The Historama
Alex Ben-Arieh
P.O.Box 32128
Tel Aviv, Israel 61321
Phone: +972-547-680-086
Fax: +972-3-546-1971


Key Israeli Singers and Music Groups
A showcase of the hits by key Israeli artists of all times: Yehoram Gaon, Arik Einstein, Shalom Hanoch, Matti Caspi, Yehuda Poliker, Ehud Banai and Mashina -with more to come! Translations of the lyrics are below.

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Main Music Genre Menu
(the links below will open category listing and their songs in a separate window; the full index is below)
YEHORAM GAON ARIK EINSTEIN SHALOM HANOCH MATTI CASPI
YEHUDA POLIKER EHUD BANAI MASHINA CHAVA ALBERSTEIN
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Yehoram (Yoram) Gaon (the list is sortable by clicking on the column names)

Song Name Genre Song # in Jukebox
"Where Are You [My] Love" Classic Rock / Vocal Song #42
"Here I Am" Classic Rock / Vocal Song #59
"What Are Your Eyes Saying" Classic Rock / Vocal Song #117
"Oak Tree" Classic Rock / Vocal Song #153
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Song Title: Where Are You [My] Love ("Eifo At Ahuva")
Musician: Yehoram Gaon
Year Released: 1974
Credits: lyrics and music by Leonardo Fabio; Hebrew lyrics by Talma Aligon; arranged by by Alex Weiss
Website: www.yehoramgaon.com
Comments:
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Yehoram Gaon album: 40 Golden Hits (Lehitei Zahav), 1998
Where, where are you [my] love
Why, for what are you becoming estranged
You - perhaps you already don't remember
The sound of a kiss at night
The sadness in your hands
Which became stuck together with force
And didn't give refuge
Still I won't be able to forget
To forget [my] love
Where are they, the days that won't return again
No, they won't return no, no

Here, here are the days
Lovely days of summer
And laughter on the waters
Return [my] love
Where are they, the days that won't return again
No, they won't return no, no

Where, where are the nights
Yes, those same nights in winter
And in my pockets - your hands
And rain on your lips
The wind on your face
You forgot already [my] love
Where are they, the days that won't return again
No, they won't return no, no

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Song Title: Here I Am ("Hineini Kan")
Musician: Yehoram Gaon
Video: partial clip from movie sountrack of "Ani Yerushalmi" ("I'm Jerusalemite"), 1971
Year Released: 1974
Credits: lyrics by Chaim Hefer; music by Dubi Zeltzer
Website: www.yehoramgaon.com
Comments:
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Yehoram Gaon album: 40 Golden Hits (Lehitei Zahav), 1998
I go to you all my days
I go to you dazzled
The stones wound my hands
But I don't feel a thing

I return from an unsown land
Stretch out my hand to stroke your hair
Here I am, like a wounded dove
I always fall before your hair

Here I am
Like circling birds
Here I am
Like a stone in the barrier
Like a rock, like a well
I am the man who always returns

I return in a thousand incarnations
I'm a hermit, son of a king and a beggar
And in the nights, in the hideaways of the foxes
I dream and am aware of you at the same time

I see you, one far away
Like a princess imprisoned in towers
Between bars, sitting and waiting
Oh, G-d, oh great gods

Here I am
Like circling birds
Here I am
Like a stone in the barrier
Like a rock, like a well
I am the man who always returns

And you waited like the stones
And like the fool going in the desert
Soft sunrises kissed you on your face
Heavy sunsets kissed you on your neck

That's how I saw you sitting and expecting
And in your eyes light and great sadness
That's how I took you with me to the 'Hupah' [Jewish wedding canopy]
You the barefoot with a crown of gold

Here I am
Like circling birds
Here I am
Like a stone in the barrier
Like a rock, like a well
I am the man who always returns

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Song Title: What Are Your Eyes Saying ("Ma Omrot Einayikh")
Musician: Yehoram Gaon
Year Released: 1976
Credits: lyrics by Yitzhak Shenhar; music by Mordechai Zeira
Website: www.yehoramgaon.com
Comments:
Hear the song!


Yehoram Gaon album: 40 Golden Hits (Lehitei Zahav), 1998
Sun, sun go down to the sea
Wind, light wind go rage
Who is dreaming, dreaming of you
In a bare military, military post

Two lights at night, at night, at night
Hinting, hinting to me suddenly
What are your eyes, your eyes, your eyes saying
Without telling me all to the end, to the end

Between stones, stones and hill
A lone, lone tree dozes
Who goes, goes towards you
With a swarm, a swarm of wild beasts [ref: the fourth of the ten plagues]

Two lights at night, at night, at night
Hinting, hinting to me suddenly
What are your eyes, your eyes, your eyes saying
Without telling me all to the end, to the end

Morning, morning in the time of the Nile [i.e. Biblical times]
And I return, return from the heat
May I find, I find again
A memory, a memory of the dream

Two lights at night, at night, at night
Hinting, hinting to me suddenly
What are your eyes, your eyes, your eyes saying
Without telling me all to the end, to the end
Without telling me all to the end, to the end

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Song Title: Oak Tree ("Etz Alon")
Musician: Yehoram Gaon
Video:
Year Released: 1969
Credits: lyrics by Yoram Taharlev; music by Moni Amarilio
Website: www.yehoramgaon.com
Website: static picture with music
Comments:
Hear the song!


Yehoram Gaon album: 40 Golden Hits (Lehitei Zahav), 1998
Among the trees of the forest
On its old trunk
Which saw heavy days and tempests
An oak tree stands

Ooh-ahh...
How and why
Wanders sadness in the world
Ooh-ahh...
How and why
Sad are all my songs

Once in a thousand years
A golden hoopoe [bird]
Comes and sings
A song of sorrow about him

Ooh-ahh...

And the tree is headstrong
Her voice he will guard
For the winter nights
For the frosty nights

Ooh-ahh...

On a cold and dripping night
A jackal or wandering stranger
Once in a thousand years
Will hear him sing

Ooh-ahh...

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Arik Einstein (the list is sortable by clicking on the column names)

Song Name Genre Song # in Jukebox
"Sabbath the Queen" Classic Rock Song #15
"Drive Slowly" Classic Rock Song #53
"How Good That You Came Home" Classic Rock Song #61
"Eretz Israel" Classic Rock Song #65
"Once Upon a Time" Classic Rock Song #68
"Prague" Classic Rock Song #92
"The Light at the End" Rock Song #102
"Sitting on the Fence" Classic Rock Song #103
"Everybody Wants" Rock / Blues Song #111
"Achinoam Doesn't Know" Classic Rock Song #113
"Fragile" Classic Rock Song #115
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Song Title: Sabbath the Queen ("Shabbat Ha'Malka")
Musician: Arik Einstein
Year Released: 1968
Credits: lyrics by Arik Einstein; music by Shalom Hanoch
Website: arik220.tripod.com
Comments:
Hear the song!


Here she's getting closer, and arriving
that's the Queen
Here she's getting closer, and arriving
that's the Queen
Days come and go, Sabbath is the Queen
Blessed is your coming, Sabbath the Queen

It's good you've come, Sabbath the Queen
Sabbath, Sabbath
Sabbath the Queen
It's good you've come, Sabbath the Queen
Sabbath, Sabbath
Sabbath the Queen

Here she's getting closer, and arriving
that's the Queen
Here she's getting closer, and arriving
that's the Queen
Everything is white, Sabbath the Queen
Everything is ready, Sabbath the Queen

It's good you've come, Sabbath the Queen
Sabbath, Sabbath
Sabbath the Queen
It's good you've come, Sabbath the Queen
Sabbath, Sabbath
Sabbath the Queen

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Song Title: Drive Slowly ("Sa Le'at")
Musician: Arik Einstein
Video: from a live performance with Miki Gabrielov on guitar, 1980
Year Released: 1974
Credits: lyrics by Arik Einstein; music by Miki Gabrielov
Website: arik220.tripod.com
Comments:
Hear the song!


Arik Einstein album: A Collection (Leket), 1995
We're driving in the old car
Into the wet night
The rain again is getting heavy
And we don't see anything
Drive slowly

Tzvi says that rains like these are damaging to the agriculture
And I think how warm it is at home, and what poor souls the soldiers are
Lying now in the mud
Drive slowly, drive slowly

On the radio - the replacement for the scout -
Suddenly begins the news
Tonight a heavy hail will fall
My wiper's now broken

Tzvi says his head is cold, to close a window
And I think: Hapoel [Tel Aviv football club] has lost again, and what poor souls the fans are
Who are eating out their hearts
Drive slowly, drive slowly

Let your thoughts run in all directions
They won't start without us
Drive slowly, drive slowly

We're driving in the old car
Into the wet night
Tomorrow I'll wake up early
You'll see, it will be alright

Tzvi says that it's hard for him to breathe, and his medicines have run out
And I think, I think of you - and how you know how to indulge me
I love you
Drive slowly, drive slowly

You remember that we drove to Eilat
We went down to the water
Everyone was of the same mind
We sang impersonations of the Beatles

We're driving in the old car
Into the wet night
The rain again is getting heavy
And we don't see anything
Drive slowly

Tzvi says that they discovered a star that has life on it
And I think, in a little while we'll be near Gaza
And just that some grenade won't fly - and we'll go to hell
Drive slowly, drive slowly

Let your thoughts run in all directions
They won't start without us
Drive slowly, drive slowly

We're driving in the old car
Into the wet night
The rain again is getting heavy
And we don't see anything
Drive slowly

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Song Title: How Good That You Came Home ("Kama Tov She'Bata Ha'baita")
Musician: Arik Einstein
Video: from Shlomo Artzi and Shalom Hanoch's concert tour, "Connection", in Caesaria, 2005
Year Released:
Credits: lyrics by Ya'akov Rotblit; music by Shalom Hanoch
Website: arik220.tripod.com
Comments:
Hear the song!


Arik Einstein album: A Collection (Leket), 1995
How good that you came home
How good to see you again
Tell us, what's new, tell us
Tell us how it was
And why you didn't send a postcard?

