Liberatory, nationalising and moralising by ellipsis: reading and listening to Lhussein Slaoui's song<i>Lmirikan</i>

Abstract

The popular song of Lhussein Slaoui, Lmirikan, is presented in the larger historical and political contexts of its first appearance. Sung during the American landing in World War II, it records this decisive event in world history but also sings about the social reality of Morocco. A literal reading of the song's lyrics conveys an acute sense of misogyny compounded with colonialism and racism, but a closer reading reveals a complex and highly politicised commentary on the contemporaneous sociopolitical atmosphere. Through his dexterous use of irony and innovation within a closed musical tradition, Slaoui offers by ellipsis a highly liberatory, nationalising and moralising tale. His remarks, then, concerning the implications of an overtly consumerist ethos and the subsequent erosion of social cohesion are even more pertinent today, making Slaoui thus a pioneer and his song prefatory to the social movement wary of American hegemony.