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User:El C/Songs from the homeland

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Ehud Manor with his wife, Ofra Fuchs (photographed by Nachoom Assis, 1993)
Haim Gouri (1947)
Naomi Shemer at the Israel Prize award ceremony, Jerusalem (1983)
Nathan Zach (photographed by Moti Kikayon, 1991)
Leah Goldberg (1946)
Uri Zvi Greenberg (1956)
S. Yizhar (1951)

Featuring songs from the homeland, with YouTube links to performances. My own English translations were added below.

Us

[edit]
User_talk:El_C#Us

UsEl_C 01:37, 10 February 2021 (UTC)


I Want Us To Be Realized (now linking to official music video), insteadEl_C 05:02, 10 February 2021 (UTC)


Didn't Know You'd Walk Away From MeEl_C 23:09, 10 February 2021 (UTC)

2013 live version by Marina Maximilian Blumin (honourable mention) – El_C 03:44, 18 February 2021 (UTC)

How Much I Do Love YouEl_C 23:19, 10 February 2021 (UTC)


You See Far, You See ClearEl_C 01:35, 13 February 2021 (UTC)

2020 live version by Amir Benayoun, Shuli Rand and Akiva (honourable mention) – El_C 14:30, 18 February 2021 (UTC)

You Put My Hand In YoursEl_C 22:07, 22 February 2021 (UTC)

1997 live version by the one and only Matti Caspi (honourable mention) – El_C 22:07, 22 February 2021 (UTC)

A Place of WorryEl_C 22:36, 22 February 2021 (UTC)

1978 studio version again, by the one and only Matti Caspi (honourable mention) – El_C 22:36, 22 February 2021 (UTC)

What Is Love?El_C 23:19, 22 February 2021 (UTC)


How Is It That A StarEl_C 01:18, 23 February 2021 (UTC)


A Love Song (Like A Wheel), Version 2 (both from the same 1978 studio album) – El_C 01:50, 23 February 2021 (UTC)


Sitting On The FenceEl_C 03:37, 23 February 2021 (UTC)


FragileEl_C 03:52, 23 February 2021 (UTC)


In Praise Of Samba – 04:15, 23 February 2021 (UTC)


Where Are You?El_C 05:46, 23 February 2021 (UTC)


Poogy Tales (Poogy Tales) – El_C 22:30, 23 February 2021 (UTC)


Tell MeEl_C 01:07, 24 February 2021 (UTC)

Tomara by Maria Creuza (in the original Portuguese) – El_C 01:07, 24 February 2021 (UTC)
1978 studio version from the album ארץ טרופית יפהEl_C 04:33, 24 February 2021 (UTC)

There Were Nights (1973 Kaveret version)El_C 05:35, 24 February 2021 (UTC)

1961 live version by Esther OfarimEl_C 05:35, 24 February 2021 (UTC)

It HappensEl_C 06:10, 24 February 2021 (UTC)


DrawingEl_C 19:13, 26 February 2021 (UTC)


Yes, It Has No Chance, But Between Myself And I Everything Is Allowed

Original studio version

What are love songs by Israeli musical groups?—valereee (talk) 23:34, 10 February 2021 (UTC)
It's all Guy Mazig, whose music I've just been downright obsessed with lately! El_C 23:37, 10 February 2021 (UTC)
And yet: Guy Mazig :D —valereee (talk) 23:40, 10 February 2021 (UTC)
*Hangs head in shame* El_C 23:41, 10 February 2021 (UTC)

Val:

  • "Us" is about the past and future of a people.
  • "I Want Us To Be Realized" is a love song.
  • "Didn't Know You'd Walk Away From Me" is about the heartache of a breakup.
  • "How Much I Do Love Uou" is about the dread of having had to rush his daughter to the ER (she was fine in the end, thankfully!).
  • "You See Far, You See Clear" is a brilliant rendition of רואים רחוק רואים שקוף.
  • "You Put My Hand In Yours" is a brilliant rendition of דברים שרואים משם לא רואים מכאן.
  • "A Place Of Worry" is a brilliant rendition of מקום לדאגה (שיר).
  • "What Is Love?" is a brilliant rendition of מה זאת אהבה...
  • "How Is It That A Star" is about how we are never truly alone.
  • "A Love Song (Like A Wheel)" is about a love supreme.
  • "Sitting On the Fence" is about pragmatism or opportunism? You decide!
  • "Fragile" is about the struggles of a fragile person.
  • "In Praise Of Samba" is about praise of Samba!
  • "Where Are You?" is about a man's crisis of faith as he struggles with his Yetzer hara.
  • "Poogy Tales" is about learning.
  • "Tell Me" is a love song.
  • "There Were Nights" (היו לילות) is about the struggle of life and love among the early halutzim.
  • "It Happens" (זה קורה) is about the uncertainty of life.
  • "Drawing" is about a childlike innocence in exploring the world.
  • "Yes, It Has No Chance (etc.)" is seemingly about a girl's unrequited love for Avshalom Kor (the man, the legend), per official music video featured.