How good that you came home
A little thin, but what does it matter
You had a good time, you did things
You saw some other colors

But how good it is that you're here
How good it is that you're already here
How it is good, good

How good that you came home
This house already says it all
It was hot for you, it was
It was cold for you
You're now much happier
Already much happier

So how good it is that you came home
As if you set out, set out just yesterday
Everything here remained the same thing
You're now much more mature
Yes more mature

But how good it is that you're here
How good it is that you're already here
How it is good, good

How good that you came home
Really, you thought of me
How good that you came
That you came home
How good that you came to me
Yes, that you came to me

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Song Title: Eretz Israel ("Eretz Israel")
Musician: Arik Einstein
Year Released: 1969
Credits: lyrics by Arik Einstein; music by Shmulik Krauss
Website: arik220.tripod.com
Comments: A mournful piece written during the 1968-70 War of Attrition between Egypt and Israel, just after the Israeli victory in the 1967 Six-Day War, contrasting the feelings of love and pride against the tears and sorrow of heavy losses during this period.
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Arik Einstein album: Poozy (Poozy), 1969
What did he say
A house for you I built there on the sand - Eretz Israel
I sang a lovely song about the blue sea - Eretz Israel

What did he say, oh guard what did he say

Eve again tilts towards the Golan - Eretz Israel
There a young soldier lies in silent wait - Eretz Israel

What did he say, oh guard what did he say

How much I do love you - Eretz Israel
Why am I so sad then - Eretz Israel

What did he say, oh guard what did he say

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Song Title: Once Upon a Time (For Ziggi) ("Hayo Haya")
Musician: Arik Einstein
Year Released: 1969
Credits: lyrics by Arik Einstein; music by Misha Segal
Website: arik220.tripod.com
Comments: A juicy piece of Israeli rock from Einstein's album "Poozy" (named after his daughter's nickname), considered to be Israel's first Israeli-rock album. This piece was written in memory of the pianist of Einstein's former music group, "The High Windows" ("Ha'Khalonot Ha'Gvohim"), and features clips of him in concert.
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Arik Einstein album: Poozy (Poozy), 1969
Once upon a time
There was a king
Once upon a time

Once upon a time
Far above cried G-d
Once upon a time

Once upon a time
And he will live forever
Once upon a time

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Song Title: Prague ("Prague")
Musician: Arik Einstein
Video: from a performance aired on Channel 3, probably mid-1990's.
Year Released: 1969
Credits: lyrics and music Shalom Hanoch
Website: arik220.tripod.com
Comments: From www.mima.co.il: this song was written a year after the Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia during the 1968 thaw. Einstein performed this piece for the 1969 Festival of Hebrew Music (Israel's annual music competition then), but reached only seventh place - some suggest because of its heavy tone. Upset, he refused to perform further in these competitions. The lines about a young man slipping away refer to Lian Falach, a young Czech who set himself on fire in Wenceslas Square in protest of the Soviet invasion.
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Arik Einstein album: Poozy (Poozy), 1969
Towards the city of the imprisoned dream
A strange and heavy shadow burst forth
And a red moon
It's kingship it dipped in soot

He who didn't close his eyes
His bitter night did he bear
An absolute silence of surrender without fight
A man who locked his rifled until death

How upon Prague did dawn not break
On Tuesday did her strength run out
How did the voice of the noisy square get silenced
A song which I dreamed, about Prague
There the dawn will yet break.

Like an old yellowing photograph
A city of ghosts submitted
To the silent march of bears
And in her consumed neck.

No one dares leave his doorway
A salty ghetto smell
From one end to the other
Across the city is carried by wind.

How upon Prague did dawn not break
On Tuesday did her strength run out
How did the voice of the noisy square get silenced
A song which I dreamed, about Prague
There the dawn will yet break.

Only the silence in her remains
A young man suddenly slips away
Then a strange light rose upon him
There in the city square which had died.

A song which I dreamed, about Prague
There the dawn will yet break
There the dawn will yet break.

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Song Title: The Light at the End ("Ha Or Ba Katzeh")
Musician: Arik Einstein
Year Released: 1987
Credits: lyrics by Yaakov Gilad and Yehuda Poliker; music by Yehuda Poliker
Website: arik220.tripod.com
Comments: Released on an album (1997) of the same name which contains a song specifically dedicated to the memory of the slain Prime Minister, Yitzhak Rabin (1995); the allusion to "addresses on the wall of the square of the city" probably refers to the square ("Kings of Israel") in which Rabin was assassinated.
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Arik Einstein album: Best of (HaMeitav), 2003
Life, my little girl
Is a serious matter
Sometimes I'm scared to death
From my own shadow
From all that's around
Sometimes there are moments where it seems
That there's light at the end
And suddenly it's darkness

And you, like everyone
Who lost their way
You will find some kind of light in the darkness
You will get stronger, you will change
You will get older and you will see
That sometimes there are moments where it seems
There is light at the end
Fluttering in the darkness

All the candles
Which we lit at night
Won't drive away this cold darkness
All the winds which blew all night long
Won't extinguish the light at the end
Won't put out the light
Which rises in the morning

Search, ask
And you too will find out
The answer is still carried in the wind
There are addresses on the wall
In the square of the city
That sometimes there are moments where it seems
There is light at the end
Flickering in the darkness

All the candles
Which we lit at night
Won't drive away this cold darkness
All the winds which blew all night long
Won't extinguish the light at the end
Won't put out the light
Which rises in the morning

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Song Title: Sitting on the Fence ("Yoshev Al Ha Gader")
Musician: Arik Einstein
Video: From a TV special aired on the occasion of the album's release. Yitzhak Klepter, one of Israel's best guitarists, is on the lead guitar in the video; several local celebrities of the time (and to this day) are featured in the clip, too.
Year Released: 1982
Credits: lyrics by Arik Einstein; music Yitzhak Klepter
Website: arik220.tripod.com
Comments:
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Arik Einstein album: Best of (HaMeitav), 2003
Sitting on the fence
One leg here, one leg there
Sitting on the fence
In good stead with everyone
Knocking out smiles in all directions
And always, always in the know

Sitting on the fence
One leg here, one leg there
Sitting on the fence
Looking over the world
Knocking out smiles in all directions
And always, always in the know

Sitting on the fence
One leg here, one leg there
Sitting on the fence
Taking it easy
Knocking out smiles in all directions
And always, always in the know

Sitting, thinking on the fence
Looking here, peeking there
Reading the paper, hearing the news on time
Washing himself in a screen of smoke

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Song Title: Everybody Wants ("Kol Echad Rotzeh")
Musician: Arik Einstein (featuring Shalom Hanoch)
Year Released: 1998
Credits: lyrics and music by Shalom Hanoch
Website: arik220.tripod.com
Comments:
Hear the song!


Arik Einstein album: Best of (HaMeitav), 2003
[Arik Eintein]
Everybody wants to be a musician
To be a musician, to be a musician
If not a musician, then an actor
If not an actor, then a clown
If not a clown, then a critic

[Shalom Hanoch]
Everybody wants to be a star
To be a star, to be a star
If not a star, then an entertainer
If not an entertainer, then a [show] host
If not a host, then an impersonator

[Arik Eintein]
Everybody wants to be a fat-cat
To be a fat-cat, to be a fat-cat
If not a fat-cat, then a model
If not a model, then a photographer
If not a photographer, then a poet

[Chorus]
Everybody wants to be general manager
To be general secretary, to be chief inspector
Everybody wants to be
Something, someone

[Arik Einstein]
Everybody wants a lovely woman
A lovely woman, a lovely woman
If not lovely, then warm
If not warm, [then] smart
[If] not smart, then rich

[Chorus]
Everybody wants to be general manager
To be general secretary, to be chief inspector
Everybody wants to be
Something, someone

[Shalom Hanoch]
Everybody wants peace now
Peace now, peace now
If not now, then tomorrow
If not tomorrow then when -
When it will be too late?

[Chorus]
Everybody wants to be a musician
To be a musician, to be a musician...
Everybody wants
Everybody wants to be
Everybody wants to be a musician
To be a musician, to be a musician...

If not a musician...
Something, someone

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Song Title: Achinoam Doesn't Know ("Achinoam Lo Yodaat")
Musician: Arik Einstein
Year Released: 1969
Credits: lyrics by Yonatan Gefen; music Robert Huxley
Website: arik220.tripod.com
Comments:
Hear the song!


Arik Einstein album: Poozy (Poozy), 1969
With closed eyes, two ribbons and two [hair] braids
All in all just a little, little girl
With lips embroidered by strawberry fields and dreams
All in all just a little, little girl

She doesn't know anything
[to a girl]: You don't know anything
Achinoam...

At a window across the boulevard, cyclamen [a plant] in clusters
Not for picking, little, little girl
She looks at a bonfire, floats onwards on a rowboat
Far, far away little, little girl

She doesn't know anything
[to a girl]: You don't know anything
Achinoam...

She smiles like grapes and we hope
After all just a little, little girl
And the dreams are nice, between leaves and branches
Good night little, little girl

She doesn't know anything
[to a girl]: You don't know anything
Achinoam...

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Song Title: Fragile ("Shavir")
Musician: Arik Einstein
Video: Original music video also featuring Yitzhak Klepter, one of Israel's best guitarists.
Year Released: 1982
Credits: lyrics by Arik Einstein; music by Yitzhak Klepter
Website: arik220.tripod.com
Comments:
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Arik Einstein album: Best of (HaMeitav), 2003
A fragile person crumbles with ease
Burdens himself with all the problems in the world
Drops off like a leaf blown repeatedly in a light wind
In short, a fragile person crumbles with ease

A fragile person crumbles with ease
Searches for himself, searches all the time
Takes things heavily, thinks it's the end of the world
In short, a fragile person crumbles with ease

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Shalom Hanoch (the list is sortable by clicking on the column names)

Song Name Genre Song # in Jukebox
"Because Man is a Tree of the Field" Rock Song #35
"This Way and That" Pop / Rock Song #36
"Little by Little" Pop / Rock Song #37
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Song Title: Because Man is a Tree of the Field [live] ("Ki Ha'Adam Etz Ha'Sadeh")
Musician: Shalom Hanoch
Year Released: (1983) 1988
Credits: lyrics by Natan Zach; music by Shalom Hanoch
Website:
Comments:
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Shalom Hanoch album: True Romance - Shalom Hanoch Live (Roman Amiti), 1988
Because man is a tree of the field
Like man, also the tree sprouts
Like the tree, man's life is cut short
And I don't know
Where I was and where I'll be
Like a tree of the field

Because man is a tree of the field
Like the tree he aspires upwards
Like man he's burned by fire
And I don't know
Where I was and where I'll be
Like a tree of the field

I loved and I also hated
I tasted from this and from that
They buried me in the earth
And it's bitter for me
It's bitter for me in the mouth
Like a tree of the field

Because man is a tree of the field
Like the tree he's thirsty for water
Like man he remains thirsty
And I don't know
Where I was and where I'll be
Like a tree of the field

I loved and I also hated
I tasted from this and from that
They buried me in the earth
And it's bitter for me
It's bitter for me in the mouth
Like a tree of the field

Because man is a tree of the field
Because man is a tree of the field
Tree of the field

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Song Title: This Way and That ("Kakha ve'Kakha")
Musician: Shalom Hanoch
Video: from Shlomo Artzi and Shalom Hanoch's concert tour, "Connection", in Caesaria, 2005
Year Released: 1991
Credits: lyrics and music by Shalom Hanoch
Website:
Comments:
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Shalom Hanoch album: This Time Around (Ba Gilgul Hazeh), 1991
I return from a night at the studio
Rhyming to myself an old love song
To sing in the shower
I think about you all the time
I love you in every way
This way and that, you're unforgetable
Even when you're not here.

