-Marc Dompierre and his Orchestra"
I can't find any Jean-Marc Dompierre videos, so here's Paul Mauriat — El Bimbo
And here it is in German - Marion Rung - El Bimbo (Hitparade 1975)
But all of this might be a little unfair -- there's controversy online over whether this guy wrote the thing - the Afghan performer Ahmad Zahir. (It all depends if you believe the date of his album "Lylee" is 1971 or 1977...) Either way...
Tanha Shodam Tanha
Sing along now!
Tanha shodam tanha
Asooda az ghawgha shodam
Az bas ke khordam khoon-e dil
Chun ghoncha az ham shodam
Baaz ast dar-haye qafaz – ay morgh-e dil parwaz kon – gulha ke een gulzar raa
Man aashiq tanhayee am – khod mahram-e raaz-e khodam – ba naghma pardazan bego
Translation:
I'm left alone, alone
(literally: I became alone, alone)
I'm left relieved of any chaos
(literally: I got/became relieved from all this riot)
So much i took this pain that
(literally: so much I drank my heart's blood that
(it's a kind of a proverb in middle east speakers for expressing being in pain or bearing the pain like: khon-e dil/khon-e jigar))
I started to develop like a flower bud
(literally: I blossomed like a newborn flower (a red flower from the blood been drunk))
The cage is open, Fly O bird of my heart
(imagination)(literally: the cage doors are open--o bird of my heart fly (imagination))
There are lots of flowers in this flower field (rose garden)
but I'm in love with my privacy
(literally: the flower field is full of flower - I love the privacy)
I'm confidant to my own secrets, Go tell musicians
(literally: myself am confidant to my own secrets, discuss with musicians or tell the musicians)
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