Writing songs that work in both Arabic and English is harder than people think and more rewarding than people realise. The hooks rarely translate; the metaphors break across cultures; rhyme systems are entirely different languages. The rules I follow — and the ones I deliberately break.
The wrong way
Write the song in English, translate to Arabic. The result is always stilted. Arabic isn’t English with different sounds; the rhythm of phrases, the formality scale, the metaphor library — all different. Direct translation loses the song.
The right way
Write in parallel. The melody, the song’s emotional arc, the arrangement — those are language-neutral. Sit with them, then write Arabic and English lyrics independently, both serving the same emotional throughline. Sometimes the languages land on the same image; usually they land on different ones that produce the same feeling.
Code-switching done well
Some of my favourite work mixes the two within a single track. Verse in English, hook in Arabic. Or the opposite. The discipline: each language switch must be motivated. The English line is more direct; the Arabic line carries weight English can’t. The switch should feel like the only choice.
The rhyme scheme problem
English rhymes on syllable endings. Arabic classically rhymes on patterns of vowels and consonants in more elaborate ways — qafiyah and radif. Modern Arabic pop uses simpler rhymes, but the deeper toolbox is enormous. Mastering even a fraction of it elevates Arabic verses massively above default pop.
The dialect choice
Standard Arabic (Fusha) reads as formal and timeless. Khaleeji feels regional and rooted. Egyptian travels best across the Arab world. Lebanese is musical but specific. The dialect choice is a positioning decision, not a default. For my own work I lean Khaleeji — that’s a deliberate cultural bet.
What I do that breaks rules
I let the languages contradict each other inside the same song. The Arabic verse says one thing; the English verse complicates it. The listener who only catches one language gets a complete song; the bilingual listener gets a richer one. That’s a feature, not a bug.
The audience expansion
Bilingual songs travel further than monolingual ones once they break out. The Arabic-fluent audience hears their language treated seriously; the English-fluent audience gets an exotic-yet-accessible entry point. Together, the addressable market is larger than either alone.
The principle
Your second language is a creative resource, not a translation problem. Write into both, separately, and let them fight constructively for the song.
Working bilingually? Send me a track.