Another morning rises in my life
Perhaps I worked too hard
Instead of us being together
But certainly - not perhaps
Also you work a little too hard
This way and that, I want you to rest
Here in my arms.

I wet my face and close my eyes
Letting my imagination run with the water
There's nothing to do - this is what there is in the meantime
You're in every place, this way and that
By night and by morning, this way and that
Fourteen days without being together.

This is a song from a boy in love
If you hear my voice now
You definitely forgive
I think about you all the time
I love you in every way
This way and that, you're unforgetable
Even when you're not here.

You're in every place, this way and that
By night and by morning, this way and that
Fourteen days without being together.
I wet my face and close my eyes
Letting my imagination run with the water.
Fourteen days are an eternity that lasts two weeks.

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Song Title: Little by Little ("Le'at Le'at")
Musician: Shalom Hanoch
Video: original music video pulled from Israel Music Channel 24
Year Released: 1994
Credits: lyrics and music by Shalom Hanoch
Website:
Comments:
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Shalom Hanoch album: Violence (Alimut), 1994
I hear how you sing for me
See you dancing before me
Such a sight with my own eyes
You're presence is a fire in my core [bones]

From how you pull down my clothes
Your body is exposed in all the colors of the rainbow
And you see me see
How much you're beautiful when you're emotional

You get closer to me, little by little
Between whisper and glance, little by little
You reveal who I am, little by little
You reveal to me who you are, little by little

Surprising how your body is so familiar
And how the soul touches the flesh
A touch like this that can't be described
I never knew before

You get closer to me, little by little
You melt between my fingers, little by little
Breaking waves come to the shore, little by little
In an endless movement, little by little

You get closer to me, little by little
Between whisper and glance, little by little
You will reveal who I am, little by little
You will reveal to me who you are, little by little

I hear how you sing for me

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Matti Caspi (the list is sortable by clicking on the column names)

Song Name Genre Song # in Jukebox
"A Moment of Silence" Classic Rock / Vocal Song #13
"On Hot Summer Nights" Classic Rock / Vocal Song #50
"Still Will Come the Day" Classic Rock / Vocal Song #51
"I Didn't Know That You Would Leave Me" Classic Rock Song #60
"There it Goes Again" Classic Rock Song #112
"Oh What Will Be" Classic Rock Song #139
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Song Title: A Moment of Silence ("Daka Dumiah")
Musician: Matti Caspi
Year Released: 1978
Credits: lyrics by Yonathan Geffen; music by Matti Caspi
Website: www.matticaspi.co.il
Comments: A song written in the spirit of the "moment of silence" which we observe to commemorate mournful or somber holidays in Israel - memorial day for fallen soldiers, Independence Day, Holocaust remembrance day. The notion of a "moment of silence" (daka dumia) here in Israel is an actual event, whereby people stop their activities completely and stand in silence for 1 or 2 minutes (depending on the occasion) as a siren wails. Caspi plays all the instruments in this song (in fact for all the songs on the album from which this song is from).
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Matti Caspi album: Side A, Side B (Tzad Alef, Tzad Bet), 1978
A moment of silence for the leaves,
which fell in the middle of autumn
And a moment for silence for the words,
which we said as if in vain.
A moment of silence for the flowers,
which fell without us noticing
And a moment of silence for the bird
which wanted to cross the street.

A moment of silence for the woman,
who was with me in my dream.
A moment of silence for the meeting
which hasn't taken place till today.
A moment of silence - and quietly -
for songs in general
And to all the the love
which could have been mine too.

To the memory of the colors which died
together with me and my years,
To the memory of that night
since which my traces have been lost.
A moment of silence for the spring
which changed here without stopping,
And a moment of silence for all those
who left and forgot to return.

And to the memory of all those who remember,
how much time you were at my side,
To the memory of this night
which sees me here all alone.
Many moments of silence
for all which changed and hurts
Listen here for the siren
which I have here in my heart.

A moment of silence for the leaves,
which fell in the middle of autumn
And a moment for silence for the words,
which we said as if in vain.
A moment of silence for the flowers,
which fell without us noticing
And a moment of silence for the bird
which wanted to cross the street.

A moment of silence for the woman,
who was with me in my dream.
A moment of silence for the meeting
which hasn't taken place till today.
A moment of silence - and quietly -
for songs in general
And to all the the love
which could have been mine too.

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Song Title: On Hot Summer Nights ("Beh Leilot Ha'Kaitz Ha'Khamim")
Musician: Matti Caspi
Video: the IDF band version performed by the Artillery Corps Spirit Team with Mali Brunstein on vocals, pulled from Channel 1
Year Released: 1978
Credits: lyrics by Danny Minster; music by Matti Caspi
Website: www.matticaspi.co.il
Comments: Orchestral accompaniment by members of the Israeli Philharmonic Orchestra. The fluitist is a famous musician, Shem-Tov Levy; and the electric guitarist is Chaim Romano. A more recent techno cover of this song is here (scroll down, should play automatically), by Ronit Shahar.
Hear the song!


Matti Caspi album: Side A, Side B (Tzad Alef, Tzad Bet), 1978
On hot summer nights
Nothing happens
Perhaps a fading star peeps
Through an open window
Perhaps a cricket is heard from far away
But even the clock doesn't tick
On hot summer nights
Nothing happens

Perhaps a cricket is heard from far away
But even the clock doesn't tick
On hot summer nights
Nothing happens

Underneath the mulberry tree in the village
People sit and talk
The read a book with an old smell
Close their eyes and go silent
Nothing else happens
On hot summer nights
Underneath the mulberry tree in the village
People sit and talk

Nothing else happens
On hot summer nights
Underneath the mulberry tree in the village
People sit and talk

Nothing else happens
Nothing else happens

Underneath the mulberry tree in the village
People sit and talk
The read a book with an old smell
Close their eyes and go silent
Nothing else happens
On hot summer nights
Underneath the mulberry tree in the village
People sit and talk

Nothing else happens
On hot summer nights
Underneath the mulberry tree in the village
People sit and talk

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Song Title: Still Will Come the Day ("Od Yavo Ha'Yom")
Musician: Matti Caspi
Year Released: 1978
Credits: lyrics by Ehud Manor; music by Matti Caspi
Website: www.matticaspi.co.il
Comments: Orchestral accompaniment by members of the Israeli Philharmonic Orchestra. The electric guitarist is Chaim Romano.
Hear the song!


Matti Caspi album: Side A, Side B (Tzad Alef, Tzad Bet), 1978
Still will come the day -
Still will come the day
Like a sparrow to the garden in Autumn
Yes I see -
Yes I see
All of it elderly and white
It's a lost star -
It's a lost star
Which is coming closer to here now
Still will come the day -
Still will come the day
It will strike at its flute

Still will come the day -
Still will come the day
And again we'll be together with it without end
It's an ancient melody -
It's an ancient melody
Whose notes were discovered - it lives
Like an old friend -
Like an old friend
Who disappeared and returned to me
Still will come the day -
Still will come the day
Here it is over me

When the day will come -
When the day will come
Smile to me with a wet gaze
You will be with me -
You will be with me
I'm your good little child
Call out my name -
Call out my name
And a boy will dance with a girl in the street
Still will come the day -
Still will come the day
Perhaps it's already close at hand

When the day will come -
When the day will come
We'll walk in a new light - golden light
You will be good -
You will be good
Trickling with milk and honey like then
You will be close by -
You will be close by
And in your hand will be felt its grasp
Still will come the day -
Still will come the day
It will turn out sweet like then

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Song Title: I Didn't Know That You Would Leave Me ("Lo Yadati She'Tilkhi Mi'meni")
Musician: Matti Caspi
Video: performance for a memorial tribute to composer Ehud Manor, most of whose works were written for Caspi; from Channel 2, circa. 2006
Year Released: 1976
Credits: lyrics by Matti Caspi; music by Matti Caspi
Website: www.matticaspi.co.il
Comments:
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Matti Caspi album: The Best of (HaMeitav), 2004
I didn't dream that you would leave me
Without saying a word, without giving a warning
I didn't dream that suddenly I would be struck down
Thunder such as this on a clear day
And I am innocent, I always thought
That blissful ones like us there aren't
And in my imagination to see you my love
How together we would grow old

A voice calls out tonight
There isn't a reply tonight
And myself -
How I hate,
How I will change
For you

You were something so definite
Like coffee in the morning, like sleep
I was never next to you, tense
I didn't develop a means to defend myself
Perhaps you're soon returning
Just went out to buy a few things
And we'll go together to see a movie
Or we'll decide that we're staying in

A voice calls out tonight
There isn't a reply tonight
And myself -
How I hate,
How I will change
For you

And I am innocent, I always thought
That blissful ones like us there aren't
And in my imagination to see you my love
How together we would grow old

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Song Title: There it Goes Again ("Hineh Hineh")
Musician: Matti Caspi
Video: Taken from the Channel 10 show "Behind the News" hosted by former Tislam band member, Yair Nitzani, who begins his interview with the question: "Tell me Matti, did it ever happen to you in an interview or for a newspaper that they asked you a question and you didn't reply or didn't have an answer?" Caspi, famously, does not smile.
Year Released: 1975
Credits: lyrics by Ehud Manor; music by Matti Caspi
Website: www.matticaspi.co.il
Comments:
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Matti Caspi album: The Best of (HaMeitav), 2004
There it goes again
A song which starts low
A melody which begins with a "mi", with a "mol"
But wants
But wants to grow up into a "la" minor, a "fa" minor
And looks for an outlet for herself
And here she rises, rises, rises

I didn't know you would run away
I didn't know that you would fly so far away
I didn't know that you would forget me
Talk back to me and give me a reply
There it goes again

I didn't know you would run away
I didn't know that you would fly so far away
I didn't know that you would forget me
Talk back to me and give me a reply
There it goes again

Another year begins slowly
Another year begins today to grow
The day is crawling on
And tomorrow you'll say hello
Like a dream
She hurries on her way and she, she
Rises and rises up

I didn't know you would run away
I didn't know that you would fly so far away
I didn't know that you would forget me
Talk back to me and give me a reply
There it goes again

I didn't know you would run away
I didn't know that you would fly so far away
I didn't know that you would forget me
Talk back to me and give me a reply
There it goes again

A love that starts deeply
A love that promises to be close
Who promises that she'll be good [well behaved]
Pretty, pretty until her end
Still small for a big [grown up] one
But here she is
Rising, rising up

I didn't know you would run away
I didn't know that you would fly so far away
I didn't know that you would forget me
Talk back to me and give me a reply
There it goes again

I didn't know you would run away
I didn't know that you would fly so far away
I didn't know that you would forget me
Talk back to me and give me a reply
There it goes again

That was my song
A song which loved me for a year
But suddenly became different
Moved on and left
And she's no more, she's no more, she's no more

