Thursday, November 28, 2013

Afterword on Arik Einstein and his Music

 

   A fast afterword on the death of Arik Einstein.  The past 48 hours saw an interesting transformed Israel, where the funeral and ceremonies for Einstein dominated the news and the talk on the street, erasing Iran from the headlines, and every radio station has been playing nonstop Arik Einstein songs in an atmosphere that is a little like Memorial Day here.

 

   In any case, since it is a little difficult for those who do not speak Hebrew to appreciate Einstein's music and lyrics, a collected from the web English translations for some of his better known songs.  These are but a small portion of his entire repertoire but give you a nice feel for his style and diversity. 

 

1. This is another Einstein Greek-imitation song but read the lyrics and their powerful Zionist message, one of his best songs of patriotism:

The Song of the Caravan:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KLKZi1pfRJs

English Translation of Lyrics:  http://elmsintheyard.blogspot.co.il/2012/05/shir-ha-shayarah-caravan-song.html

*(Can you guess who the "old man" is in the song?)

 

2.  One of Einstein's best loved songs:  Clip - Drive Slowly:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VVnRh-raz2s

Translation Lyrics in English:  http://www.historama.com/online-resources/israeli-music/israeli_singers_bands_music_online.html#Slowly

 

3.  How good you came home:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Che2jea8z_Q

English translation:  http://www.historama.com/online-resources/israeli-music/israeli_singers_bands_music_online.html#Good

 

4.  Clip:   San Francisco:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HRQJ87yBPsM

English Translation of Lyrics: 

http://www.stat.tamu.edu/~sherman/Jmusic/lyrics/sanfrancisco.html

 

5.  Ani V'ata:  Clip at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ETqJxlBrQbc

English Translation Lyrics:  http://www.hebrewsongs.com/?song=aniveata

 

 

6.  Finally, one of the stranger of the Arik Einstein songs became the semi-official song of mourning for Rabin after he was assassinated by Yigal Amir.  The song itself was originally written by Aviv Gefen as a song mourning a young personal friend of his who died, and in fact Gefen had written a separate song mocking Rabin and dismissing him as a bumbling drunk.  Then after the assassination, the words to the mourning song were slightly altered and it became the universally played song in Israel to express the shock from the assassination, and Einstein's rendition of it is the best known and most "official."   You can hear the song here:

To cry for you - clip http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dtkHYM35CC8

English lyrics:  http://hebrewsongs.com/?song=livkotlecha


Other items:

See also this:  http://www.haaretz.com/culture/arts-leisure/1.560395

 

And this:

https://www.facebook.com/masaisrael/posts/165302733562076 





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