Rockfour-Unquiet Again

On the way to reason
Fleeing to a secure place
I would change everything
If it was possible to know
Time passes, a year went by

On the way to reason
This isn't at all a romantic song
Going towards a right direction
Another never-ending story
Time passes, a year went by

Unquiet again
Doo doo doo doo doo
Doo doo doo doo doo
Unquiet again
Doo doo doo doo doo
Doo doo doo doo doo
Doo doo doo doo doo
Doo doo doo doo doo, ahh

On the way to reason
I hinder with no way out
On the way to a right ending
It's the text that's never-ending
That's never over

Unquiet again

 "Here we go again" a friend wrote when the first sirens were heard in Beer Sheva. It's the first big operation since I moved away and it's been surreal following the news from afar-I felt as if I could just as well be living in the States because everything was so normal while my friends were again under fire. But on Tuesday that changed when Tel Aviv and its neighboring cities (and later more distant destinations like Hedera and Binyamina) joined the range. It was all very expected but still very startling. I was at home in Ramat Gan (10 minutes out of Tel Aviv) and joined my neighbors at the stairway. It was actually pretty amusing-while the siren was blaring they argued on whether it's safe enough to be on the 3rd floor or if we should go even lower, in what direction Gaza is, and whether it might be better to wait for the boom in the hallway. A few of them recalled with laughter how they would sleep in the hallway during the Gulf War (Ramat Gan was severely hit). It all would have been very comical if I wasn't trying to comfort my 10 year old neighbor who was the only one at her home (the siren woke her up from a nap). But when the second siren came a few hours later she seemed okay as she was joking with her mom and brothers. Seemed. It's weird how easy you get used to the situation. So far, the sirens have always caught me at home or at work, usually in the morning when they know it's rush hour and before summer camps begin-today wasn't a work day so the siren came a bit later, when most were out during their errands. We hear the sirens, walk to the shelter and afterwards continue with our day. (Here's a cute video on the Tel-Avivian home front, from last time but still relevant). But that's because we have a luxurious minute and a half and we only hear the sirens a few times a day. In the south it's pretty unbearable with non-stop rockets and only 15-30 seconds. Even so, most are used to it (the gaps between operation to operation are only shortening) and if a few intense days (or even weeks) are necessary for a calm period so be it. The question remains when will things heat up again.
    I would always have this song stuck in my head after a bombing or incident, and then I would feel a bit weird about it because if you don't really pay attention to the lyrics it sounds like such a happy song-not the type you're supposed to hum on difficult days. It makes me think of the sunny late 60s-early 70s songs which were written in  dark times, and also of the dissonance that would sometimes appear between the music and lyrics-I'm thinking of Chirpy,Chirpy,Cheep,Cheep and Sunny Afternoon but I'm sure there are more examples. Along with this song Rockfour had another big single from their debut album "Butterfly Net"-a song called "The Anger" which sounds very restrained, and tense. They have a very impressive discography including quite a few accessible albums in English but their most experiential has to be their second album, the highly acclaimed "The Man Who Saw it All"-the only album I could really listen to this week. Every track on it is gold but one that particularly stands out is "Hole in the Moon":



Cannot forget, the moment when I wanted to,
Already gather everything, and I didn't have the strength
To continue and go through all that, which has no intention

Give me a milestone, and I'll know how to continue,
There remains a pain deep inside, I just wanted to go
Like being a ripped photo
Hole in the moon

In pale light, in the trap of the hour
An angel comes, see what he has in his hand,
What separates between good and evil,
It's my brother

Abusing with words, sometimes unintentionally, I remain
Alone,
The last on a sinking ship

Like in a fantasy I return to the point
In which I began then to walk hoping not to crawl
Within all this it seems, I'm getting closer
Standing on the edge.