By Shereen Masoud-Jointe, Senior Account Executive (Europe)
As I’m sure you’ve come to expect (and hopefully enjoy), this week’s HA Jamz lineup is as multicultural as it is eclectic:
133. Eight — IU, Suga
134. 風雲變色 (The Sky has Changed) — 5566, K One
135. The Phoenix — Fall Out Boy
136. Come Fly With Me — Michael Bublé
137. Heart of Glass — Miley Cyrus
138. Chicken Attack — The Gregory Brothers
139. This Christmas — Donny Hathaway
140. Chen Qing Ling — Hai Lin
141. It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas — Perry Como, The Fontaine Sisters, Mitchell Ayres & his orchestra
142. It’s My Life — Bon Jovi
143. Aaj Jane Ki Zid Na Karo — Farida Khanum
HA-SJ Intern Avni Gupta shared a touching story about the song she chose, which has traveled with her family through time and distance:
This is a “ghazal” (a short poem consisting of rhyming couplets) originally written by the Pakistani poet, Fayyaz Hashmi, but was popularized by the famous ghazal singer, Farida Khanum. There are several versions sung by different people, but my favorite is this Coke Studio version, which was recomposed in 2015.
This song is extremely special to me — it has been passed over generations and countries in my family and invokes a lot of memories. Although this is meant to be for a romantic partner, in my life, this has been dedicated to family, friends, and all the beloved. I have heard stories of my grandmother singing the song for my grandfather the night before he would leave for month-long work trips and they would barely get to talk during that time, so these would be their last words to each other. My uncle dedicated this song to my parents when we were moving to the U.S., and it really struck a chord because we’d lived in the same house all our lives and that would change forever. More recently, my mom used to sing this for me every time I would leave for college after spending a break at home. So, if there’s any time when you want to hold onto a moment in your life, this song is perfect.
The lyrics are powerful, the melody is soothing and the emotion is nostalgic. I hope you enjoy listening to this!
As always, you can follow along on our Spotify playlist.