"You See Far, You See Clear" English translation

[edit]
You See Far, You See Clear
2020 live version
It was with such great sorrow
I had to then
Spread my wings and fly
To a place where
Perhaps like Mount Nebo
You see far, you see clear

A man like a tree planted on water
Seeking root
A man like a burning bush against the sky
In him a fire burns

Then my way was lost
My life was a riddle
Thirsty like a wanderer in the desert
For the word of truth
Which gives the strength
To face tomorrow

A man...

A fire burned in me
So I went to seek
For days I raged like a storm
I returned home
To find that you are with me
Until the road comes to its end

A man...

It was...

--Written by Yaakov Rotblit
--Composed and originally performed by Shmulik Kraus (1983)

Honourable mention: Thank you, daydreamer for: http://1israelisong.blogspot.com/2013/02/shmulik-kraus-and-ilan-wirtzberg-seeing.html Discovered an hour ago, it has helped me so much. El_C 11:06, 13 February 2021 (UTC)

"Us" English translation

[edit]
Us
Hey

Who will be here the morning after
End of the dream and its dulled edge
What was and will no longer be

What?
What will remain after a war
A tree and a house on the same soil
Without which we can find no solace

(Only) a wandering song that we wrote
All of the paths that we had left behind
A world covenant that we had forgotten
And the brothers
And the flowers that we had laid

Here
Here the initial spark was hidden
That which since long ago is within all of us
That which is not understood by all of us

The heart
It sways wherever the wind blows
Only hope can draw near
The friend who has become an enemy

(Who will recall our) wandering song...

A wandering song that we wrote
All of the paths that we had left behind
A world covenant that we had forgotten
And the flowers that we had laid

A song from our youth that we cherished
All of the wounds that we ached
The glory that we reaped
And the word that for years we have not uttered
Us!

--Written, composed and performed by Guy Mazig (2014)

This one only took me 25 minutes, what do you know? How this one was so easy I really have no immediate explanation for (the first one took me so many hours to refine). [Update: a few minor adjustments, but still feels way, way (way) easier than the last one. Like, by several orders of magnitude.] El_C 16:28, 14 February 2021 (UTC)

"I Want Us To Be Realized" English translation

[edit]
I Want Us To Be Realized (now linking to official music video), instead
If we don't wake then we'll remain forever
Inside the maze without finding the exit
We'll freeze in place and not break the ice
Who will make a move, you or I?

If we release when we spin, we both
Could strip all that is on us
Then nothing would surely come between us
And we won't remember our difficult beginning

It's hot, it's good, but it reaches the edge
We are just playing with fire
You don't need to think too much
All in all I just want us to be realized

If we only look and not touch then surely
We won't resist, not withstand the tension
In the end it will happen, we'll burn the entire field
And nothing will go back to how it was

So if you want to stretch the moment
From something small that will turn to mega
Then let's continue dancing and also try
To twist until the fall

It's hot...

--Written, composed and performed by Guy Mazig (2015)

Wow, easiest one, by far. Only took me fifteen minutes this time. Happy Valentine's Day, everyone! El_C 19:46, 14 February 2021 (UTC)

LOL! That is great! And I hope your week improves. :) —valereee (talk) 23:19, 16 February 2021 (UTC)

"Didn't Know You'd Walk Away From Me" English translation

[edit]
Didn't Know You'd Walk Away From Me
2013 live version
Didn't dream you'd walk away from me
Without warning, without word
Didn't dream of being struck suddenly
Such a thunder on a clear day
And I naively had always thought
That none are happier than us
And loved to have imagined us growing old togather

A voice calls in the night
No answer tonight
And myself
How I despise,
How I will change
For you

You were such a sure thing
Like a morning's coffee, like sleep
I was not attentive at your side
Did not develop a defense
And perhaps you'll come back soon
Just went to pick up a few things
And we'll go watch a movie,
Or decide to stay together

A voice...

