Saturday, May 14, 2011

Ehud Banai-I'm Walking



I love to walk. And I love Bob Dylan. So maybe that's why I like this song so much. When I first heard it I had a bit of trouble following it to the end. It seemed too slow and too long. But when I watched it with the video clip (not on youtube anymore) it flowed naturally and I almost didn't want it to end. The video was shot in New York, one of my favorite cities to walk in, and Jerusalem, a city that always fascinates me. I really identify with Ehud Banai's description of walking-I don't walk as much as I used to, but it always does me good and helps me clear my head. As well as Banai's thoughts on "the situation" which unfortunately, are quite timeless. On a tense and uncertain day like today, they fit even better. I'm pretty sure that Banai is heavily influenced by Dylan. At first it bothered me a bit but now I see that he managed not to imitate him completely and his song is solely his. The lyrics are the heart of this song and are worth paying attention to. Also, I love how Banai always seems to be growing as an artist, despite the fact that he's already established himself as a very much respected singer and songwriter.

I walk quite regularly,
The doctor said: It'll make you calm
It's good for the heart and also for the liver it's very good,
Refreshing, lets the system work.
People pass by also when they're walking,
Here and there I hear fragments of words
Don't speak what already is hear to be said,
Walk straight try to keep in pace, to persist.
I walk light turns on in the windows,
The night is falling, I smell omelets
Here and there I see shadows in rooms,
Fragments of lives of other people.
Now it's quiet the terror of the Scad missile has passed,
Here not far, fell one
And always I feel here the tension in the air,
Comes with the wind fills all of the city.
Now everything flows, the blood pumps, I'm sweating
The doctor said: It's good to walk every day a bit: Until you'll reach there.

I walk through smoky cities,
Blood on the cement screams of crying and mourning
A small trip at dusk,
I'm walking this way at least 2,000 years.
And these are the streets on which I walked to school
When I'd imagine the street to be a flowing river
Walking in the desert until I'll pass the Jordan,
Mom and dad are waiting for the old kid.
I'm walking in a familiar and strange city,
Don't belong to the sector and won't walk into the drawer,
My heart is open here and there also flashes,
Walking and getting farther walking and getting closer.
Another turn around the same square,
Close to home as far as possible,
When I'll come back my wife won't recognize who is coming,
She'll say to me: sorry, this isn't the right address
Now everything is flowing, the blood is pumping, I'm sweating
The doctor said: It's good to walk every day a little...until you'll reach there.

I'm walking in the few wild fields,
That are left between towers and malls
Scanning stations not recognizing the place,
Standing on Halacha bridge looking for HaShalom highway.
Now everything is flowing, the blood is pumping, I'm sweating
The doctor said: it's good to walk every day a bit...until you'll reach there.

http://www.ehudbanai.co.il/?lang=eng

2 comments:

  1. Hi! I'm glad to find this blog/website, because I do love Israeli music. Luckily, I already knew some of the singers/songwriters you posted about, so reading the translation of some of their songs (toda raba for this!) I could understand better what they meant :D I'll be visiting your blog again. Greetings from a Peruvian girl who LOVES Israeli culture and music (and Ivrit, of course).

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