I didn't know you would run away
I didn't know that you would fly so far away
I didn't know that you would forget me
Talk back to me and give me a reply
There it goes again

I didn't know you would run away
I didn't know that you would fly so far away
I didn't know that you would forget me
Talk back to me and give me a reply
There it goes again

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Song Title: Oh What Will Be ("Ho Ma Yihiyeh")
Musician: Matti Caspi
Year Released: 1987
Credits: original music and lyrics by Chico Buarque / Hebrew adaptation by: Ehud Manor; music adapted by by Matti Caspi
Website: www.matticaspi.co.il
Comments: Based on "Que Sera Sera"
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Matti Caspi album: The Best of (HaMeitav), 2004
Oh, what will be, what will be
Tell me what will be here between me and you
They promised fairy tails to me and you, to me and you
And we didn't anything from all that was promised
They told me about a world without a shade of cloud
They told you about a prince and his white horse
They said that love is good, is good
They said look straight ahead in hope, in hope
And I have no idea what will be, what will be
But in my heart I still want, hope
That not all is lost, that we'll live here forever
In bliss and in wealth [a figure of speech in Hebrew]

Oh, what will be, what will be
Tell me what will be here between me and you
I tried to find everything that was promised
But no miracle befell me, it's an unsuccessful story
I tried to ask for just a little more, a little more
They said that's all there is, so learn to compromise
I thought of my house, of my father, of my mother
I thought I'd continue searching on my own
And I have no idea what will be, what will be
But in my heart I still want, hope
That not all is lost, that we'll live here forever
In bliss and in wealth

Oh, what will be, what will be
Tell me what will be here between me and you
See what cold, what rain pours down
When will this pass, it just continues, it just continues
You remember every story, every word, every word
Repeating every word like a prayer, like a prayer
One mustn't despair, and mustn't leave
One must be stubborn, and must love
And I have no idea what will be, what will be
But in my heart I still want, hope
That not all is lost, that we'll live here forever
In bliss and in wealth

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Yehuda Poliker (the list is sortable by clicking on the column names)
Most of the songs in this section come from one double-disk live album comprising Poliker's hits as a solo artist and member of the band "Benzine"; some of the songs were re-adapated from their original versions to reflect Greek influences (Poliker's family roots). Joining him on his concert tour were Mashina's basist Michael Benson and their keyboardist-accordionist-saxophonist Avner Hodorov; the cheering audience is all of 5000 (the maximum seating at Ceasaria). In my (humble) opinion this album is one of the finest works of music ever produced in any language.

Song Name Genre Song # in Jukebox
"Melting in the Rain" (live) Rock Song #46
"For Your Blue Eyes" (live) Instrumental Song #84
"A Story of Times Past" (live) Instrumental Song #90
"I Don't Know" (live) Rock Song #93
"Face to Face" (live) Rock Song #98
"What Will Be Will Be" (live) Rock Song #140
"Less But Hurts" (live) Rock Song #141
"And the Children Come" (live) Rock Song #142
"Sunday Morning" (live) Rock/Greek Song #158
"Window to the Mediterranean Sea" (live) Rock/Greek Song #159
"Three Days" Rock/Techno Song #161
"Don't Leave Now" Rock/Pop Song #165
"In the Endless Traffic Jam" Rock/Pop Song #175
"It's Not the End" Techno-Pop Song #181
"Transorient" Greek Song #183
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Song Title: Melting in the Rain [live] ("Namess Ba'Geshem")
Musician: Yehuda Poliker
Video: original music video
Year Released: (1995) 1996
Credits: lyrics by Ya'akov Gil'ad; music by Yehuda Poliker
Website: poliker.co.il and wikipedia entry
Comments:
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Yehuda Poliker album: Live in Caesaria (Hofaah Khaya), 1996
Rain is falling outside, he's alone and cold
On the public phone he hears a voice that familiar to him
It's his mother at home, automatic and brief
"Hello, leave a message and I will call you back"
It's really urgent for him
But she, what does she know
She watches 'Popolitika' [television show]
And she can barely hear
She told him: "don't live here"
And his dad also said: "one like you, not here with us
We didn't ask for an odd bird"

Rain outside still continues to fall
An ambulance wails, in the street passes a police car
"Kid, where do you live" everyone asks him
"Me, in the public park - on the bench above the sea"
He was last seen with a backback and a sweater
He left an envelope on the table in the room
And wrote in continuation about their last conversation
"One like me won't live here
It's better to live in a kennel"

Melting in the rain, nose in the wind
Yes, he won't, won't cry
Alone all night long
For whom is he waiting
Melting in the rain, nose in the wind
On a night as cold as this
If there is a god here
Also he would freeze

The hour is already late
His mother is in the shower, wrapped in a towel
The rain is falling, her laundry is getting wet
His father, on the phone, ordered a video and a meal
And fell asleep in a pyjama watching the family channel
It's raining outside and the traffic is crawling
The deliverymen are on the way, two cops are at the door
The found him freezing, they thought he'd fallen asleep
On the dark edge of the city
On the sea shore

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Song Title: For Your Blue Eyes [live] ("Le Einayikh Ha'Khulot")
Musician: Yehuda Poliker
Year Released: (1992) 1996
Credits: music by Yehuda Poliker
Website: poliker.co.il and wikipedia entry
Comments: An instrumental piece.
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Yehuda Poliker album: Live in Caesaria (Hofaah Khaya), 1996

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Song Title: A Story of Times Past [live] ("Sippur Zmanim Avru")
Musician: Yehuda Poliker
Year Released: (1990) 1996
Credits: music by Yehuda Poliker
Website: poliker.co.il and wikipedia entry
Comments: An instrumental piece; Poliker's Greek roots are apparent in this and his other Mediterranean pieces.
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Yehuda Poliker album: Live in Caesaria (Hofaah Khaya), 1996

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Song Title: I Don't Know [live] ("Lo Yodeah")
Musician: Yehuda Poliker
Video: original music video
Year Released: (1995) 1996
Credits: lyrics by Yehuda Poliker and Ya'akov Gil'ad; music by Yehuda Poliker
Website: poliker.co.il and wikipedia entry
Comments:
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Yehuda Poliker album: Live in Caesaria (Hofaah Khaya), 1996
I don't know if you know
How to love me,
Like I don't know if I know how
To love you like you are

I take back terribly hard things
That I said to you and you said also to me
Because every word is like a slap
Like a stab
Every word which was said

Perhaps I erred, and didn't see
Perhaps you loved me in your way
If only I could know
Perhaps I would calm down and relax

I take back terribly hard things
That I said to you and you said also to me
Because every word is like a slap
Like a stab
Every word which was said
Every word which was said

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Song Title: Face to Face [live] ("Panim El Mul Panim")
Musician: Yehuda Poliker
Year Released: (1981) 1996
Credits: lyrics by Ya'akov Gil'ad; music by Yehuda Poliker
Website: poliker.co.il and wikipedia entry
Comments: Originally a song by Poliker's first band "Benzine".
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Yehuda Poliker album: Live in Caesaria (Hofaah Khaya), 1996
Face to face
A meeting in the middle of life
We've reached ourselves
From places which are so different
The city looks different
As if we weren't here
Tonight you're staying
Wait with me for the morning to come

We loved each other once, in truth and in innocence
We loved like children know how
On me and on you they see the years
And you're beautiful, face to face

Face to face
Perhaps just once in a lifetime
Time closes in on us
A circle of changes
So what came over you
And what brings you to here
Tonight you're staying
Wait with me for the morning to come

We loved each other once, in truth and in innocence
We loved like children know how
On me and on you they see the years
And you're beautiful, face to face

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Song Title: What Will Be Will Be [live] ("Ma Yihiyeh Yihiyeh")
Musician: Yehuda Poliker
Video: original music video
Year Released: 1996
Credits: lyrics by Yehuda Poliker and Yaakov Gilad; music by Yehuda Poliker
Website: poliker.co.il and wikipedia entry
Comments:
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Yehuda Poliker album: Live in Caesaria (Hofaah Khaya), 1996
There's nobody at home
The door is closed
Doors always used to be open
And nothing would happen
And the world seemed small
Always protected and not understood
Tell me what have we lost here

They threw a stone at you
Some disturbed kid
The blood is on your shirt
I was really shocked
After almost thirty years
You can see a very small scar
And a sea of fears without amend

What will be will be
It's you who says that
And don't mean a word of it
What will be will be
It's you who says that
And I who fear every word of yours

Dogs are barking at us
The door is closed
The house we grew up in
Is up for sale
And in its place will rise a building
On a noisy street within the [car] smoke
Tell me what did we forget here

Years have turned into history
Don't look back
Everyone who is no longer here
Went without returning
And those who died still live within you
And don't leave you for a moment
Tell me what will become of you

What will be will be
It's you who says that
And don't mean a word of it
What will be will be
It's you who says that
And I who fear every word of yours

What will be will be
It's you who says that
And don't mean a word of it
What will be will be
It's you who says that
And I who fear every word of yours

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Song Title: Less But Hurts [live] ("Pakhot Aval Koev")
Musician: Yehuda Poliker
Video: original music video
Year Released: 1996
Credits: lyrics by Yonatan Geffen; music by Yehuda Poliker
Website: poliker.co.il and wikipedia entry
Comments:
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Yehuda Poliker album: Live in Caesaria (Hofaah Khaya), 1996
Eventually it's forgotten as if it doesn't exist
But when the evening strikes
I tell you that's how it is between us
[it exists] Less, but it still hurts

What was wounded within me, got wounded and healed
I almost don't think about it
You learn to live with it like that
Less, but it still hurts
You learn to live with it like that
Less, but it still hurts

With a glass and a cookie you can sweeten things up
There's no limit to the escapism
It doesn't disappear, it's just far away or asleep
And it hurts, but less
It doesn't disappear, it's just far away
Hurts but less

Less and yet, still it harms
It comes and goes, you know
It hurts when I, I touch you
It hurts when you touch [me]
Less and yet, still it harms
It comes and goes, you know
It hurts when I,
It hurts me when you,
It hurts when you touch [me]

Eventually it's forgotten as if it doesn't exist
But when the evening strikes
I tell you that's how it is between us
[it exists] Less, but it still hurts

We're not so far along, we
And if things are bad for me I write

It hurts but less
Less but it still hurts
It hurts but less
Less but it still hurts

Less and yet, still it harms
It comes and goes, you know
It hurts when I, I touch you
It hurts when you touch [me]
Less and yet, still it harms
It comes and goes, you know
It hurts when I,
It hurts me when you,
It hurts when you touch [me]

Less and yet, still it harms
It comes and goes, you know
It hurts when I,
It hurts me when you,
It hurts when you touch [me]

