Arabic Version of Dalida's 'Bambino' by Lili Boniche

Lili Boniche (Élie Boniche - b. 1921 - d. March 6, 2008) was born to a Sephardic Jewish family in the Kasbah area of Algiers and was a singer of Andalusian-Arab music. He died in Paris. In addition to writing music for commercial release, he also was a film composer.

His version of the song Bambino--memorably recorded by the late Dalida in French and Italian back in the 1950's--is a gem of a song that can be found on Boniche's 2001 album Tresors de la Chanson Judee-Arabe. Its Arabic lyrics are faithful to the original and retain the playful nature of the song.



Below is Dalida's 1956 version in French:


Here is a later version of Dalida singing 'Bambino' live in Switzerland:



Finally, here is a playfully re-worded version of 'Bambino' performed by Dalida and Enrico Masias on French TV. Note the way the two performers greet each other in Egyptian Arabic:




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