As the tabor’s throb
Rises on the air,
My hapless heart
Runs its prisoner.

A hidden voice
From the beating drum
Cries, ‘O weary soul,
Here the road is: come!’

Tanbôûr chô tan tanan bar-Ârad be-navâ,
Zanjîr dar-ân shavad del-è bî-sar-ô pâ.

Zîrâ ke nahân dar zeh-ash Âvaz-è kasî-st,
Mîghûyad ke-y khasteh-è hamrâh bîyâ.

Vocabulary

Tanbôûr = (a guitar or harp like instrument) is the oldest and most genuine Iranian musical instrument and nowadays nearly half ofthe people around the world are acquainted with this ancient Iranian instrument and are using it in different parts of the worldunder different names.
chô = As, since
“tan tanan” = Tune, melody
bar-Ârad = here means to make …
be-navâ = to play
“Zanjîr dar-ân” = [Zanjîr = chain, shackle] [dar-ân = to tear, to cut] Here, Zanjîr dar-ân together means, as the Tanbôûr starts playing a melody, my heart begins to tear its chain–becomes restless.
shavad = It becomes
del = Heart
“bî-sar-ô pâ” = here means, careless, restless
Zîrâ ke = Because
nahân = Hidden
dar = In, inside
zeh-ash = cord, “ash” means it’s, together means it’s cord
Âvaz = Song, melody
kasî-st= Someone, -st = it is, kasî-st = someone’s
Mîghûyad = Says
ke-y = When, that
khasteh = Tired, weary
hamrâh = companion, here means soul
bîyâ = Come

by Eliza Tashibi