Khaled "Aicha" Live band "Cavertet."

Khaled "Aicha" Live band "Cavertet."

"Aisha" (/aɪˈiːʃə/; French: [а.iʃa]; Arabic: عائشة, ʿāʾisha, [ʕaːʔiʃa]; Algerian Arabic: عايشة) is a song written by French singer and composer Jean-Jacques Goldman, performed by Algerian Rai artist Khaled. In 1996, the song was released as a single containing two versions, a French version and a bilingual version sung in French and Arabic. The lyrics of the song in Arabic were written by Khaled. His 1996 album Sahra features a bilingual version. The music video for the song, which also features a mixed language version, was directed by Sarah Moon.

The lyrics of the song are about a woman named Aicha who is courted by a man. He promises her pearls, jewels, poems, and other luxury and romantic things, to which she replies:

Keep your treasures
I'm worth more than all this
Bars are bars, even if they are made of gold
I want to have the same rights as you
And respect for every day
I don't want anything but love

The chorus of the song has the following lyrics in French (with English translation):

Aisha, Aisha, ekut-my = Aisha, Aisha, listen to me
Aisha, Aisha, ten wa pass = Aisha, Aisha, don't go
Aisha, Aisha, regarde-moi = Aisha, Aisha, look at me
Aisha, Aisha, answers are mine = Aisha, Aisha, answer me

All lyrics were in French. The Arabic verse written and sung by Khaled is as follows:

I want you Aisha and I'm ready to die for you
ḥادي ق文ية حياتي احبي (Hadi ksayat ḥayātī waḥabbī) = This is the story of my life and my love
انت امري اانت بياتي (ʾanti ʿumrī wʾanti ḥayātī) = You are my years and you are my life
I want to live with you, only with you