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Secular music with Jewish themes



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Ruchel




 
 
    
 

Post Wed, Jul 26 2006, 9:32 am
For ladies that listen to secular music, it would be nice to have a list of secular music dealing with Jewish topics.

I’ll begin with what I find in my mp3s:



OLDER

Anonymous: Le Chant des Marais / Borgermoorlied (song created by deported people in 1933 and then reached progressively all the camps) [in almost all languages]
Emmanuel d'Astier de la Vigerie then many singers used it : Le Chant des Partisans (Resistance song) [French] (translation : song of the partisans)

These two are not directly Jewish, but could be of interest to us anyway (or so I hope!).

Salvatore Adamo: Inch’Allah (song written to exorcize the traumatism of the Shoah and the Six Days War – no he’s not Jewish) [in French]
Serge Gainsbourg: Le Sable et le Soldat (song offered to Israel during the Six Days War) [French] (translates as: the sand and the soldier)



MODERN STYLE

Wu Tang Clan: Never Again (rap, about the Shoah)
Rasputina: Girls of Birkenau (goth style, title says enough)
Mylene Farmer: Souviens toi du jour (“sweet” style all in images and metaphors, about the Shoah and inspired by Primo Levi’s book) [French, a few bits of Hebrew] (translation: remember the day)
Alpha Blondie: Jerusalem (reggae, love song for Jerusalem) [English, bits of Hebrew]
Alpha Blondie: Masada (reggae, song dedicated to the people of Masada) [English, bit of Hebrew]
Most songs the “Lex Dix Commandements” (tr: the Ten commandments) (about Moshe’s story). [French]



Anonymous for obvious reasons: Ecoute le son que t’adore (rap, violently anti Arab, Arafat, Ben Laden, Palestine, Saddam…) [French] (tr: Listen to the song you love) [not pretty and very vulgar]
Migdal: Mahmoud le Petit Palos (violently anti Palestine song) [French] (tr: Mahmoud the dirty little Palestinian)

The last two have few musical qualities and are only interesting for their "pro Israel" side.



Please add your own, in any language!
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Ruchel




 
 
    
 

Post Thu, Mar 13 2008, 10:39 am
up for willow and those in need of new music!
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louche




 
 
    
 

Post Thu, Mar 13 2008, 12:02 pm
question for you on the Partisans' song: How does the first stanza go? I'm familiar with Partizanisher Lied/Shir HaPartizanim in Yiddish and Hebrew and wonder if it's the same one?
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Ruchel




 
 
    
 

Post Thu, Mar 13 2008, 12:09 pm
translation: http://everything2.com/index.p.....91387 Smile
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Hadassa Avra




 
 
    
 

Post Thu, Mar 13 2008, 4:42 pm
Neighborhood Bully by Bob Dylan is about the Jewish people/the State of Israel. It was written shortly after Israel took out Iraq's nuclear reactor.

Sorry if I'm not allowed to link (or if you don't like his voice LOL )...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F_Wqi_BqI9E

Edit: Just the lyrics if you don't like him (I love him)...
http://www.bobdylan.com/songs/bully.html

"Every empire that's enslaved him is gone,
Egypt and Rome, even the great Babylon." Cheers
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louche




 
 
    
 

Post Fri, Mar 14 2008, 8:08 am
Ruchel wrote:
translation: http://everything2.com/index.p.....91387 Smile


Thanks! This is definitely not the same song. The Yiddish one was written by Hirsh Glik, who died in the Vilna ghetto in 1943. Based on the meter, I believe it's not the same melody, either.

Interesting how very different the two songs are. The French one is aggressive and bloodthirsty. One senses that the partisans can't wait to get out there and do some killing. The Jewish one has a thin layer of hope and resistance over a thick base of deep, deep sadness and pain--and the only blood being spilled is Jewish blood. There's no overt talk of revenge, just of hope for a brighter future. It's a very Jewish song despite the fact that the words are completely secular.
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Ruchel




 
 
    
 

Post Tue, Aug 01 2017, 7:49 am
Please add yours!
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amother
Pumpkin


 

Post Tue, Aug 01 2017, 8:23 am
All You Zombies by the Hooters?

Holy Moses met the Pharaoh
Yeah, he tried to set him straight
Looked him in the eye,
"Let my people go!"

Holy Moses on the mountain
High above the golden calf
Went to get the Ten Commandments
Yeah, he's just gonna break 'em in half!

All you zombies hide your faces,
All you people in the street,
All you sittin' in high places,
The pieces gonna fall on you

No one ever spoke to Noah,
They all laughed at him instead
Workin' on his ark,
Workin' all by himself

Only Noah saw it comin',
Forty days and forty nights,
Took his sons and daughters with him,
Yeah, they were the Israelites!

All you zombies hide your faces,
All you people in the street,
All you sittin' in high places,
The rain's gonna fall on you

Holy Father, what's the matter?
Where have all your children gone?
Sittin' in the dark,
Livin' all by themselves,
You don't have to hide anymore!

All you zombies show your faces,
All you people in the street,
All you sittin' in high places,
The pieces gonna fall on you!
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amother
Pumpkin


 

Post Tue, Aug 01 2017, 8:25 am
Randy Newman's Land of Dreams album is essentially about growing up Jewish in New Orleans
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amother
Pumpkin


 

Post Tue, Aug 01 2017, 8:27 am
And Jewish themes run strong in Leonard Cohen's music. You Want it Darker, from his final album, for example:

If you are the dealer, I'm out of the game
If you are the healer, it means I'm broken and lame
If thine is the glory then mine must be the shame
You want it darker
We kill the flame
Magnified, sanctified, be thy holy name
Vilified, crucified, in the human frame
A million candles burning for the help that never came
You want it darker
Hineni, hineni
I'm ready, my lord
There's a lover in the story
But the story's still the same
There's a lullaby for suffering
And a paradox to blame
But it's written in the scriptures
And it's not some idle claim
You want it darker
We kill the flame
They're lining up the prisoners
And the guards are taking aim
I struggled with some demons
They were middle class and tame
I didn't know I had permission to murder and to maim
You want it darker
Hineni, hineni
I'm ready, my lord
Magnified, sanctified, be thy holy name
Vilified, crucified, in the human frame
A million candles burning for the love that never came
You want it darker
We kill the flame
If you are the dealer, let me out of the game
If you are the healer, I'm broken and lame
If thine is the glory, mine must be the shame
You want it darker
Hineni, hineni
Hineni, hineni
I'm ready, my lord
Hineni
Hineni, hineni
Hineni
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Amarante




 
 
    
 

Post Tue, Aug 01 2017, 10:42 am
Song of Isaac by Leonard Cohen is another obvious one although the final verses bring it out of the purely Biblical as Cohen was using it as a vehicle regarding the sacrifice of the young by the older generation and no mercy shown as it was for Isaac

The version sung by Judy Collins is lovely. It's on an old album called Who Knows Where The Time Goes which has many beautiful songs although with streaming services you can find the individual songs easily. The title song is not Jewish but universal. Sandy Denny and Eva Cassidy also sing wonderful versions. Sadly both of them died very young. Eva Cassidy's version of Fields of Gold is beautiful.
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