Jaylann rallies Moroccans with remake of "Ha Wlidi"

<p>The Moroccan singer Jaylann has stirred deep emotions in Morocco with her song and video “Ha Wlidi.” The song is a reworked version of a 1972 hit by the legendary Moroccan roots-pop band <a href="https://afropop.test.ejaedesign.com/articles/the-big-three-of-moroccan-70s-and-80s-music">Lamchahab</a>. The title translates “My Son,” and the original version was interpreted as a lament about the state of the Arab world in the early ‘70s, with a sense that history had passed it by. The gist was: “What has happened to us. What was lost along the way?”</p> <p>No such downbeat messenging in Jaylann’s 2025 version. She dedicates the YouTube video as follows: THIS ONE IS FOR MY COUNTRY MOROCCO, AND FOR ALL MY MOROCCANS BROTHERS AND SISTERS ALL OVER THE WORLD.</p> <p>The song’s imagery blooms with national pride for all things Moroccan. What was once a reflective brood, is now as boisterous, nationalistic rallying cry. And is it working? Well, it’s hard to argue with 32-million-plus YouTube plays since June of this year. And reportedly, this song is now played on radio stations, football stadiums and at virtually every wedding in the country.</p> <p>What a difference half-a-century makes!</p> <figure><iframe loading="lazy" width="500" height="281" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/gXAnRuVlAvk" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe></figure> <p><br>Here’s a <a href="https://www.tiktok.com/@binetteboninette/video/7516855546306202888">TikTok post on the Lemchahab original</a>. </p>