Chhal

The title is Moroccan for "how long." A sung complaint in Darija, over a dance beat. "It's not free," he says to the beloved, then "it's free for me," playing with the idea that his love costs nothing and is also not cheap. He asks how long he has been patient, how long they have wasted time telling each other that tomorrow they will be at peace. A lifetime of nothing but wounds. Then he turns to her and says she was near him and did not know his value, that she was beside him and did not understand his worth, he was her heart and she did not see. He wishes her well and leaves quietly, saying he went in peace and she can finish him without mercy if she wants.