Sayed Darwish

Sayed Darwish
Background information
Born	17 March 1892(1892-03-17)
Origin	Alexandria, Egypt
Died	15 September 1923(1923-09-15) (aged 31) Egypt
Genres	Egyptian music
Occupations	Singer, Songwriter, Record Producer, Musician
Instruments	Vocals, Oud

Sayed Darwish (Arabic: سيد درويش‎, IPA: [ˈsæjjed dæɾˈwiːʃ]; March 17, 1892 – September 15, 1923) was an Egyptian singer and composer who was considered the father of Egyptian popular music and one of their greatest musicians and their single greatest composer. He was born in Alexandria on March 17, 1892. Darwish died of a heart attack in Alexandria on September 15, 1923 (aged 31). The cause of his death is still unknown. Some say he was poisoned, others say he died from a cocaine overdose.

Compositions

Egyptian national anthem

Main article: Bilady, Bilady, Bilady

Arabic: بلادى بلادى بلادى‎

English: My country, my country, my country
Bilady, Bilady, Bilady
National anthem of Egypt
Lyrics	Mohamed Younis Al-Qady, 1878
Music	Sayed Darwish, 1923
Adopted	1923 1952 (unofficially) 1979 (officially)
Music sample
Bilady, Bilady, Bilady (Instrumental)

Sayed Darwish put music to the Egyptian national anthem, Bilady, Bilady, Bilady, the words of which were adapted from a famous speech by Mustafa Kamil.

Coincidentally, on the day of his death, the national Egyptian leader Saad Zaghloul returned from exile; the Egyptians sang Darwish's new song "Bilady, Bilady, Bilady" which was to become the national anthem in 1979.

Other compositions

Sayed Darwish has many well known songs. A selective number of compositions include:

• "El Hilwadi" -the beautiful one
• "Zouruni" - visit me
• "Shed el hezam" - Pull the belt
• "Malo'ouna" - doomed
• "Ana Haweit" - I fell in love
• "Oum Ya Masry" - Rise you Egyptian
• "Salma Ya Salama