Yaar - e - Dabestani - Man

یار دبستانی من با من و همراه منی چوب الف بر سر ما بغض من و آه منی حک شده اسم من و تو رو تن این تخته سیاه ترکه ی بیداد و ستم مونده هنوز رو تن ما دشت بی فرهنگی ما هرزه تموم علف هاش خوب اگه خوب، بد ...
یار دبستانی من با من و همراه منی
چوب الف بر سر ما بغض من و آه منی
حک شده اسم من و تو رو تن این تخته سیاه
ترکه ی بیداد و ستم مونده هنوز رو تن ما

دشت بی فرهنگی ما هرزه تموم علف هاش
خوب اگه خوب، بد اگه بد، مرده دل های آدماش
دست من و تو باید این پرده ها رو پاره کنه
کی می تونه جز من و تو درد ما رو چاره کن

یار دبستانی من با من و همراه منی
چوب الف بر سر ما بغض من و آه منی
حک شده اسم من و تو رو تن این تخته سیاه
ترکه ی بیداد و ستم مونده هنوز رو تن ما

یار دبستانی من با من و همراه منی
چوب الف بر سر ما بغض من و آه منی
حک شده اسم من و تو رو تن این تخته سیاه
ترکه ی بیداد و ستم مونده هنوز رو تن ما

دشت بی فرهنگی ما هرزه تموم علف هاش
خوب اگه خوب، بد اگه بد، مرده دل های آدماش
دست من و تو باید این پرده ها رو پاره کنه
کی می تونه جز من و تو درد ما رو چاره کن

یار دبستانی من با من و همراه منی
چوب الف بر سر ما بغض من و آه منی
حک شده اسم من و تو رو تن این تخته سیاه



Yar-E-Dabestaanee-YE-Man

Baa Man-O-Hamraah-E-Manee

Choob-E-Alef Barsar-E-Maa

Boghz-E-Man-O-Aah-hE-Manee


Hach Shodeh Esm'e Man-O-Tow

Rooh-Tan-E-Een Takh/teh Seeyaah

Tarch-E-YE-Beedod-O-Setam

Moondeh Hanooz Rooh Tan-E-Maa


Dasht-E-Bee Farhang-E-Maa

Harz-E -Tamoom-E-Alaphosh

Khoob Ageh Khoob, Bad Ageh Bad

Murd-E - Dilo-E Odamosh


Dast /-E-Man-O Tow Boyad Een, Pardeh Haroh Paa/reh Kone

Chee Mitun -E- Joz/ Man-O-Tow, Dard-E-Maro Chaa/reh Kone

Yaar-E-Dabestaanee-Y-E-Man..........



My grade-school friend,

You're with me at my side

A ruler [wielded] above our heads -

You weep and sigh with me

Engraved on this blackboard

Are your name and mine

Tyranny's welt on our flesh

Has not faded with time

The fields of our culture

Have grown wild with neglect,

Come the good or the bad -

People's hearts are now dead

My hand and yours

Must tear down this curtain

Who but you and I

Has power to cure our pain?


My Schoolmate - Yar-e Dabestani-e Man
Dabestan means Elementarty School in Persian. Yar means Friend. Man means me. Yar dabestani man means my schoolmate. This is a popular song in Iran, especially among the students movement, and is often recited in gathering and demonstrations.

Revolutionary anthems hardly come any more powerful than Yare Dabestani Man, or "My Grade-School Friend," Iran's resistance anthem par excellence.

The revolution-era classic, whose stirring lyrics epitomize the country's longstanding struggle for freedom, was originally composed by filmmaker Mansour Tehrani for his 1980 political drama "From Cry to Terror." In the film, three old friends cross paths after fifteen years. Hossein has become a drug addict; Davoud is the chauffeur of the head of the martial court; and Reza belongs to an underground armed resistance group. Reza is tasked with assassinating the martial court chief, but is killed by a stray bullet. Davoud is wounded, but manages to escape. And Hossein ends up dying from an overdose. The original version was performed for the movie soundtrack by renowned Shah-era crooner Fereydoon Foroughi (video above).

The song enjoyed a revival during Mohammad Khatami's presidency, whose election in 1997 marked the birth of the Reform movement. For many Yare Dabestani has become associated with the post-revolutionary generation and the bloody student uprisings of 1999.

After the 2009 elections, Yare Dabestani once more surged to the forefront of public protests, and has been passionately sung by demonstrators on the streets, at expatriate rallies outside of Iran, by student protesters at universities, and recently, even by students at a high school.

The anthem is somewhat akin to Joan Baez's "We Shall Overcome" in the American civil rights movement. In the throes of the current political deadlock, it is on the tongue of every Iranian opposition supporter.