"Sidi Mansour" (in Tunisian dialect "سيدي منصور" ) is a popular folkloric song from

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. A number of versions of the song have been produced over recent decades. The song was made famous in 2000 when the Tunisian artist

Saber Rebaï Saber Rebai ( ar, صابر الرباعي, ''Saber al Ruba'i''; born 13 March 1967) is a Tunisian pan-Arab singer, actor, and composer of Yemeni Origin. He is known for his song " Sidi Mansour". Some albums carry the variant transliteration Sab ...

(in Tunisian صابر الرباعي) released his version. Since then, "Sidi Mansour" has been subject to many covers in Arabic and many other languages. In 2021, Enisa Nikaj a Brooklyn born American singer of Albanian descent released the song Count My Blessings which was completely inspired from Tunisian Song Sidi Mansour.

Boney M. Boney M. was a German-Caribbean vocal group that specialized in disco and funk created by German record producer Frank Farian, who was the group's primary songwriter. Originally based in West Germany, the four original members of the group's o ...

's "

Ma Baker "Ma Baker" is a song by disco group Boney M., released as a single in 1977. It was the first single off their second album '' Love for Sale'' and their third consecutive chart-topper in Germany. The song was a huge success in Europe and Lati ...

" was inspired by the original Tunisian folk song. Rebaï's "Sidi Mansour" song should not however be confused with "Sidi Mansour" by Algerian

raï Raï (, ; ar, راي, Latn, ar, rāʾy, ), sometimes written rai, is a form of Algerian traditional music, folk music that dates back to the 1920s. Singers of Raï are called ''cheb'' (Arabic: شاب) (or ''shabab,'' i.e. young) as opposed ...

artist

Cheikha Rimitti Cheikha Rimitti ( ar, شيخة ريميتي) (born سعدية الغيزانية Saadia El Ghizania, 8 May 1923 – 15 May 2006) was an Algerian raï female singer. Early life Cheikha Rimitti was born in Tessala, a small village in western ...

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Her rendition is another "Sidi Mansour" not related to the Rebaï song.

History

Numerous variants of the song exist with similar lyrics dating back hundreds of years. The song is dedicated to the

Sufi saint Sufism ( ar, ''aṣ-ṣūfiyya''), also known as Tasawwuf ( ''at-taṣawwuf''), is a mystic body of religious practice, found mainly within Sunni Islam but also within Shia Islam, which is characterized by a focus on Islamic spirituality, r ...

Sidi Mansour Abou Daliah, who lived and died in Tunisia in the 15th century.Hayet El Mejri, De l'éducation traditionnelle à l'éducation primaire dans la médina de Tunis à l'époque ottomane, Tunis, Laboratoire d'études maghrébines, 2015, 284 p. (), p. 49-50

Versions prior to Saber Rebaï

The song was recorded by Mohammed Jarrari (in Arabic محمّد الجراري) in his audio cassette ''Folklore tunisien'' (in Arabic فولكلور تونسي ) as "Sidi Mansour Baba Bahri" (in Arabic سيدي منصور بابا بحري). A version was recorded in 1975 by Mohamed Hanesh (in Arabic محمد الحنش).

Saber Rebaï version

The song was made famous by

when he recorded it in his same titled album '' Sidi Mansour'' released in 2000. The music is a popular tune from Tunisian traditional folklore and the lyrics were written by Sameh al Ajami. The record was produced by Hamid al Sha'iri and the very popular music video is directed by Fadi Kenaan. The song is also known as "Allah Allah, ya baba", "Sidi Mansour (ya baba)", expressions used many times in the lyrics.

Other versions and samplings

The song has been subject to a huge number of interpretations by Arab and international artists and remixes by many DJs in original Arabic version and in other languages. Most notably, it became the basis for the

hit "

" in 1977 largely based on the 1975 hit by Mohamed Hanesh. Parts of the song have also been sampled many times in other released songs in Arabic and other languages. *Arabic versions were done by Bled Runner featuring Dida Brother (in album ''The Rough Guide To Arabesque''), by Cheb Rayan featuring Rima and a mix by Malik Adouane *Instrumental versions were done by

Omar Khorshid Omar Khorshid ( ar, عمر خورشيد; April 9, 1945 – May 29, 1981) was an Egyptian guitarist, musician, composer, accompanist and actor. Born in Cairo, he was a well-known guitarist who accompanied many singers, including Farid Al Atrash, ...

*A version of the song were done by Norwegian group

Karpe Karpe (known as Karpe Diem in the period 2000–2018) is a rap group from Oslo, Norway made up of audiovisual artists Magdi Omar Ytreeide Abdelmaguid (b. 1984) and Chirag Rashmikant Patel (b. 1984). Biography Magdi Omar Ytreeide Abdelmaguid ...

with their song PAF.no *Hakim also recorded a version of this song mixing flamenco elements with Spanish and Arabic lyrics. *

Robert Plant Robert Anthony Plant (born 20 August 1948) is an English singer and songwriter, best known as the lead singer and lyricist of the English rock band Led Zeppelin for all of its existence from 1968 until 1980, when the band broke up following the ...

performed "Sidi Mansour" with Juldeh Camara performed at

World of Music, Arts and Dance WOMAD ( ; World of Music, Arts and Dance) is an international arts festival. The central aim of WOMAD is to celebrate the world's many forms of music, arts and dance. History WOMAD was founded in 1980 by English rock musician Peter Gabriel, w ...

(WOMAD) in

Abu Dhabi Abu Dhabi (, ; ar, أَبُو ظَبْيٍ ' ) is the capital and second-most populous city (after Dubai) of the United Arab Emirates. It is also the capital of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi and the centre of the Abu Dhabi Metropolitan Area. ...

