Astar Shamir - Mid-September / Fireflies

I was so sad to hear of Astar Shamir's death today after battling cancer. She wrote so many classics, and one of them that stands out is 'Mid-September', which she wrote in 1982, following the Lebanon War and the Sabra and Shatila massacre. Gali Atari first performed it four years later, as the title track of her classic album, capturing the heavy mood at the time. 

The year begins in mid-September
With great and growing rage
Stormy winds do battle on every front
Winter kills and reaps

They say the end of the world is coming

At night the dark deepens

All summer long the sky was red with pain

Beneath it the earth was burning

Between us madness comes and goes

Life makes fools of us too

I look for the stillness in myself but can't find it

Where will this take us?

The year begins in mid-September

Winter is hardest of all

All my songs flee far from the line of fire

Perhaps they don't want to suffer

They say the end of the world is coming

At night the dark deepens

All summer long the sky was red with pain

Beneath it the earth was burning

Translation from lyricstranslate

Shamir wrote 'Fireflies' 20 years later, and it's become one of her most beloved songs. Her beautiful soul shines in the song, and she will be dearly missed.

I am returning to the forest to gather fireflies

I left little lights behind when I left

Words heavy with sorrow, that couldn't fly

Songs I didn't gather when I left

I'm going back to the past to gather fireflies

To build from them a ladder of stars

Paths I didn't walk because they couldn't be

Maybe they are still waiting there for me

If my heart goes there

Come to the past without stopping

We'll gather all the good

We'll gather all the innocence

We'll gather fireflies and return

A girl there is waiting for me, she falls in love without seeing

Fireflies surround her in a bright light

Come back to me, I'll protect you from trouble

Come and together we'll grow stronger

I'm returning to the past, not afraid of time

Knowing the difference between good and evil

We'll gather all the good

All the light, all the innocence

We'll bring them back here

If my heart goes there

Come to the past without stopping

We'll gather all the good

We'll gather all the innocence

We'll gather fireflies and return