And I naively...

--Written by Ehud Manor
--Composed and originally performed by Matti Caspi (1978)

No notes! El_C 16:24, 18 February 2021 (UTC)

"You Put My Hand In Yours" English translation

[edit]
You Put My Hand In YoursEl_C 22:07, 22 February 2021 (UTC)
1997 live version
You put my hand in yours and you said to me
Let's go down to the garden
You put my hand in yours and you said to me
Things seen from over there are not seen from out here

You played me a song on the guitar and your voice trembled
A spirit in me arose, a spirit in me sang, and time as if stood still
And I still remember every taste and smell
The plot of field in the moonlight,
The jackal's voice from the wadi and the weight of the fruit in the orchard
Things seen from over there are not seen from out here

I was alone and my way was lost,
And you came, came to me in time
I was alone and my way was lost,
Things seen from over there are not seen from out here

You gave me a hand, you showed me a way toward many things
You brought a smile as beautiful as a flower and gave me strength to believe
And I still remember the song that you sang
The best part of all that you said
Hey, angel or a devil, will you come back to stop time?
Things seen from over there are not seen from out here

You put my hand...

--Written by Yaakov Rotblit
--Composed by Matti Caspi
--Performed by Yehudit Ravitz (1980)

Again, no notes! El_C 22:07, 22 February 2021 (UTC)

"A Place Of Worry" English translation

[edit]
A Place of WorryEl_C 22:36, 22 February 2021 (UTC)
1978 studio version
At the edge of the sky and at the ends of the desert
There is a far away place filled with wildflowers
A small, wretched, and mad place
A far away place, a place of worry

There they tell all that will be
There they think about all that has been
God there sits and watches, and guards
Over all that he has created

You cannot pick the garden flowers,
You cannot pick the garden flowers
And he worries, and he worries terribly

--Written by Yehonatan_Geffen
--Composed by Matti Caspi
--A duet performed by Matti Caspi and Riki Gal (1988)

Still no notes! El_C 22:36, 22 February 2021 (UTC)

"What Is Love?" English translation

[edit]
What Is Love?
A rather small heaven
Bordered by hell
Angels fly
But the wings of snow are scorched
Tired bloodshot eyes

One more kiss
Till breath is lost
When the heart breaks
The pain is sweet, the pleasure is bitter

What is love?
What is love?
What is it asking for?
My days and nights without end
What is love?
What is love?
What does it inject into my veins?
That I could go on without limit
That I could go on without limit
That I could go on without limit
That we could go on
All my life

On an unsteady bridge
Fire from here and from here
Twisting smoke clouds
Over deep water
A dark inverted sky

One more merger
Until heart to heart beats
Here my body lies
Eternally blessed, eternally cursed

What is love?...

--Written by Ehud Manor
--Composed by Matti Caspi
--A duet performed by Matti Caspi and Riki Gal (1988)

Notes? What are these "notes" of which you speak? El_C 23:19, 22 February 2021 (UTC)

"How Is It That A Star" English translation

[edit]
How Is It That A Star
How is it that one lonesome star dares?
How does it dare?
For God's sake
For God's sake

One lonesome star,
I wouldn't have dared
And I am actually not alone

--Written by Nathan Zach
--Composed and originally performed by Matti Caspi (date unknown)

El_C 01:18, 23 February 2021 (UTC)

"A Love Song (Like A Wheel)"

[edit]
A Love Song (Like A Wheel), Version 2
Like a thin and fragile leaf
That dissolves in light
Like the wind which cracks
The turtledove's coo

Like a wheel within a wheel
In Autumn's cycles
Like a curl within a curl
Her heart is in his arms

Like a baby who plays
With the sun in the sand
Like time that grinds
On a silent clock hand

Like a wheel...

