"Heer" (

Urdu Urdu (;"Urdu"
'' English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

translation: "pure") is an instrumental song by the Pakistani

sufi rock Sufi rock or Sufi folk rock is a subgenre of rock music that combines rock with classical Islamic Sufi music traditions. It emerged in the early 1990s and became widely popular in the late 1990s in Pakistan and Turkey. The term "Sufi rock" was c ...

band Junoon. The instrumental was first released on the band's self-titled debut album, '' Junoon'' released in 1991 and later in the fourth studio album, '' Azadi'' released in 1997. The instrumental is composed by the band's lead guitarist

Salman Ahmad Salman Ahmad ( ur, , born 12 December 1963) is a Pakistani born-American musician, rock guitarist, physician, activist, occasional actor and professor at the City University of New York. He earned nationwide popularity in 1998 for his un ...

. The instrumental uses blending of rock guitars and bluesy vocals with eastern elements like the use of

tabla A tabla, bn, তবলা, prs, طبلا, gu, તબલા, hi, तबला, kn, ತಬಲಾ, ml, തബല, mr, तबला, ne, तबला, or, ତବଲା, ps, طبله, pa, ਤਬਲਾ, ta, தபலா, te, తబల� ...

s, raga-inspired melodies and traditional Pakistani folk music. In concerts, the song has been frequently performed by Junoon as an intro to their song "Heeray". The

music video A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing device ...

of the instrumental single is based on the famous poem ''

Heer Ranjha ''Heer Ranjha'' (or ''Heer and Ranjha'') ( pnb, , ਹੀਰ ਰਾਂਝਾ ) is one of several popular tragic romances of Punjab, other important ones being "Sohni Mahiwal", "Mirza Sahiban" and " Sassi Punnhun". There are several poetic na ...

'' by

Waris Shah Waris Shah ( pa, ; ; 1722–1798) was a Punjabi Sufi poet of the Chishti order, known for his contribution to Punjabi literature. He is primarily known as the author of ''Heer Ranjha'' . Background Waris Shah was born in Jandiala Sher Khan ...

, it is also one of the popular tragic romances of the

Punjab Punjab (; Punjabi: پنجاب ; ਪੰਜਾਬ ; ; also romanised as ''Panjāb'' or ''Panj-Āb'') is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the northern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising a ...

. It tells the story of the love of Heer and her lover Ranjha. In addition, the instrumental song has also featured in the compilation album '' Kashmakash'', released in 1995. "Heer" was named at #4 in a list of Junoon's top 10 songs published by

Gibson Guitar Gibson Brands, Inc. (formerly Gibson Guitar Corporation) is an American manufacturer of guitars, other musical instruments, and professional audio equipment from Kalamazoo, Michigan, and now based in Nashville, Tennessee. The company was former ...

on their website.

Music video

The

of the instrumental single "Heer" by Junoon is based on one of the famous tragic romances of the

, ''

''. The video starts off with the sun rising and then a clip of a female dancer dancing in traditional sufi manner. Afterwards,

is seen playing his guitar with a tabla player in several scenes in the music video. In the middle of the video, the story of the love of Heer and her lover Ranjha begins with several scenes showing Salman Ahmad playing his lead guitar and several shots of the female dancer performing traditional sufi dance. Several scenes are shown with Heer and Ranjha secretly meeting each other but Heer's family finds it out and then Heer is shown in grieve, heartbroken. In the end, several men are seen beating Ranjha and Heer could be seen crying and asking them to stop beating Ranjha. The video ends with Heer as she attempts suicide by killing her own self with a knife after seeing her lover Ranjha brutally killed by her own family.Junoon - Heer (Music video)
Retrieved on May 6, 2011.

Track listing

Heer

Cover versions

* 2011: Shahjehan Khan (covered an instrumental version of the song on Junoon's 20th anniversary album)

Personnel

;Junoon *

Ali Azmat Ali Azmat Butt (born 20 April 1970) is a Pakistani singer-songwriter, musician and actor. He is best known as the lead singer for the influential Sufi Rock band Junoon and for his subsequent solo career. In 2001, he became part of the first ...

- lead vocals,

backing vocals A backing vocalist is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists. A backing vocalist may also sing alone as a lead-in to the main vocalist's entry or to sing a counter-melody. Backing vocalists are ...

lead guitar Lead guitar (also known as solo guitar) is a musical part for a guitar in which the guitarist plays melody lines, instrumental fill passages, guitar solos, and occasionally, some riffs and chords within a song structure. The lead is the featu ...

* Brian O'Connell -

bass guitar The bass guitar, electric bass or simply bass (), is the lowest-pitched member of the string family. It is a plucked string instrument similar in appearance and construction to an electric or an acoustic guitar, but with a longer neck and ...

;Additional musicians *Ustad Ashiq Ali Mir -

References

External links

Junoon Official Website
{{authority control 1991 singles Junoon (band) songs 1991 songs EMI Records singles Songs written by Salman Ahmad