[Intro | 8 bars | ney and oud improvisation | low bowed drone | one distant male vocalization | no drums] Ah, ya lay-el [Verse 1 | soothing English male lead | warm oud figure | low electronic bed | brief distant vocal accents after alternating phrases] You take the southern pass again There’s silver moving through your hair (Ah-ah) You stop where evening held us once You turn as if I spoke your name (Ya lay-el) [Pre-Chorus | frame drum enters softly | bowed strings rise | distant countervoice sustains beneath the final line] Love me without waiting here I am not the road ahead [Chorus | controlled drums and bass enter | violin counterline | English lead only] If you see me where the road turns Don’t make the vision home Keep the years that once were ours Go where I cannot go [Instrumental Interlude | 8 bars | ney phrase passes to oud and violin | darbuka and riq circle the low pulse] [Second Voice Passage | solo male countervoice | English lead absent | phonetic language section | elongated melodic ornament] A-hib-bee-nee, la-kin la tan-ta-zi-ree La taj-a-lee at-tay-fa la-kee wa-ta-nan Ih-mi-lee ay-yaa-ma-na fee qal-bi-kee Wam-dee ee-la hay-thu lan a-sil [Verse 2 | English lead returns | continuous warm groove | qanun accents | brief distant vocal accents after alternating phrases] You still leave silence in my place And lower your voice when joy begins (Ooh-ah) There is more life beyond this ridge What we were needs no proof (Ya eye-en) [Instrumental Break | 8 bars | lead vocals absent | oud and violin improvisation | percussion loosens | low wordless countervoice] [Bridge | drums withdraw | solitary oud | low drone | English lead nearly spoken | no countervoice] If I could cross, I would be there I would take this waiting from you But I belong beyond your reach And you still belong to life [Held note on “life”] [Brief silence] [Final Chorus | full rhythm returns | strings and qanun widen | English lead only | sustained rather than belted] If you see me where the road turns Don’t make the vision home Keep the years that once were ours Go where I cannot go [Extended Refrain | English phrase repeats once | distant wordless runs | percussion gradually recedes] Go where I cannot go [Outro | English lead disappears | ney and distant male vocalization remain | long controlled decay] Ya lay-el, ya eye-en Ah, ya lay-el