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Song Title: And the Children Come [live] ("Ve HaYeladim Bayim")
Musician: Yehuda Poliker
Year Released: 1996
Credits: lyrics by Yehuda Poliker and Yaakov Gilad; music by Yehuda Poliker
Website: poliker.co.il and wikipedia entry
Comments:
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Yehuda Poliker album: Live in Caesaria (Hofaah Khaya), 1996
They tug and continue, playing the game
Someone will cry and someone will laugh
Someone will come out of it whole, and someone hurt
I always think of the worst possible case

They hurt, they insult, they mistake and they are justified
We've turned into veteran fighting foxes
We who were the best of friends
We learned to be wolves and enemies

And the children come and the children go
They leave behind them innocence and adolescence
[After] so many years what's another week
It's a permanent routine, a permanent routine

And if we'll feel guilty, how will we part as friends
Losers, losing in lost battles
This battle is lost, I'm packing up and finishing
Tomorrow I leave, I say and stay

And the children come and the children go
They leave behind them innocence and adolescence
[After] so many years what's another week
It's a permanent routine, a permanent routine

They tug and continue, playing the game
Someone will cry and someone will laugh
How will I get out of this, the end after all is known
I'm tired of thumbing through another day and another week

And the children come and the children go
They leave behind them innocence and adolescence
[After] so many years what's another week
It's a permanent routine, a permanent routine

And the children come and the children go
They leave behind them innocence and adolescence

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Song Title: Sunday Morning [live] ("Boker Yom Rishon")
Musician: Yehuda Poliker
Year Released: 1996
Credits: lyrics by Stavros Kouyoumtzis; music by Yaakov Gilad
Website: poliker.co.il and wikipedia entry
Video: original music video
Comments: Based on the original Greek version of the song, called "Htan pente htan exi"
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Yehuda Poliker album: Live in Caesaria (Hofaah Khaya), 1996
Six-thirty, seven, eight, Sunday morning
I don't want to listen to the radio nor read the paper
Soon a torrential rain will be about to fall
If only I could now just go to sleep

Not far from here continues a wild war
There is hunger in Asia, Africa is thirsty
There is nowhere on the face of the planet any grace for medicine
The clock rings - another hour has come up

Those who dreamt with me about freedom and songs
That one [female] who loved me, everyone is now a stranger to me
Everyone decided to run away, also the birds
And upon me, the skies are black

Around my house a wall has been closing in for a few hours
The sound of metal chains bodes troubles
Here the time has stopped moving, still there come tears
If I could only now just not see

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Song Title: Window to the Mediterranean Sea [live] ("Khalon La Yam ha Tikhon")
Musician: Yehuda Poliker
Year Released: 1996
Credits: lyrics by by Yaakov Gilad; Music by Yehuda Poliker
Website: poliker.co.il and wikipedia entry
Video: original video from the concert
Comments:
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Yehuda Poliker album: Live in Caesaria (Hofaah Khaya), 1996
A letter... a letter from a new land, December 1950...

I promised to write when I left
And I haven't written for a while
Now I miss you so much
It's a pity, a pity that you aren't here

After I arrived in Yaffo
Hopes were born out of despair
I found a room and a half
On the roof of an abandoned house

There's a folding bed here
If we'll want all three of us to sleep
You, me and the child
Across a window overlooking the Mediterranean Sea

And perhaps from a distance there's a chance in a million
And perhaps from a distance some kind of joy steals towards the window

The year '50, end of December
Outside a wind storm
The snow fell here by surprise
The white reminds me of things destroyed

The wound is still open
If only you were with me now
I would most certainly tell you
What I would not say in writing

Here if you will want you have a home
And me you will have a lot
The laughter of children at dusk
Across a window overlooking the Mediterranean Sea

And perhaps from a distance there's a chance in a million
And perhaps from a distance some kind of joy steals towards the window

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Song Title: Three Days ("Shlosha Yamim")
Musician: Yehuda Poliker
Year Released: 2010 (2008)
Credits: lyrics by Yaakov Gilad and Yehuda Poliker; Music by Yehuda Poliker
Website: poliker.co.il and wikipedia entry
Video: originally released single (2008)
Comments: Poliker recounted at a concert earlier this year (2010) that he has a fear of airplanes, and as a result he never made it to the States. A few years ago he managed to control his fear and visit New York for the first time, and this song is about his experience. The single was first released in 2008 (video version above), and later remixed for the album (an inferior version - too techno - in my opinion)
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I walk around on foot for hours in New York not believing
Creatures and personalities of every race, religion and gender
I fill up with adrenaline and fall in love with every tall building
I look at some kind of graffiti that some drunk wrote
"The white is white and the black is black..."
I know, there are clich?s that we'll never break
We'll forget from where we came from for three days
From everything that we feared there all our lives
Three days is just a moment on a different planet
Don't get blinded, don't get dizzy
I say [to myself] - and forget

Three days - as if we always were [here]
No one will separate us
Far far away on streets of freedom
Nothing hurts anymore, nothing is frightening
No one will separate us
Nothing hurts anymore, nothing is frightening
New York, New York, on streets of freedom
Three days - as if we always were [here]

There are days which have been erased and will never return
There's a train which I missed but the night is still young
I land at the fifth avenue of life
Outside it's already minus six [degrees] but inside it's hot
Suddenly I'm hungry, in love and can't fall asleep
Three days - like there's no other place
Don't get blinded, don't get dizzy
I say [to myself] - and forget

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Song Title: Don't Leave Now ("Al Tilkhi Akhshav")
Musician: Yehuda Poliker
Year Released: 2010
Credits: lyrics and music by Yehuda Poliker
Website: poliker.co.il and wikipedia entry
Video: static image with music
Comments: Written about a member of his family (aunt?) who he never met, and perished in the Holocaust
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If you leave me now, while nothing has been solved yet
The hurt will remain in me deep and closed off forever
How will I know that you loved, how will I know what you thought
And perhaps you never even knew me - probably

It's me that fell without knowing where to
It's me that waited by your side all the time, that you'd embrace me
Don't leave now, don't leave now

Everything that you thought and all that you felt
All that you kept, which you could have said and didn't tell
The hug that you gave sometimes but little
The smile and the laughter on your lips which you stopped

Still everything appears across my eyes in particular
The childhood in your shadow and the cold silence which go with me
Don't leave now, don't leave now

The secrets that you hid deep inside me
Are burned in bright blue in my soul
When the bridge between us goes and collapses
You go with me between the present and the past
Wait a little, wait a little more

The light which you lit at nights before me
The kind face which I loved to see before my eyes
And I who waited didn't know how to understand
Holding your hand and still waiting without end

And now that everything gets mixed up inside of me
Question marks mark my path, accompanying me
Don't leave now, don't leave now

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Song Title: In The Endless Traffic Jam ("Betokh Ha Pkak Ha Ein Sofi")
Musician: Yehuda Poliker
Year Released: 2001
Credits: lyrics by Yaakov Gilad and Yehuda Poliker; music by Yehuda Poliker
Website: poliker.co.il and wikipedia entry
Video: static image with music
Comments:
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It's an aggravating morning
I'm waiting for everything to pass me by
Me and my car are stuck
In an endless traffic jam
A city without stop [eg. Tel Aviv = "the city that never stops"], a nation in waiting
"Advertisements coming up" [eg. from the radio], after that, go figure what comes next

A blinding morning sun
Embeds golden teeth into me
And after all the news is old,
The same old fires, the same old heat wave
The same folk songs
And talk of war
There's no peace, there never was

Good morning to skeletons in the closet
To ghosts in the boxes
We won't take to heart, or into our lungs
Good morning to those sitting on suitcases
To those who've fallen between the chairs
The hardest thing always is to wait.

Stickers and slogans
Tell me how and what to buy
Graffiti on the walls tell me
What to die for, what to live for
I answer phone calls and listen to messages
I can't stand waiting and waiting.

Good morning to skeletons in the closet
To ghosts in the boxes
We won't take to heart, or into our lungs
Good morning to those sitting on suitcases
To those who've fallen between the chairs
The hardest thing always is to wait.

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Song Title: It's Not The End ("Ze Lo Ha Sof")
Musician: Yehuda Poliker
Year Released: 2001
Credits: lyrics by Yaakov Gilad and Yehuda Poliker; music by Yehuda Poliker
Website: poliker.co.il and wikipedia entry
Video: static images with music
Comments:
Hear the song!


[These are] difficult days, I know
Thousands of reasons to complain
And if things could be different
What would there be for me to fix
You're now not as young as you were once
And you can't do everything
You won't always land on four feet
- But to fall, you surely will

What do you think about in the dark
And can't relax
Who are you upset with - 'like'
There will never be an apology
Never ever say never
We've journeyed a long way together
And don't forget whence you came [from]

This isn't the end but it just stopped suddenly
Perhaps we'll still meet up again and speak from within a dream at the end of the day
It doesn't end until it all ends suddenly

Excuse me if I'm disturbing
It's just from all the longing
Feel free, feel at home
Dance like nobody's watching
Be yourself, live every moment
As if there won't be a tomorrow
Love as if you haven't been hurt
As if nothing ever ends

This isn't the end but it just stopped suddenly
Perhaps we'll still meet up again and speak from within a dream at the end of the day
It doesn't end until it all ends suddenly

And if you feel alone
If you want, call
Any place, any time and we'll speak

This isn't the end but it just stopped suddenly
Perhaps we'll still meet up again and speak from within a dream at the end of the day
It doesn't end until it all ends suddenly

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Song Title: Trans Orient [live] (Instrumental)
Musician: Yehuda Poliker
Year Released: 1996 (1990)
Credits: lyrics in Greek by (unknown); Music by Yehuda Poliker
Website: poliker.co.il and wikipedia entry
Video: static picture
Comments: A semi-instrumental piece with Greek lyrics (whose original, for translation, I'm unable to find...)
Hear the song!


Yehuda Poliker album: Live in Caesaria (Hofaah Khaya), 1996
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Ehud Banai (the list is sortable by clicking on the column names)

Song Name Genre Song # in Jukebox
"Performance for Reservists" Rock Song #47
"Hebrewman" Reggae/Rock Song #48
"Coming Out" Rock Song #56
"I Will Bring You" Ethnic/Rock Song #57
"David and Saul" Ethnic/Rock Song #69
"Come Home" Rock Song #70
"An Hour of Mystery" Rock Song #75
"Your Time Has Passed" Rock Song #86
"City of Refuge" Rock Song #96
"The Golden Calf" Rock Song #101
"Starter" Rock Song #116
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Song Title: Performance for Reservists ("Hofa'at Miluim")
Musician: Ehud Banai
Video: original music video, pulled from "Musika 24" channel
Year Released: 2004
Credits: lyrics by Ehud Banai; music by Ehud Banai and Gil Smetana
Website: www.ehudbanai.co.il
Comments: Based on Banai's personal experiences as a travelling performer between army outposts during the Lebanon campaign (1982). In an interview with Army Radio ("Galatz") Banai said this song was based on one experience where while travelling between the outposts he was stopped by a convoy whose commander asked him to play just one song for the soldiers. They chose "David and Saul", which Banai played; two days later he found out that seven of the soldiers including the commander (Eyal Levi) died in action shortly thereafter. Former servicemen identify closely with this song because of the tense atmosphere it describes - and the heartbreak of the losses in Lebanon.
Hear the song!


