Thank you so much for sharing this. I listened to the song on the bus, and had big fat tears pouring down my face. The man sitting opposite me carefully pretended not to see. I cry easily at beautiful things, but still wasn't expecting to have that reaction. I think it might have been the lullaby aspect that brought such feelings of bittersweet nostalgia. A lovely melody made all the more poignant by the translation and backstory you provided. I especially liked the part about the song having been written to stop Alterman from whistling. It certainly is a catchy melody and I was humming it to myself for a while after listening.

When it comes to your interpretation, I like your idea about the three horseman representing three stages of life. However, I have a problem with stories that present the woman as a passive ornament, eternally waiting and never doing anything. Perhaps we could propose an alternative interpretation, that the three horsemen represent aspects of Layla herself, so she is not waiting for a man to come and complete her, but rather to be reunited with parts of herself.