Ruba Al Jammal

Esa'al Rohak (Ask Your Soul)

• Esa'al Rohak (Ask Your Soul)

• Sa'edni Ansa (Help Me To Forget)
• Awedt E'eni (My Eye Used To See You)

Artist Origin

More Info

A recording of songs, including Esa'al Rohak (Ask Your Soul), performed by Syrian singer Ruba Al Jammal. Ruba Al Jammal (born Zovinaz Khachador Qarabetyan, 1956–2005) was a Syrian-Armenian soprano whose career moved between Western opera and Arabic tarab. Trained in Amman by Russian teachers in piano and opera, she later moved to Paris in the early 1980s, where she briefly pursued medicine while performing in hotels and eventually on the opera stage. Her remarkable voice won her recognition in Europe, including a prize at a Maria Callas tribute concert, before she shifted her focus back to Arabic song. Through the 1990s, Al Jammal became known for her rare ability to blend operatic technique with the emotional depth of Umm Kulthum and Asmahan. Her 1995 debut at the Cairo Opera House marked a career highlight, earning prolonged ovations and critical praise. Though her life was marked by personal hardship, health struggles, and a short recording legacy of two albums, her voice remains celebrated for its strength, improvisational daring, and the unique space it carved between East and West.

Lyrics

Esa'al Rohak (Ask Your Soul) Ask your soul … ask your heart Before you ask what changed me. It was my pain in loving you that changed me After it was my hope that kept me going. Your betrayal of me … it affected me … and I changed little by little … I changed, not by choice, and I began to bury my longing for you. I grew to hate my weakness and patience with you, I chose to distance myself … and I learned to be stubborn, I even managed to endure the separation. Look at what cruelty does. I used to find in you, with my tenderness, a sea of love and a safe harbor. I used to feel like you were my world, my today, my tomorrow, and beyond. I used to see you through the eyes of my love, whether you were far or near, Closer than my smile to my lips, closer than my feelings to my heart. After all the loyalty I showed you, after all the love I gave you, After all the life I lived for you, what more could I offer you? Your betrayal of me … it affected me … And I changed little by little … I changed, not by choice, And I began to bury my longing for you, I grew to hate my weakness and patience with you, I chose to distance myself … and I learned to be stubborn, I even managed to endure the separation. Look at what cruelty does. I haven't forgotten love and its promises, nor its days and nights. But if it’s love without your betrayal, then welcome it. Your love bewildered me, and in order to forget you, I avoid every place we went together, I run from the closest people who know my story with you, And I change the subject anytime something reminds me of you. You brought me to this state with your own hands, After my soul was in your hands. I left you, and no one in my life can occupy my heart and mind in your place. I left you without even thinking if I could really leave you or not. Your betrayal affected me … and I changed little by little … I changed, not by choice, And I began to bury my longing for you, I grew to hate my weakness and patience with you, I chose to distance myself … and I learned to be stubborn, I even managed to endure the separation. Look at what cruelty does. Ask your soul … ask your heart Before all of this, why did they change? It was my pain in loving you that changed me, But what changed you? Was it my tenderness toward you that made you hard, even toward me? Or was it my contentment that made you toy with me? Or did my forgiving spirit deceive you? My dear, it’s true, I forgive … But not when it comes to my dignity and love. And when I’m overwhelmed, I don’t know how to make amends, Even though I often hurt my own heart. Your betrayal of me … it affected me … And I changed little by little … I changed, not by choice, And I began to bury my longing for you, I grew to hate my weakness and patience with you, I chose to distance myself … and I learned to be stubborn, I even managed to endure the separation. Look at what cruelty does. And you, my dear … if you were in my place, What would you have done differently? Ask your soul.