CAIRO - While waiting in Al Tahrir Square in central Cairo for nearly three weeks, Egyptian demonstrators were kept entertained. While many famous singers were absent from the scene, especially in the early days, many talented, less well-known crooners were there entertaining the crowds with old, rousing, nationalist songs. They sang along to songs from sixties and seventies and even some from the 1952 Revolution, as well as the wars that Egypt has fought since 1948. "These entertainers and their songs were great; more than anything else, it was they that gave me the power and enthusiasm I needed,” says a young woman called Mona, adding that modern music didn't have the same effect. Songs by Egypt's legendary Shadia, Abdel-Halim Hafez and Um Kalthom were on the lips of all anti- regime protesters as well as their mobiles. The national anthem proved just as popular. Another young demonstrator, Sara Hazem, says that, astonishingly, it was as if most of these old songs had been written for the revolt, which began on January 25. "They talk about corruption and the awakening of the Egyptian people. Their melodies are strong, easy to remember and more moving than any of the modern songs," adds Sara. “I knew all of these old songs before, but during the revolt they had a completely different effect on me.” Songs by the late revolutionary singer Sheikh Imam, written by Ahmed Fouad Negm, which had been banned since the 1960s and were, therefore, rarely heard in public, made a big revival in Al Tahrir protests and also on the radio waves. Many of the young people found themselves listening to Sheikh Imam's anthems for the first time. They are wonderful and very expressive. If you didn't know the lyrics had been written nearly forty years ago, you would thought somebody had just composed them for the recent revolution. They talk about a corrupt government, which has made a beautiful country suffer. But some present-day musicians also sang about the Mubarak regime's demise. Perhaps the most popular song of the latest Egyptian revolution is ‘Ezzay?' (How Come?) by the highly respected pop singer Mohamed Mounir. Dalia Ziada, a blogger and human rights activist in Cairo, says Mounir compares Egypt to a heartless lover in this song, which, has become immensely popular, being constantly played on many satellite TV channels, accompanied by a video clip from the Tahrir revolution. Many other singers are now beginning to launch new songs to celebrate this revolution, but still the golden oldies reign supreme with the younger generation. "They are only effective when you see them with clips from the revolution," says Hany Zakaria, a student at a Cairo secondary school, who can't understand why the old songs are still so effective. "Maybe, in forty years' time, the songs of today will inspire young Egyptians,” he adds speculatively. Some Facebook groups are now beginning to compile ‘shame lists' of singers and artists who were against the revolution but then began to change their stance, or those who kept silent and only began to show up after Mubarak was ousted. "These fake artists are not guides and heroes for us. I think the young people who participated in this revolution will not listen to their songs again,” stresses Hany.
