The True Story Behind Fairuz’s Iconic Song “Ya Bayya’ al-‘Inab” (Oh Seller of Grapes)

MALULA, Syria — The haunting melody of “Ya Bayya’ al-‘Inab” (Oh Seller of Grapes) by the Syriac Maronite artist Fairuz has long resonated with listeners, whether heard in the comforting embrace of mothers late at night, on vintage radio and television broadcasts, or today on YouTube.

In the song, Fairuz sings, “Oh seller of grapes and jujubes, the gypsies stole me from under a Majdalani tent.” But what is the true story behind this melancholic tune?

While many interpretations exist, one account stands out as the most credible. The story begins in Malula (Maaloula), with a small Aramaic farming family — mother, father, and two children. During the fruit-picking season, as they harvested apricots and peaches, a group of gypsies raided the village and kidnapped the family’s young daughter, who was not yet ten years old, while her parents and brother, “Deacon Issa,” were occupied in the fields.

The girl spent the rest of her childhood with the tribe that abducted her. Years later, an Aramaic man from Malula, said to be named “Jabal al-Helou,” came to the tribe’s area to sell grapes and figs. Recognizing him, the girl made a desperate yet discreet plea for help, blending Aramaic and Arabic lyrics into a song to share her story without alerting her captors:

“Hey, hey, oh seller of grapes,
Tell my mother and father,
The gypsies have taken me.
Our home is near the church,
My brother is Deacon Issa,
Our red cow is plump,
And our skinny dog is a Saluki.”

The grape seller understood her message and returned to Malula to inform her family. But when he returned to the tribe’s location, they had already vanished, and the family’s hopes of reunion were lost.

Decades later, the girl’s story reached the Rahbani Brothers, who set it to a Syriac-inspired melody, turning it into one of Fairuz’s most beloved songs. Some know it as “Ya Bayya’ al-‘Inab,” while others call it “Yalla Tnam Rima,” a nod to Fairuz’s daughter, Rima Rahbani.