'Revolutionary' lyrics censored from patriotic song in Lebanon

Lyrics deemed to be "revolutionary" were censored from a patriotic song at a televised celebration of Lebanese Army Day on Saturday, as Lebanon continues to struggle with an economic crisis and widespread protests, according to The New Arab.

The affected lyrics from the song "Ya Beirut" by Lebanese soprano Majida Al-Rumi translate to "revolution is born from the womb of sorrows." The choir singing the song at the celebration replaced the line with "la la la la la."

 

Widespread anti-government protests began in Lebanon in September of last year and have continued as the economic crisis in the country deepens. Many Lebanese citizens now face almost daily power outages.

The decision to censor the lyrics drew the ire of Lebanese social media users.

"Were you scared of the words of a song? This la la la of yours was much louder than a festival that could have passed without incident but #A_revolution_is_born_from_the_womb_of_sorrows and you can't hide behind the army for long because they will turn against you soon," tweeted TV presenter Rania Barghout, according to The New Arab.

The Arabic-language hashtag #A_revolution_is_born_from_the_womb_of_sorrows, began trending after the celebration, accompanied by pictures from the protests around the country.