. *"Se Pira Sovara", is a version recorded in Greek and Arabic in 2004 by

Sarbel Sarbel Michael Maronitis ( el, Σαρμπέλ Μιχαήλ Μαρωνίτης; ar, شربل; born 14 May 1981) known professionally as Sarbel, is a British-Cypriot pop singer. His singles include "Se Pira Sovara" Greek: 'I've just taken you ...

and was a big hit for him in Greece. *"Mariš li" (in Serbian Мариш ли) is a

Serbian language Serbian (, ) is the standardized variety of the Serbo-Croatian language mainly used by Serbs. It is the official and national language of Serbia, one of the three official languages of Bosnia and Herzegovina and co-official in Montenegro and Kos ...

song sung by

Viki Miljković Violeta "Viki" Miljković ( sr-cyr, Виолета "Вики" Миљковић; born 18 December 1974) is a Serbian singer and television personality. Born in Niš, she started her recording career in the early nineties and has released ten albums ...

using the music of "Sidi Mansour" taken from her 2003 album of same name. *"Mavişim" is a Turkish song sung by

İbrahim Tatlıses İbrahim Tatlıses (born İbrahim Tatlı in 1952) is a Turkish folk singer and former actor. Since the 1970s he has been one of the best-known and most successful singers of the pop '' Arabesk'' style. Tatlıses has recorded 42 albums, including ...

using the music of "Sidi Mansour". It is found on his album ''Yetmez mi''. *"Za Yam Maghror Laila" with the music of Sidi Mansour is a Pakistani song sung by various artists in Urdu / Pashto. *

Mario Più Mario Più (born Mario Piperno on August 26, 1965, in Livorno, Italy) is an Italian professional disc jockey. His 1999 single, "Communication", also known as "The Communication Song", is notable for being mainly constructed from the interferenc ...

Mauro Picotto Mauro Picotto (born December 25, 1966) is an Italian electronic music producer and DJ, and previously a member of the Italian Euro house group "R.A.F.". He became well known as a solo artist with songs including "Komodo (Save a Soul)", "Pulsa ...

released the song "Arabian Pleasures" in 1999 which uses the melody of "Sidi Mansour". A vocal version was later contributed by Egyptian/Algerian singer Amal Wahby. *"Allah Allah Ne Zaman" is a Turkish song sung by Güzin and Baha using the music of "Sidi Mansour". *"Shpirti im" is an Albanian song sung by Ervis Bix using the music of "Sidi Mansour". * “PAF.no”, a song by the Norwegian rap duo

, has a chorus containing parts of the song. ''Se Pira Sovara'' (

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

: Σε πήρα σοβαρά, meaning "I took you seriously") is a 2004

bilingual Multilingualism is the use of more than one language, either by an individual speaker or by a group of speakers. It is believed that multilingual speakers outnumber monolingual speakers in the world's population. More than half of all E ...

song in Greek and Arabic by the Greek-

Cypriot Cypriot (in older sources often "Cypriote") refers to someone or something of, from, or related to the country of Cyprus. * Cypriot people, or of Cypriot descent; this includes: **Armenian Cypriots **Greek Cypriots **Maronite Cypriots **Turkish C ...

and Lebanese origin artist

based on Tunisian singer Saber Rebaï's Arabic song ''Sidi Mansour'' and became highly successful in Greece and Cyprus. The song is the debut single by Sarbel taken from his debut album ''

Parakseno sinesthima ''Parakseno Sinesthima'' (in Greek Παράξενο συναίσθημα meaning Strange feeling) is the 2005 debut album of Greek singer of Cypriot/Lebanese origin Sarbel released in Greek language and released on Sony BMG label. The album was c ...

'' (Παράξενο συναίσθημα). The song features Greek songstress

Irini Merkouri Irini Merkouri ( gr, Ειρήνη Μερκούρη, ; born in Ilion, Athens, on May 26, 1981) is a Greek pop and laïka singer of Romani origin. Career Early life Merkouri was born and raised in Ilion, Athens to Hellenized-Romani parents. She ...

, who first introduced the young singer Sarbel to fans in Greece, but also across the Middle East.Music Corner Greece: ΣΑΡΜΠΕΛ, "Παράξενο συναίσθημα"
/ref> The song was also shot as a music video. The album also contains a remixed version entitled "Se pira sovara (Diva) (Sidi Mansour) - Sfera mix" by Nikos Nikolakopoulos.

Charts

''Ya Baba'' is a 2016

song in English and Arabic by the Pakistani British artist

Zack Knight Zack Knight (born 22 November 1991) is a British-Pakistani singer-songwriter. Formerly known by the stage name, Zeekay (before 2011), Knight is well-known for hit songs including Bom Diggy, Galtiyan, Nakhre and Enemy, the former appearing on a ...

featuring Rami Beatz. It is largely based on Tunisian singer Saber Rebaï's Arabic song "Sidi Mansour" with large samplings from the song. Zack Knight wrote the additional lyrics. It was produced by Rami Beatz and Dot Da Genius and copyrighted to Quantize Music LLC. The song was highly successful in UK's Official Asian Download Chart Top 40 published by

The Official Charts The Official Charts (legal name: The Official UK Charts Company Limited) is a British inter-professional organization that compiles various "official" record charts in the United Kingdom, Ireland and France. In the United Kingdom, its charts inc ...

reaching number 2. It stayed 13 weeks on that chart. The song also received heavy airplay in South Asian venues as well as radio stations throughout the Middle East. An Arab-themed music video was also released.

References

{{Reflist 2000 singles Arabic-language songs 2004 singles Year of song unknown