Ehud Banai album: Answer Me (Aneh Li), 2004
From outpost to outpost, a musician with a guitar
Drags a TV-stand, sings on a crate
A moment before I sit to eat
A scrambled egg.
The cook smiles, the NCO says:
"This will be a surprise, they'll really be happy
Eat, they're now on the way,
We have here twenty soldiers or so"

The cook asks: "Do you sing 'mizrachi'? [middle-eastern/North African music]
Perhaps you can sing some Zohar Argov" [the most popular 'Mizrachi' singer in Israel]
I think to myself, why not,
If this can do them some good...

And here they are, coming with no form ["body"]
Alighting the glow of the heavens
The hall ["cavity"/"corpse"] fills up, light of memorial candles
And the time to perform has come

The NCO says: "you'd better get started
There are more performances, we need to hurry"
The cook says: "yalla, gingi, give it some gas ["hurry up"],
The boys are tired, nu, start playing"

I strum the guitar, not a sound comes out
A deep prolonged silence
A long convoy, on a dangerous path
Convoy, to where are you going

Light of memorial candles
Doesn't leave, doesn't leave
It flickers

And suddenly the sound of an explosion, they dash out in a hurry
I remain there in the empty room
The cook yawns, the NCO says
"Nevermind, it happens, there will be another time"

A deluge pours down on us
From the heights of Lebanon to Sinai
I strum the guitar and sing to the cook:
"A sea of tears in both my eyes." [from Zohar Argov]

Light of memorial candles
Doesn't leave, doesn't leave
It flickers

A long convoy, on a dangerous path
Convoy, to where are you going

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Song Title: Hebrewman ("Hibruman")
Musician: Ehud Banai
Year Released: 2004
Credits: lyrics by Ehud Banai; music by Ehud Banai and Gil Smetana
Website: www.ehudbanai.co.il
Comments:
Hear the song!


Ehud Banai album: Answer Me (Aneh Li), 2004
[in English]
Speak up, the language of the Hebrewman
Loud and clear! The language of the Hebrewman

It is the language of the prophets
Of the sign up on the wall
It is old and sacred
It will open up your soul
Speak up, the language of the Hebrewman
Loud and clear! The language of the Hebrewman

From the deepest mass of downtown Babylon
It will take you to the next train to Mount Zion
It will get you up, It will make you fly
The language of the Hebrewman will take you high

You know, Abraham spoke the language of the Hebrewman
And also Jesus from Nazereth and Maria Magdalene
Einstein Jeremiah the Dylan and the Cohen
They know something about the language of the Hebrewman

And when the Lord said "Let there be light!"
It was in the language of the Hebrewman
And when Moses said: "Let my people go!"
It was in the language of the Hebrewman
Speak the language of the Hebrewman

[in Hebrew]
And there was on that day a new light, great and illuminating
Slowly opens the crack, slowly falls the wall
And when the hour arrives, will come One in the name of One
Will know and understand the whole world one language
Speak the language of the Hebrewman

And there was on that day, will come One in the name of One
Will know and understand the whole world one language
Slowly will be build the verse stage by stage, and letter by letter
Please don't tell me "bye bye", say just "goodbye"
Speak the language of the Hebrewman

And let us all say: "halleluyah!"
Let us all say: "Amen"
A day will come and everybody
Will speak the language of the Hebrewman!

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Song Title: Coming Out to the Light [i.e. To Be Published / See Light] ("Yotzeh La'Or")
Musician: Ehud Banai
Year Released: 1996
Credits: lyrics by Ehud Banai; music by Ehud Banai
Website: www.ehudbanai.co.il
Comments:
Hear the song!


Ehud Banai album: In a Little While (Od Meh At), 1996
This path begins here
Between a bank branch and a stream
Not paved, not always marked
This path begins here

It crosses the city
Climbs up on a hill
Continues to the sea
It continues also tomorrow
Cuts through the air, between the buildings
Comes out to the light, to a new life

Go on it, go on it now
A flock of birds above you
Accompany your steps
From afar is lit a light
Don't stray, so that you can return

This song begins here
Blue on a page of white
Not completed, not always directed
This song begins here

It crosses the city
Climbs up on a hill
Continues to the sea
It continues also tomorrow
Cuts through the air, between the buildings
Comes out to the light [gets published / sees light], to a new life

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Song Title: I Will Bring You ("Avi Lakh")
Musician: Ehud Banai
Year Released: 1996
Credits: lyrics by Ehud Banai; music by Ehud Banai
Website: www.ehudbanai.co.il
Comments:
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Ehud Banai album: In a Little While (Od Meh At), 1996
What shall I bring you my little girl
What shall I bring you as a present
What shall I bring you my little girl
What shall I bring you as a present
I will bring a song of lovers
I will bring you light of stars
I will bring you a breeze of the sea
I will bring you all of the world

I will bring you laughter of children
Which will scare away all the fears
I will bring you in both my hands
I will bring you all of my life

The way to you I will turn into a picture
And I will bring it to you as a present
The way to you I will write into a song
And I will bring it to you on a clear morning

All the way to you I will write into a song
And I will bring it to you on a clear morning

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Song Title: David and Saul (A Song of Yearning) ("David ve Shaul")
Musician: Ehud Banai
Year Released: 1992
Credits: lyrics by Ehud Banai; music by Ehud Banai
Website: www.ehudbanai.co.il
Comments: With Yehudit Ravitz on guitar, this song is based on the biblical story of Saul (the first king of ancient Israel), and David. Troubled by an evil spirit, Saul requests soothing music and through this request David eventually comes to Saul's court to play the harp. David almost by chance also subsequently becomes the Jewish soldier to fight and defeat Goliath, and the praise of the women which he receives causes Saul intense jealousy who fears David will become a rival for the throne. On one occasion, posessed by an evil spirit, Saul throws a spear at David but misses. He conspires to remove David from the court, then pursues him beyond the city. Eventually the two make peace together.
Hear the song!


Ehud Banai album: The Third Album (Ha Shlishi), 1992
It's a late night hour, everyone had already gone to sleep
Only Saul is awake, gloomy, and calls David on the phone:
"Perhaps you could come over, eh David? My soul is a black lake,
Bring with you the guitar because your fingers bear light"

David comes immediately and calmly, sits down and tunes up
The labor he knows well, closes his eyes, plays
Ten fingers which David has, the tip of each finger is a ray of light
When he strums the chords the time flows for him backwards

Saul is inside torn up, struggles within his stomach
He loves, he hates, and is jealous, addicted to his friend
Something dark falls, the demon returns and rages
A knife is thrown in the air, and suddenly there's a wall between the two

David avoids Saul but Saul doesn't give up
David forgets and forgives when Saul calls:
"Come again to play for me David, take me to the stars
Come again to play tonight - a song of yearning".

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Song Title: Come Home ("Bo Ha'Baita")
Musician: Ehud Banai
Video: original music video (a live rendition)
Year Released: 1996
Credits: lyrics by Ehud Banai; music by Ehud Banai
Website: www.ehudbanai.co.il
Comments:
Hear the song!


Ehud Banai album: In a Little While (Od Meh At), 1996
This is not darkness, not light
This is the time to return, come home, bird-man

This is not darkness, not light
This is the time to return, come home, bird-man

A lightower flashes, tears clouds, a gloomy darkness, three stars
The satellite picture gets blurry, a twilight zone
The edge of the heavens you touch
Commander to bird-man, do you hear?
Do you even remember still who you miss?

Not darkness, not light
This is the time to return, come home, bird-man

Electricity flickers through the blinds, a white moon, purple skies
The shadow of a wing slips by and passes over the rooves of houses
The edge of the heavens you touch
Commander to bird-man, do you hear?
Do you even remember still where to you're going?

Not darkness, not light
This is the time to return, come home, come, bird-man

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Song Title: An Hour of Mystery ("Sha'ah Shel Mistorin")
Musician: Ehud Banai
Year Released: 1992
Credits: lyrics by Ehud Banai; music by Ehud Banai
Website: www.ehudbanai.co.il
Comments:
Hear the song!


Ehud Banai album: The Third Album (Ha Shlishi), 1992
Yitzhak Shen-Zahav ["Shen-Zahav" = Gold-Tooth] was the commander of a special unit
Shmuel was a kid who thought that life was a movie
The flag of the two became a wrung rag
After they, with great difficulty, were rescued from downtown Beirut.
Shen-Zahav left everything ran off to New York City
There were rumors that he was an advisor to an underground [movement] in Tahiti
They saw him in Abu-Dhabi, in the guise of an Agency [i.e. Jewish Agency] man
Converting to Islam with a Christian woman under the supervision of the Rabbinate

This was an hour in between the nights
An hour of mystery

Shmuel smelled that there was some kind of something in the air
And he looked for Shen-Zahav, like a madman, all over the city
Until he ran into him in a restaurant run by Yemenites
On the edge of 42nd Street, corner of 60th Street
Shen-Zahav said to Shmuel: "Listen, there's a certain matter,
Not drugs and also not arms but it's dangerous"
Shmuel said to Shen-Zahav: "Mate, I'm with you
After all, what already is dangerous to me and to you"

This was an hour in between the nights
An hour of mystery

Shen-Zahav brought Shmuel into the secret of the matter
Involved in a business already more than four sizes large
It's about a daring operation, against all laws of time
The commands come straight from above, the code word is "rainbow in the cloud".
The two were prepared now to go out towards the unknown
When appeared a pretty girl in modest dress
She said she was Rebecca Gur-Aryeh, from Brooklyn, from the garden of a Rabbi
A close, actually quite distant, relative of Yitzhak Shen-Zahav

This was an hour in between the nights
An hour of mystery

Shmuel invited Rebecca to sit in the back
Shen-Zahav behind the wheel drove hours without stopping
It was a night without a moon on a road covered in fog
Rebecca asked: "Where to?" And they replied: "To hell" ["Azazel" in the song - the cliff from which the scapegoat was sent to its death as part of the Day of Atonement ritual].
She shouted: "Hey! There's a chasm right before us!"
Shen-Zahav, emotion, whispered: "Yes, that's the border line"
When Rebecca understood that the two of them would not stop she jumped from the car
They were swallowed in a crack of light, which like thunder, cut through the dimness