--Written by Ehud Manor
--Composed and originally performed by Matti Caspi, first version also featuring Etti Ankri on vocals (1978)

El_C 01:50, 23 February 2021 (UTC)

"Sitting On The Fence" English translation

[edit]
Sitting On The Fence
Sitting on the fence
A leg here, a leg there
Sitting on the fence
Alright with everyone
Letting out smiles in all directions
And always, always is in-the-know

Sitting on the fence
A leg here, a leg there
Sitting on the fence
Looking at the world
Letting out smiles in all directions
And always, always is in-the-know

Sitting on the fence
A leg here, a leg there
Sitting on the fence
Taking his time
Letting out smiles in all directions
And always, always is in-the-know

Sitting thinking on the Fence
Looking here, peeking there
Reading a newspaper, listening to the news on time
Enveloping himself in a smokescreen

--Written and performed by Arik Einstein, on vocals (1982)
--Composed and performed by Itzhak Klepter, on guitar

El_C 03:37, 23 February 2021 (UTC)

"Fragile" English translation

[edit]
Fragile
Fragile, easily crumbles
Loads unto himself the entire world
Drops like a leaf to any gentle wind
In short, fragile, easily crumbles

Fragile, easily crumbles
Searching unto himself, searching all of the time
Taking it heavy, thinking it's the end of the world
In short, fragile, easily crumbles

--Written and performed by Arik Einstein, on vocals (1983)
--Composed and performed by Itzhak Klepter, on guitar

El_C 03:52, 23 February 2021 (UTC)

"In Praise Of Samba" English translation

[edit]
In Praise Of Samba
Samba is a nice rhythm
Inspires to play a lot
How the sounds switch
Like many colours
Samba is like the beach
Waves upon waves splash on the shore
Samba is like a night of love that never ends

It knows no borders
It flies far out there within the dreams
Samba with the coming of Spring
You should listen
No need for a past, a future
Forgetting everything for a moment is allowed
And swaying, that's the whole thing
Because Samba is a dance

There's nothing like the Samba
To capture calm
Nothing like the Samba
It's an experience, yes
It may be an illusion, but it makes me feel good
South America on the map

--Written and performed by Arik Einstein, on vocals (1982)
--Composed and performed by Itzhak Klepter, on guitar

El_C 04:15, 23 February 2021 (UTC)

"Where Are You?" English translation

[edit]
Where Are You?
Good God, if we are to speak direct
Sometimes I have no strength to be in your world
Where to from your face will I hide
How will I plea, how will I justify
What will I say

Merciful and compassionate, I am exposed before you
Here is a Jew who hangs on a hairsbreadth
Fighting the sadness, the despair that gnaws, like a worm
Happiness has gone from me, and also wisdom

Voices from the past whisper me to stop
But in the darkness I continue to subvert
And asking and pleading
Where, where?
Where are you?
Where, where?
Where are you?
Where are you?

That old fool slings his arrows at me
As I falter, he strengthens
Holy spirit, please don't weep
Broken winged
Will you testify how much
I yearned

When secrets of the past ordered me to stop
But in the darkness I continue to subvert
And asking and pleading
Where, where?
Where are you?
Where, where?
Where are you?
Where are you?

At the end of day, I will be expelled on the shore
The merciful earth will gather me unto her
And then I'll shout and beg and tell
How in the darkness I subverted
And asking and pleading and yearning
Where are you?

--Written, composed and performed by Shuli Rand (2008)

El_C 05:46, 23 February 2021 (UTC)

"Poogy Tales" English translation

[edit]
Poogy Tales
From Poogy Tales
From Poogy Tales
From Poogy Tales
There's much to learn!

--Written, composed and performed by Danny Sanderson with Kaveret (1973)

This will be on the test! El_C 22:30, 23 February 2021 (UTC)

"Tell Me" English translation

[edit]
Tell Me
Tomara
1978 studio version
Tonight tell me more
So that our love will further grow
So that it will blossom forever
So that is should

Since it is better to suffer together
Than it is to live in fear
And alone to fall from worse to worst

You'll see you can't forget
Sadness gives no respite
You cannot escape
Forever

An hour has a passed, a week
What a sea of longing
But my love will not be lost
Despite the strikes and bruises
Let us live in the moment
Like a moment that will never repeat

--Written by Vinicius de Moraes
--Translated from the original Portuguese by Ehud Manor
--Performed by Corinne Allal (Hebrew), no English page, but this de one is for you, Gerda!

