Dorood Doroooood ♥️
I’ve been exploring the story of Marā Beboos (مرا ببوس) — ‘Kiss me.’ Come with me to enjoy one of the most romantic— and one of the most historically misunderstood in terms of motive — Persian songs.”
Quick Facts before you dive in:
- Lyrics: Heydar (Ḥaydar) Raqabi (حیدر رقابی) (*pen name Hāleh*)
- Music: Majid Vafadar (مجید وفادار)
- First recording: Etehām (film, 1956) – sung by Parvaneh Namāzi Jafari, lip-synced by Zhaleh Olov
- Famous version: Radio Iran broadcast, 1957 – Hassan Golnaraghi (vocals), with Parviz Yahaghi (violin) and Moshir Homayoun Shahrdar (piano)
- Mode (Dastgāh): Bayāt-e Esfahān
Listen to Marā Beboos (Original Recording)
Click play to listen to the recording of Marā Beboos.
The Real Origin
According to Encyclopaedia Iranica, Raqabi visited his friend Majid Vafadar shortly before leaving Iran after the 1953 coup d'état. Vafadar asked him for lyrics to a melody. Raqabi spent one last night with his beloved, then called Vafadar from the airport to dictate the final words. These became the verses of Marā Beboos.🥺
Myth vs. Fact
Two competing stories circulate:
- The Political Myth: that the lyric was written by a condemned officer of the Tudeh Military Organization on the eve of his execution.
- The Documented Fact: that the lyric was written by Raqabi (Hāleh) as a farewell before leaving Iran.
👉 So 'Marā beboos' was a personal love-farewell before exile, not a political prison note.
So Why did the political myth gained traction?
Maybe because:
- The lyrics include imagery like “I will light fires on the mountains.” * But honestly, you have to be very determined to push your own narrative in order to interpret this as anything other than a romantic farewell.
- In the film, the song happens during a farewell-to-prison scene, which naturally fueled political associations for the audience of the time.
But memoirs (such as those of Abdolrahim Jafari, founder of Amir Kabir Publishing) and scholarly sources confirm the lyric came from Raqabi himself.
👉 So: the myth reflects how audiences used the song, but the truth of authorship and occasion belongs to Raqabi and Vafadar.
* که بر فروزم آتشها در کوهستانها
The Music (for the curious nerds among us 🎼)
The song is set in Bayāt-e Esfahān, which belongs to the Dastgāh Homāyoun system of Persian classical music. The iconic 1957 arrangement featured Parviz Yahaghi on violin and Moshir Homayoun Shahrdar on piano. Some writers (like Dariush Shahbazi and Musicema’s “Naghme-ye Tarikh”) have suggested the melody might have been inspired by a Greek tune — though this remains just a hypothesis, not an established fact.
From Film to Phenomenon
The song first appeared in the 1956 film Etehām (اتهام), which literally means Accusation. Think classic Iranian drama vibes — betrayals, fights, lots of heavy emotions. It was directed by Shapour Yasemi, with actress Zhaleh Olov lip-syncing while the actual vocals came from Parvaneh Namāzi Jafari. Back then, the song didn’t make much noise — it was just another piece of soundtrack tucked inside a movie.
The turning point came in 1957 when Radio Iran aired a new performance by Hassan Golnaraghi. Arranged in Bayāt-e Esfahān with Parviz Yahaghi’s violin and Moshir Homayoun Shahrdar’s piano, this version turned Marā Beboos into a sensation.
Legacy
- Covered by countless singers inside and outside Iran.
- Still one of the most-searched Iranian songs, tied to both personal love stories and collective political memory.
- Proof that one song can carry two truths at once: the documented origin (a love-farewell), and the adopted meaning (a resistance anthem).
Listen Now 🎧
Jazz Interpretation of Marā Beboos
Enjoy this extended jazz-inspired version of Marā Beboos, blending nostalgia with soulful improvisation.
Subscribe to Farsi Jazz Youtube Channel
Vigen ویگن– Marā Beboos (Live, Washington Concert)
A legendary live performance by Vigen, the “Sultan of Persian Pop.” His heartfelt rendition of Marā Beboos has touched generations. Go to a Persian Wedding and you'll see.
So...
The truth of Marā Beboos (Kiss me) is this:
It was written by Heydar Raqabi (Hāleh), composed by Majid Vafadar, and first sung in a 1956 film Etehām. Its famous version came from Hassan Golnaraghi’s 1957 broadcast. The legend of the condemned officer is a later myth, born because people in the post-coup years needed a song to hold their grief.
Sources
- Encyclopaedia Iranica – MARĀ BEBUS
- Persian Wikipedia – Mara Beboos
- Persian Wikipedia – Etehām (1956 film)
- Musicema – Naghme-ye Tarikh: Mara Beboos
- Dariush Shahbazi blog – Greek influence claim
Caffeine for Shirin ☕
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