This was an hour in between the nights
An hour of mystery

Shen-Zahav and Shmuel to this day have not returned
On CNN it was reported about a black hole in the place where they jumped
They say they overcome the forces of gravity and attraction
They saw them simultaneously in Texas, Bat Yam and in Haifa.
And Rebecca Gur-Aryeh awoke in ancient times
She search on the [TV] screens, fruitlessly, a program with roots
From time to time she thinks of Shmuel and of Yitzhak Shen-Zahav
And to herself she thinks, interesting where they are now

This was an hour in between the nights
An hour of mystery
Yes, this was an hour in between the nights
An hour of mystery

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Song Title: Your Time Has Passed (Your Time is Over) ("Zmankha Avar")
Musician: Ehud Banai and the Refugees (Ehud Banai ve Ha'Plitim)
Video: original music video, pulled from the "Zehu-Ze" ("This is It") program on Educational TV Channel 23, with Yosi Olifant on guitar, Gil Smetana on bass, Jean-Jacques Goldberg on drums and Noam Zeid at the desk
Year Released: 1987
Credits: lyrics by Ehud Banai; music by Ehud Banai
Website: www.ehudbanai.co.il
Comments:
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Ehud Banai and the Refugees album: Ehud Banai and the Refugees (Ehud Banai ve HaPlitim), 1987 Ehud Banai and the Refugees
In my dreams I returned to my high school
To a 'Purim' [Jewish holiday] party
Waxman stood in a corner embarrassed
This was before he began with his travels.
"I thought that you were in India" I told him
"I am in India" he said
"And you're also in India now
Don't you feel strange?!
We're just guests here for a moment
Look around
This isn't our party,
Are you listening?"
"I'm listening" I told him
"And that really isn't a familiar song"
"Very correct" said Waxman to me
"Your time has passed"
"Your time has passed"
"Your time has passed"
"Your time has passed"

In my dreams I returned to my high school
To the annual trip
Rosman disappeared with the portable tape-player
Suddenly I heard Abbey-Road between the bushes
"The truck won't wait" I called to him
"Let them go already!" he said
"I'm not moving from here until the end of the side
This is a wonderful part!
We're just guests here for a moment
Look around
That's not our truck
Are you listening?"
"I'm listening" I told him
"But it's starting to get cold for me"
"Goodbye" said Rosman -
"Your time has passed"
"Your time has passed"
"Your time has passed"
"Your time has passed"

In my dreams I returned to my high school
And I didn't prepare my homework.
Fixman, sweating, hinted that I come
He wanted us to run away, to his place to hear records.
"The bell is already ringing" I told him
"Let it ring" he said
"There's nothing at all to be afraid of
Everything has already passed
We're just guests here for a moment
Look around
This isn't our bell
Are you listening?"
"I'm listening" I told him
"And this is such a strange dream"
"Wake up" Fixman told me
"Your time has passed"
"Your time has passed"
"Your time has passed"
"Your time has passed, passed, passed, passed, passed"

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Song Title: City of Refuge ("Ir Miklat")
Musician: Ehud Banai and the Refugees (Ehud Banai ve Ha'Plitim)
Video: clip from a series of live performances broadcast in the framework of a Channel 1 program "Songs We Love", circa. 1987
Year Released: 1987
Credits: lyrics by Ehud Banai; music by Ehud Banai
Website: www.ehudbanai.co.il
Comments: The Book of Judges speaks of "cities of refuge" as towns to which perpetrators of manslaughter could claim the right of asylum to avoid blood vengeance from their victims families. The Torah names six cities as being a city of refuge: Golan, Ramoth, Bosor, Kedesh, Shechem (Nablus), and Hebron
Hear the song!


Ehud Banai and the Refugees album: Ehud Banai and the Refugees (Ehud Banai ve HaPlitim), 1987 Ehud Banai and the Refugees
Before the trickle turns into a deluge
I have to find a gate which is not locked
Because again the "blues" have returned to me
I have to get out, I have to move

On the road which twists between Acco [Acre] and Tzfat [Safed]
In Tiberias on the pier I go down to Eilat
Spit out, escaped, seeking a city of refuge
Spit out, escaped, seeking a city of refuge

City of refuge, city of refuge, city of refuge

On the horizon sparkle the faraway lights
There I arrived with my final ounce of strength
[to a female:] And you will wait in the entrance and turn on the light
A man comes back to you from the freezing cold

Take me to the altar before I break
And until the truth comes out I will hide inside of you
Because you, yes you, will be for me

A city of refuge, city of refuge, city of refuge

Yes until the truth comes out I will hide inside of you
Until the storm passes over and the ice breaks
Until a flowing stream develops and breaks forth
Until the judge comes and us pardons
You, yes you, will be for me

A city of refuge, city of refuge, city of refuge

Until a dry streams develops and breaks forth
Until the judge comes and us pardons
You, yes you, will be for me

A city of refuge, city of refuge, city of refuge

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Song Title: The Golden Calf ("Egel HaZahav")
Musician: Ehud Banai and the Refugees (Ehud Banai ve HaPlitim)
Video: pulled from Channel 1; a performance for a program.
Year Released: 1987
Credits: lyrics by Ehud Banai; music by Ehud Banai
Website: www.ehudbanai.co.il
Comments:
Hear the song!


Ehud Banai and the Refugees album: Ehud Banai and the Refugees (Ehud Banai ve HaPlitim), 1987 Ehud Banai and the Refugees
We're here in the heart of the desert
Thirsting for waters of life
And you are on the mountain top
Above the clouds
There is no omen
There is no sign
So many days
In a closed circle we turn
Around a golden calf

There is no one who will strike the rock
Someone who will give direction
In the darkness here we fight over every crumb
Around the golden calf

He does not descend from the mountain top
He does not come down towards the people
They turn out in a wild dance
Dancing around the golden calf
Around the golden calf

They beg him, don't leave us now
Be our father
An abandoned herd, dancing around it
Call to him in vain
Golden calf
Golden calf

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Song Title: "Starter" ("Starter")
Musician: Ehud Banai
Year Released: 2004
Credits: lyrics by Yosi Elifant; music by Ehud Banai
Website: www.ehudbanai.co.il
Comments:
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Ehud Banai album: Answer Me (Aneh Li), 2004
I sat at Starter's place with Micha "the quiet one"
Like every Tuesday, after noontime
"Starter" had a certain kind of look
"There's something to discuss" said his eyes
Between the children and us, Gila moves around
Caresses "Starter" and smiles quietly
She loves him like crazy
She would give her eyes for him

"Starter" opened up and said that "basically
Our lives are neither here nor there
True, we're not lacking for anything
But to live in small style is not to the point
The idea is to rob some safes
A one-time hit now and forever
And I have a man on the inside, the watchman,
It's indeed smooth to get in with a key"

And time moves on, because that's what time is supposed to do
The time moves on, because time is time, and there are no stops

"That the watchman is not one of our crew", I said
"It will cause problems, it was make a mess".
"You have to admit" Gila cut in
"That 'Starter's' a genius and this is a good plan"

A day before the mission, my wife's a little tense
She's not calm, she says, and I get angry
"Look at Gila" I tell her "Look at Gila -
Boy, 'Starter' the genius knew who to get married to"

And time moves on, because that's what time is supposed to do
The time moves on, because time is time, and there are no stops

The burglary was carried out precisely like a watch, without any hitches
All the way home we didn't stop laughing
I told my wife to start packing
In two to three days we're flying to New York

An hour before the flight, there's a knock at the door
They arrest the three of us and there's an investigation
"It's your watchman!" I shout at "Starter"
"I told you he'd bring the police!"

And time moves on, because that's what time is supposed to do
The time moves on, because time is time, and there are no stops

Ten years inside I didn't see "Starter"
I didn't hear from Gila and also not from the quiet one [Micha]
Who came to me a day after my release and told me
What had really happened there:
"The cop who arrested the three of us
Got ahead in life, today he's a station chief
And his beautiful wife, you won't believe, is called Gila
We were the wedding present..."

And the time stopped for nearly two minutes
The time stopped and so did the heart
I went outside, caught a taxi
And flew off to visit "Starter" the hurt

In the beginning he didn't dare look me in the eyes
Afterwards he lifted his head and smiled
"The money and Gila went", he said,
"But where's the time that went, where's the time that is going..."

And time moves on, because that's what time is supposed to do
The time moves on, because time is time, and there are no stops

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Mashina (the list is sortable by clicking on the column names)

Song Name Genre Song # in Jukebox
"Certified Optician" Pop / rock Song #4
"Sweet Future" (live) Pop / rock Song #55
"She Argued With Him for Hours" Pop / rock Song #62
"Ballad for a Double Agent" Pop / rock Song #91
"Girls of The Sea" (live) Pop / rock Song #94
"Danny" (live) Pop / rock Song #97
"Because She Doesn't Want To" Pop / rock Song #125
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Song Title: Certified Optician ("Optikai Meduplam")
Musician: Mashina
Year Released: 1985
Credits: lyrics and music by Shlomi Brakha
Website: www.mashina.com
Comments: Mashina's first song, released in July 1985 and independently recorded. It was originally supposed to be called "Hardship in Agriculture" with slightly different lyrics.
Hear the song!


Mashina album: Ladies and Gentlemen - The Best of (Gvirotai Ve Rabotai), 1989
Even a certified optician
Goes to the beach in summer
But in the winter it's cold
The sea is so ruthless

Yes, yes the winter's frustrating
No sun, just rain and shade
Perhaps there was a mistake
Hardship in agriculture. A mistake?

He wants to conquer the world
He wants to run away like everyone else
To Rome or Morocco
Perhaps to Tokyo, too

I continue to live just like that
And the world always seems so nice
So why is this worthwhile
Enough with this and stop

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Song Title: Sweet Future [live] ("Atid Matok")
Musician: Mashina
Video: original music video pulled from educational TV Channel 23
Year Released: (1984) 1995
Credits: lyrics by Yuval Banai and Shlomi Brakha; music by Shlomi Brakha
Website: www.mashina.com
Comments:
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Mashina album: Time Machine - Live 1995 (Mekhonat Ha Zman), 1995
Everyone, everyone is driving far
Looking for a sweet future
And only I, in the morning rise
And on Line 5 drive towards the sea

The bus is full of smoke
Two old ladies and the conductor
One wrote on a concrete wall
Where is the nation and where is the vision
Where is the nation and where is the concrete

The birds sing me good morning
Perhaps I can fly with them far, far away
To fly and not to fall

Everyone is driving, far away they're driving
Searching and trying
Okay, perhaps I'm exaggerating

The birds sing me good morning
Perhaps I can fly with them far, far away
To fly and not to fall

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Song Title: She Argued With Him for Hours ("Hee Hitvak'kha Ito Sha'ot")
Musician: Mashina
Year Released: 1985
Credits: lyrics and music by Shlomi Brakha
Website: www.mashina.com
Comments:
Hear the song!