Looked at an English translation of the original Portuguese — some similarities, but quite different, overall (link). El_C 01:07, 24 February 2021 (UTC)

"There Were Nights" English translation

[edit]
There Were Nights
1961 live version
There were nights, which I remember
I will carry them until the end of my days
On the paths, between Degania and Kinneret
Has stood my life's loaded cart

And he went: listen to me, little one
I built a house for you to fill
In the evening, you'll sew me a shirt
I will drive your wagon in the day

He was fair and tall as song
He would drive wagons onto the wide field
And I would sew him a shirt
A shirt of blue with a gold flower

There were nights, which I remember
And he would testify the trees in the garden
The trails, between Degania and Kinneret
Because he will keep forever only I

He would come and go from me, feverish
He would carry my image before his face
Tell me, do any of you know
Where oh where has he gone not to return

Then I would weep, then I would be astounded
I would still walk to him in the far fields
And I still carry his embroidered shirt
A shirt of blue with a gold flower

There were nights, which I remember
I will carry them until the end of my days

--Written by Yaakov Orland
--Composed by Mordechai Zeira
--Performed by Kaveret (1973)

El_C 05:35, 24 February 2021 (UTC)

"It Happens" English translation

[edit]
"It Happens"
It happens
When the road lengthens
It happens
One must go and go

Nothing is known
Not a year, not a week
One must move and move
And to think that I could
Repeat it all
But man, it happens

It happened
That my road was lengthened
It happened
I did not know how it came to me

Nothing is known
Not a year, not a week
One must move and move
And to think that I could
Repeat it all
But man, it happened

It will happen
And perhaps at the road's end
That we will see
That the road lengthens

Nothing is known
Not a year, not a week
One must move and move
And to think that I could
Repeat it all
But man, it will happen

--Written and composed by Shmulik Kraus
--Performed by Arik Lavie (1975)

El_C 06:10, 24 February 2021 (UTC)

"Drawing" English translation

[edit]
"Drawing" (studio version), Yom Kippur War performance
Blue sky, a boat and an eagle
Golden red sun

Little eyes examining and watching
Drawing the entire world

A house with a garden and a dovecote
And a girl with a flowery dress

Mother and father, and I in the middle
Wandering among the stars

A bird and a kite
An airplane in the sky
And a satellite,
God, it is far, it is far
It is far, it is far

And suddenly, I am the child
Living in a world of colours anew
Drawing the entire world
Living in a world of colours anew

--Written by Ilan Gronich (Shlomo's brother)
--Jointly composed and performed by Shlomo Gronich and Matti Caspi (1973)

A mistranslation, but still chose to supplant "vulture" with "eagle." El_C 19:13, 26 February 2021 (UTC)

"Yes, It Has No Chance (etc.)" English translation

[edit]
Yes, It Has No Chance, But Between Myself And I Everything Is Allowed
Original studio version
So, I laid and sank into a pair of blue eyes which in my imagination ask to go to that
Wonderful place, a wondrous place, a place in which my spirit yearns, him with me to take
Yes, it has no chance, but between myself and I everything is allowed, and only when I'll be with him for a short
Time, to him I'd give it all

With time, I learn more to recognize in him sides and angles with different
People and disguises, his eyes only seek to quench me, to drench me in his arms
It is unimportant to me the colour of his skin, and even if his tongue to me is foreign, I don't care, if only he would ask
At once I'd carry him, to him I'd give it all

Just one obstacle remains between his touch and I, his three dimensions, I could finally hear his
Voice, could singlehandedly erase the past into the well of forgetfulness
If only he would know that every day and into the night before my eyes he appears, surely we'll still hold hand
To hand against the sunset, to him I'd give it all

Yes, perhaps he doesn't know yet, and there is one trivial detail
That we'll resolve when about my existence he learns
Surely, at this very moment, he is reading all the letters
And if we suppose just for a moment that he and I

--Written and composed by Ofer Pinhas
--Performed by Pinhas and Sons with Guy Mazig, also featuring Batucada Amazonas (2019)

The main performance switches between masculine and feminine pronouns as Guy Mazig and Noa Karadavid take turns between verses — but the original, which features only Noa Karadavid on vocals, is strictly in feminine pronoun. This translation reflects the latter (original) lyrics. El_C 09:02, 28 February 2021 (UTC)