کی باشد و کی
Kay Bashad O Kay
“When Will It Be, O When”
Lyrics
Lyrics updated · July 2026English Translation
When will it be — and when? A harp and a flute I and she — she and wine When will it be — and when?
A night when moonlight shines on the garden Pure wine — and alone, only she and I She and I hand in neck till dawn Everywhere the murmur of water and lily flowers
That night I will kiss her cheek and shoulders and lips Sometimes her face, sometimes her hair, sometimes her ear
Transliteration
Kay bashad o kay? Chang bashad o nay Man basham o way Way bashad o may Kay bashad o kay? Kay bashad o kay?
Shabe bashad ke noore mahtab bashad ba golshan Maynaab bashad o tanha faqad ou bashad o man Man ou dast ba gardan ta sahargah Ba har soo sharshare aab bashad o gulhaye sosan
Dar aan shab man bar o dosh o labe noshash bebosam Gahe roy o gahe moy o banagoshash bebosam Cho chashmash hamra-am sad raz goyad Gahe chashem o gahe labhaye khamoshash bebosam
متن اصلی
کی باشد و کی؟ چنگ باشد و نی من باشم و وی وی باشد و می کی باشد و کی؟ کی باشد و کی؟
شبی باشد که نور ماهتاب باشد به گلشن می ناب باشد و تنها فقط او باشد و من من و او دست به گردن تا سحرگاه به هر سو شرشر آب باشد و گلها سوسن
در آن شب من بر و دوش و لب نوشش ببوسم گهي روی و گهی موی و بناگوشش ببوسم چو چشمش همره ام صد راز گويد گهی چشم و گهی لبهای خاموشش ببوسم
When will it be — and when? A harp, a flute, she and I, wine; a night of moonlight on the garden, pure wine, she and I hand in neck till dawn — the deferred intimate night, precisely imagined.
About This Recording
Kay Bashad O Kay — When Will It Be — is a rare moment of anticipatory pleasure in Zahir's catalog. Most of his songs dwell in the aftermath of desire denied; this one lives in the detailed anticipation of a night that has not yet happened. The question 'when will it be?' frames each stanza as a conditional: the imagined scene is described with precision, but the 'when' remains unanswered.
The scene is set with care: harp, flute, wine, the garden under moonlight. These are the furnishings of the classical Persian gathering (mahfil or bazm) — a private assembly of music and intimacy. 'Pure wine' (mey-e nab) is uncut wine, the best available. 'She and I hand in neck till dawn' — neck in each other's arms through the entire night — is specific in the way that genuine longing is specific: it is not 'we will be together' but this exact posture, lasting until this exact time.
The final stanza descends further into the tactile: cheek, shoulders, lips, face, hair, ear. The list is not erotic escalation so much as an inventory of attention — each part of the beloved's body deserving its own moment. The 'when' of the title is still unanswered at the end; the imagination of the night is apparently complete without requiring the night to have arrived. Sometimes the vision is sufficient.
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