“The Orphan’s Tear” is a musical adaptation of one of the most powerful poems by Parvin E’tesami, reimagined in English as part of Persian Poetry After Dark | In English. Through the innocent question of an orphan watching a king pass by in splendour, the poem gradually reveals a darker story of poverty, inequality, power and social injustice. In this contemporary interpretation, Parvin’s words are set against Cinematic Dark Electronica, Trip-Hop and Organic Deep House, with subtle Persian textures creating a haunting atmosphere around a poem whose message remains strikingly relevant today.
- Genre: Dark Electronica, Trip-hop, Deep-house
- Music & Lyric Adaptation: Tony Zohari
- Language: English
- Poet: Parvin E’tesami
- Original Language: Persian
- Themes: Iranian Poetry | Persian Poetry After Dark | In English
Lyric: The Orphan’s Tear
One day a king was passing down the road,
And from every street and rooftop
Cheers arose…
Cheers arose…
Among the crowd, an orphan child looked up
And asked:
“What is that brilliance
Upon the king’s crown?”
Another answered:
“How should we know what it is?
We only know, we only know
It must be something precious…”
Then an old woman, bent with age,
Drew near and said:
“That is the tears from my eyes…
And the blood from your hearts.”
The tears from my eyes,
The blood from your hearts.
The tears from my eyes,
The blood from your hearts.
“He fooled us
With a shepherd’s cloak and staff;
Yet this wolf—
This wolf has known the flock
For many years.”
The wolf knows the flock…
The wolf knows the flock…
The pious man
Who steals a village and its land
Is but a highwayman.
And the king
Who feeds upon his people’s wealth
Is but a beggar.
A highwayman…
A beggar…
A highwayman…
A beggar…
Look closely
At the teardrops of the orphans.
Look closely…
And you will see
Where the jewels get their light.
Where the jewels…
Get their light.
Parvin…
What use is speaking truth
To those who walk a crooked path?
Where is the one
Who hears the truth…
And does not take offence?
The orphan’s tear…
About Parvin E’tesami
Parvin E’tesami (1907–1941) was one of the most distinctive voices in modern Persian literature. Writing largely within the traditions of classical Persian poetry, she brought to them a remarkably clear social conscience, exploring poverty, injustice, morality, education and the unequal relationship between the powerful and the vulnerable. Her poetry frequently uses dialogue, allegory and seemingly simple stories to expose deeper truths about society.
“The Orphan’s Tear” (Ashk-e Yatim) is one of her best-known examples of this approach. Through an orphan watching the splendour of a passing king, Parvin transforms the glitter of the royal crown into a symbol of exploitation: its brilliance is metaphorically drawn from the tears and suffering of ordinary people. Remarkably, the poem dates from 1921, when Parvin was still very young.
More than a century later, its questions about wealth, power, poverty and social justice remain strikingly relevant—making The Orphan’s Tear particularly suited to a contemporary musical interpretation for Persian Poetry After Dark | In English.