Mashina album: Ladies and Gentlemen - The Best of (Gvirotai Ve Rabotai), 1989
She argued with him for hours
Almost on the verge of tears
It all happened so quickly, she felt the need to tell
They sat the two of them in the salon
He slowly pushed open the curtain
Immediately turned off the light
He was intoxicated, was intoxicated

Yes, resistance he did not feel
Intelligent and sensitive
Both of them were born Cancers
It's dangerous, it's dangerous

Everything went so smoothly
They were in the middle of the game
Yes, him and her and her and him
La-li la-lu, la-li la-lu...

She said "find a way, I want you"
She said "find a way, I want you"

He was forced to make an effort
Suddenly the phone rang
Immediately he picked up and apologised
Said that he has to go
Very brief sexual encounter, very hasty

So they postponed everything for tomorrow
A reasonable hour, not too late
The telephone remained indifferent
It didn't feel anything, it was apathetic

He didn't know how to behave
Towards everyone he would poke fun
But worked very hard
He was doing business, a registered business

In the phone he changed the number
So they wouldn't disturb him tomorrow
The business turned sensitive
He already felt, it's a rotten deal

She said "find a way out, I want you"
She said "find a way out, I want you"

He had to be careful

She didn't get the right care
She had a mediterranean temperament
She just wanted to get even
To twist the guy up a little

After a short visit to the bank
She changed the car for a tank
Stole ammunition from a base
It's just a trick, just a tactic

Her manning [of the tank] punctured the sky
A shell stole into the hall
And crashed into the wall
Quick death, a cautious future
The police sent rescue forces
To sort out the meaning of the explosion
He disappeared in a tougue of fire
Yes, that's the power of love

There's no sun or rain, just shade

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Song Title: Ballad For a Double Agent ("Balada Le Sokhen Kaful")
Musician: Mashina
Year Released: 1985
Credits: lyrics and music by Shlomi Brakha
Website: www.mashina.com
Comments: www.Mima.co.il writes that the basis for this song is a childhood memory of Mashina's bassist, Michael Benson, who when he was young, didn't know what his father did for a living and invented a story that he was a secret agent. He told the story to the band's guitarist, Shlomi Brakha, who wrote the song.
Hear the song!


Mashina album: Ladies and Gentlemen - The Best of (Gvirotai Ve Rabotai), 1989
He arrived in the country [i.e. Eretz Israel] through crooked [i.e. underhanded] paths
He was a secret agent, didn't want to be discovered
He had a habit of residing in opulent hotels
He always lived off other people's bills

He fought the Muslims and hid in Istanbul
He led the Russians astray, he was a double agent
On a slave ship, to the land of Canaan did he row
The Turks ruled the land, to Egypt did he return

He rode to Palestine
On a two-humped camel
He reached Rosh Pina [town in the far north]
Disguised as a Turkish sheikh

Within three and a half days he met with the Sultan
He took him away by trickery and murdered him in the garden
He burned houses by night, the Turks suffered by day
They called him "Zero Zero [i.e. "double-0"] Yosef Yosef the Terrible"

He rode to Palestine
On a two-humped camel
He reached Rosh Pina
Disguised as a Turkish sheikh

He rode to Palestine
On a three-dimensional donkey
He reached Rosh Pina
Disguised as a young-carrot

And his wife told him, Yosef
Change your style
He told her, Be quiet
And changed the wife

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Song Title: Girls of the Sea [live] ("Bnot Ha'Yam")
Musician: Mashina
Year Released: (1992) 1995
Credits: lyrics and music by Yuval Banai
Website: www.mashina.com
Comments:
Hear the song!


Mashina album: Time Machine - Live 1995 (Mekhonat Ha Zman), 1995
I think
And don't remember where to
The horsemen rode
And girls of the seas are none
Love
Is like a pain on the side [i.e. marginal]
I think
And don't recall right away
Don't recall immediately
G-d
His face from above is pale
Accompany me
Some day
And G-d
Rises the light
Falls to the depths
To the girls of the sea
Falls to the depths

Falls to the depths

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Song Title: Danny [live] ("Danny")
Musician: Mashina
Video: From September 2003 concert in Caesaria (Yuval Banai - vocals, Shlomi Brakha - lead guitar, Avner Khodorov - keyboards/sax/accordion, Michael Benson - bass, Iggy Dayan - drums)
Year Released: (1992) 2003
Credits: lyrics and music by Shlomi Brakha
Website: www.mashina.com
Comments: From www.mima.co.il: this song was written about a friend of Shlomi and Yuval who used to surf with them at the Hilton Hotel beach in Tel Aviv, and was caught and imprisoned in France for drug smuggling. He has since been released, gave one interview to a weekend edition of the paper and is now becoming more religious.
Hear the song!


Mashina album: Mashina Live, 2003
You said that life
Goes forth and gets longer
And when you searched for a short-cut
Then you fell, that's the story

The story, it's about a friend
Who tried to get himself set up [i.e. established]
He smuggled cocaine
Satan - he's white like a [cloth] sheet
Ohhh...

Amsterdam, on the route to Brazil
First class, flowing money
De Janeiro, in the yard he buys, soon he will sell
Be careful so as not to fall
Because the eye of the Interpol
Looks out, all the time alert
And at home, it's your mother [waiting]...
Ohhh...

In prison they captured him, in Paris when they changed planes
Cuffs, dogs, cops, [finger] nails getting nibbled
Already two years until the bitter trial
He sits and suddenly remembers

How we used to surf on the waves
And the sea was so blue
The wild sunrise when the wind is southernly
And the sun is a huge round ball
And the waters are made of clear crystal
So that you can see the stones
And the sunset...
And afterwards we go out to have a good time

I'm sorry
Life goes forth and gets longer
When you searched for a short-cut
you then fell, that's the story

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Song Title: Because She Doesn't Want To ("Ki Lo Ba La")
Musician: Mashina
Video:
Year Released: 1984
Credits: lyrics and music by Shlomi Brakha
Website: www.mashina.com
Comments:
Hear the song!


He was known
He'd flipped his lid ["he'd lost a card"]
He sat for hours
Scratched his nose
Was pale, not happy
Because she doesn't want to

She would laugh
She would cry
She'd go down to the pool
She won't open the hole [yes, that hole] for him
Because she doesn't want to

She didn't know what to do
She would dance at night
She wasn't like that
Because she doesn't want to

After years of depression
She again played the accordion
He just wanted to sleep with her
And she didn't want to

And in the end on judgment day
An excessive amount of 'Khamin' [aka "cholent" - Jewish east-European heavy potato-meat meal]
She didn't stop gaining weight
It happened to her

He didn't forget her quickly
Not happy and also pale
Above her grave he shook dirt
He called to her

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Chava Alberstein (the list is sortable by clicking on the column names)

Song Name Genre Song # in Jukebox
"Song of Tishrey" Classic Rock / Folk Song #179
"In Front of a Volcano" Classic Rock Song #180
"Solveig" Classic Rock Song #182
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Song Title: Song of [the month of] Tishrey ("Shir Tishrei")
Musician: Chava Alberstein
Year Released: 1978
Credits: lyrics by Rachel Shapira; music by Danny Amihud
Website: musical biography and wikipedia entry
Comments:
Hear the song!


The skies are changing
Before the eyes of the farmers
The neighbors are preparing
For the high holidays (eg. Rosh HaShana and Yom Kippur)

Somebody is thinking of you
And is writing down your deeds
Come home quickly
With the cool wind
Come home quickly
With the cool wind

Mandarines are ripening
In the orchard, at their time
The teachers are coughing
And going to sleep early

I've already seen a wagtail (bird)
And perhaps it just seems to me
[that] another heatwave broke yesterday
As well as the summer vacation
another heatwave broke yesterday
As well as the summer vacation

What will happen and what will pass by?
Ask the [newpaper] writers
When along the coastal highway
Queue up the quarry workers

What, in the evening papers,
Does the headline bode?
Come home quickly
With the cool wind
Come home quickly
With the cool wind

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Song Title: In Front of a Volcano ("Lefetakh Har Ga'ash")
Musician: Chava Alberstein
Year Released: 1973
Credits: lyrics by Dan Almagor; music by Dani Litani; arranged by Matti Caspi
Website: musical biography and wikipedia entry
Video: static picture with recording from a live performance
Comments:
Hear the song!


When you read in the newspapers
About an eruption of a volcano in Sicily
About the destruction of two whole villages
In Chile or India
When you read in the newspapers
You ask yourself: why?
Wherefore do the peasants return
Precisely to those slopes which betrayed them?
Wherefore do they not flee from there
And seek a safer place
In which they will finally, finally be able to live in peace
Once and for all?

Behold once every few years -
That's how it is clearly written in the papers -
Again will erupt the lava from within the mount
And will threaten to bury the whole village
Why to return do they insist?
Why don't they abandon the village
Once and for all?

Sometimes you meet a tourist
And he asks: please tell me, why -
Why do you insist on living
In front of a volcano?
Behold you can still find in the world
Quiet corners without smoke and tumult
And firm soil which is fertile
Which won't shake beneath your legs
Wherefore do you not flee from here
And seek a safer place
In which you will finally, finally be able to live in peace
Once and for all?

Behold once every few years -
That's how it is clearly written in the papers -
Again erupts lava from within the mount
And again threatens the whole village
Wherefore do you insist?
Why don't you abandon the village
Once and for all?

And then - suddenly - you understand them:
The peasant on the Chimburasso
And the mother on the Fuji-San
And the child on the Vesuvius
They also know of course that in the world
There are quieter places than the volcano
And land, firmer than this
In which is buried their ancestors' homes.
They also would perhaps flee from there
And seek a safer place
In which they could finally, finally live in peace
Once and for all

But they are attached to the slopes of the mount
And wait: perhaps, perhaps, perhaps tomorrow?
And hope for the day, which will yet come,
In which the mount will silence its rage
And then on the black basalt
How the grass will spring up and be green
Once and for all

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Song Title: Solveig ("Solveig")
Musician: Chava Alberstein
Year Released: 1973
Credits: lyrics and music by Daphna Eilat
Website: musical biography and wikipedia entry
Video: static pictures with origina recording
Comments:
Hear the song!


Per set out for his journeys
Per, the man of dreams
Per left behind
A woman/wife with a pair of braids
Per, who isn't a prince, is a man
Dazzled him maidens from every direction
But with eve at the end of his journeys
He, to his home in Solveig, returns

Solveig in her small valley
Solveig in a window gazes
Solveig isn't pretty
But loves you so much

Per met a princess
Per, the man of dreams
Per left at darkness
A little woman with a pair of braids
Yes, the princess he met was a hell-woman
Who wanted to take his spirit
But he suddenly turned his head
And back home to Solveig he went

Per met a princess
Per, the man of dreams
Per left at darkness
A little woman with a pair of braids
Yes, the princess he met was a hell-woman
Who wanted to take him all completely
He went and suddenly returned back on his path
And back home to Solveig he went

Solveig in her small valley
Solveig in a window gazes
Solveig isn't pretty
But loves you so much

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