Inflation (1987)
[Hurriedly composed on the eve of a 1987 concert,
lyrics of "Shou hal Ghala?" were sparse and were
elaborated on years later (in this studio version around 2008).
The song was sparked by Munir's shock at the rise in price
of even the most basic items on grocery store shelves.
The prototype version included the lines:
"By God, brothers, we're afraid to go to the grocery store !
A packet of Marlboroughs costs 150 Lebanese pounds, who needs it ?
Today petrol is 1600 Lebanese pounds per gallon (A gallon in Lebanon is 20 litres)
And when you see the queue at the gas station extending about 10 kilometers,
God, it can make a grown man cry."
This refered to the petrol crisis and cars lining up for hours,
sometimes days for a share, during the civil war.
Listening to it now, a couple of years into Lebanon's historic downward spiral,
the prices are nothing except laughable.]
By God, brothers, we're afraid to go to the grocery store.
A bucket of Persil costs 20,000 Lebanese pounds, who needs it ? (1)
Today, Nido is 24,500 Lebanese pounds per can, (2)
And when you see how the kids gulp up that milk,
God, it can make a grown man cry.
What is this inflation ?
My, how stingy the world is.
What is this inflation ?
My, how stingy the world is.
They tell you to consume less red meat and eat fish instead.
Well, a small Rock Carp costs around 100,000 pounds,
and that's with the bones !
And anyway, red meat has been looking green lately.
What red meat, what bullshit ? (3)
Here I am sitting sideways and talking straight. (4)
What is this inflation ?
My, how stingy the world is.
What is this inflation ?
Damn this joke, it isn't funny.
Now a guy just can't send his wife to the supermarket all by herself.
Gosh, woman, what have you bought ? Mango ? How much apiece ?
May God not reward you.
You've brought shrimp ? What brings us to shrimp ?
What have we got to do with shrimp ?
And stop buying Extra Special roasted nuts. (5)
Buy melon seeds, buy dried chick peas;
forget cashews, macadamias and Brazil nuts.
Do I look King Farouq, or Haroun el Rasheed ? (6)
That's it. We are broke.
Down to the last nickel.
We're down to the "metal". (7)
You don't feel the "metal" ?
You mean to tell me that you don't feel the "metal" ?
(1) "Persil" is a washing detergent so renowned it can
mean any detergent.
(2) Ditto for "Nido", milk powder that comes in tin gallons.
(3) "What red meat, what oak" is the original expression as sung,
oak standing for bullshit.
(4) Local expression.
(5) Roasted nuts are a staple in Lebanese snacking, and
Extra Special include all the expensive nuts.
(6) Historical figures who had money to spare, obviously.
(7) Expression stems from garage talk, where a mechanic
would use it for overused brakes, their rubber gone,
metal grating on metal.