Egypt’s Songs that make 6th of October victory alive forever

There are number of Egyptian songs that are engraved in the hearts and minds of all Egyptians – songs that documented the 6th of October war, in addition to the preparation period before it and the great period of glory after.

These songs allowed all the generations that didn’t witness the golden moment of victory to live it, feeling both feelings of enthusiasm before the war and pride after the war.

Egypt Today will shed the light on the most important songs that truly reflect this vital part of Egypt’s history.

1- “Khaly el Selah Sahy” 

Khaly el Selah Sahy” was performed by the legendary heartthrob Abdelhalim Hafez, composed by the great composer Kamal al Tawil and written by the veteran poet Ahmed Shafiq Kamel.

The Egyptians were using this song in their daily language as an example of attention. It was written during the war of attrition to increase the soldiers’ enthusiasm to prepare for revenge, with its enthusiastic words that said on behalf of the Egyptian soldiers, ‘’Keep the weapon ready If the world will sleep, we will wake it with our weapons. My weapon is in my hand in the morning and in the evening, saying to the revolutionists that our enemy is perfidious.”



2- “Bismillah Allah Akbar” 

This song was written on October 7, 1973 just one day following the victory. The song’s composer, Baligh Hamdi, after hearing the first military statement on the radio, then heard the cheers of people in the streets saying, “Bismillah Bismillah...Allah Akbar”. He picked these words and decided to make them the first part of the song. He contacted the poet and songwriter Abdel Rahim Mansour and urged him to go to the radio. Mansour wrote it, Hamdy composed and Hafez sang it to be one of the first songs documenting the 6th of October victory.

The TV director Mohamed Salem aired it on Egyptian TV, accompanied by scenes of the Egyptian soldiers while crossing the channel. The first part of the song says, “In the name of God...God is Greatest...In the name of God…In the name of God…In the name of God...Victory for our country.”




3- Om el Batal” (The Mother of the Champion)



Sherifa Fadel is a veteran Egyptian singer who gave her country the most precious sacrifice ever – her son, who was one of the martyrs of the 6th of October War. “Om el Batal” is the song performed by Fadel to express the pride that the mothers of 6th of October War martyrs received despite the pain they were suffering. It was written by the poet Nabila Kandil.

Her pride of her son, mixed with her grief that she lost him, drove Fadel to sing this song with sincere, warm and credible feelings. Fadel sang at the beginning of her emotional song, “My lovely son, you are the apple of my eyes; people take you as a role model. All my lovelies congratulate me, sure because I am the mother of the champion.”




4- “Rayheen Shayleen Feeidna Selah”

Surprisingly, this song was produced in 1972 as the soundtrack for the film “Al Asfour” (The Bird), but was re-broadcast in 1973 during the war. It was written by Nabila Kandil, composed by Ali Ismail and performed by a chorus of Egyptian singers. The first part of the song is “We are going, holding weapons in our hands, raising the flags of victory, swearing to God to devote our lives to Egypt.”




5- “Helwa Belady el Samra” 




The famous late singer Warda was one of the first singers to sing celebrating the 6th of October victory. She performed this song directly after the Egyptian soldiers crossed the channel. On the day she performed this song, she accompanied Baligh Hamdi and Abdel Rahim Mansour to meet with the Egyptian radio officials to record the song. The radio head told them that there is no budget to record this song. The three of them signed a paper that they would waive their fees and perform the song for free. The song was aired on Egyptian TV on Sunday, October 7, accompanied by real scenes from the war. The first part of the song is “How beautiful is my country. I am singing lLong live Egypt.”

6- “Masr el Youm Fe Eid” 

This song by the famous Egyptian actress and singer Shadia was realised on April 25, 1982 on the first anniversary of the Sinai liberation feast, the day Sinai returned completely to Egypt. The song, which was composed by Gamal Salama and written by Abdelwahab Mohamed, said, “There is a feast in Egypt today. Sinai is back to Egypt completely today; therefore, there is a feast in Egypt today.”