HARE'UT
THE FRIENDSHIP

 

 

Al hanegev yored leil hastav
Umatzit kochavim cheresh cheresh
Et haru'ach over el hasaf
Ananim mechalhim al haderech.

Kvar shana, lo hirgashnu kim'at
Eich avru hazmanim besdoteinu.
Kvar shana, venotarnu me'at
Ma rabim she'einam kvar beineinu.

Chorus
Ach nizkor et kulam
Et yafei hablorit vehatohar
Ki re'ut shekazot le'olam
Lo titen et libenu lishko'ach
Ahava mekudeshet bedam
At tashuvi beinenu lifro'ach.

Hare'ut, nesanucha bli milim
Afora, akshanit veshoteket
Milelot ha'eima hagdolim
At noteret adira vedoleket

Hare'ut, kinarayich kulam
Shuv bishmech nechayech venelecha
Ki re'im shenaflu al harbam
Et chaich hotiru lezecher

Chorus
Ach nizkor et kulam
Et yafei hablorit vehatohar
Ki re'ut shekazot le'olam
Lo titen et libenu lishko'ach
Ahava mekudeshet bedam
At tashuvi beinenu lifroach.

In the Negev, the autumn night falls,
And it kindles the stars in the quiet,
As the breeze rustles outside the door
And the dust settles down on the highway.

Time goes on, do we notice at all
How the months have gone by one by one?
Time goes by, there are few of us left,
And so many we once knew are gone.

Chorus
They are gone from our midst,
All their laughter, their youth and their splendor.
But we know that a friendship like that,
We are bound all our lives to remember,
For a love that in battle is forged,
Will endure while we live, fierce and tender.

Oh, the friendship we bore without words,
It was silent and grey, it was wordless.
From the pain and the blood of those days,
It remains with us, ardent and yearning.

In the name of that friendship we know,
In its name we'll go on, every forward,
For those friends, when they fell on their swords,
Left us this precious gift to recall them.

Chorus
They are gone from our midst,
All their laughter, their youth and their splendor.
But we know that a friendship like that,
We are bound all our lives to remember,
For a love that in battle is forged,
Will endure while we live, fierce and tender.

 

 

Hebrew words

Translator's note:
When Israel's former Prime Minister Yitzchak Rabin was killed, on 4 November 1995, I was in Rome, because my father had passed away a few days earlier.

After Rabin's assassination the song Hare'ut by Chayim Guri resounded frequently on Israeli radio.

Chayim Guri wrote Hare'ut in the era of the War of Independence (1948).

The line in the chorus: "Et Yafim hablorit vehato'ar" was strongly associated with a picture of the young Yitzhak Rabin of those days, where he featured in the company of his Palmach commander Yigal Allon. On the attached picture you can clearly see Rabin's blorit (curly fringe).
 


LYRICS Chaim Guri
MUSIC Sasha Argov
SINGER

Various including Esther Ofarim

CD Sasha Argov-The Collection    Track 2
 
Transliteration and singable Italian translation by Daniel Shalev of Rishon Le Zion, Israel
Singable English translation by Chaya Galai on the World Union of Jewish Students website
List of Chaim Guri song words in Hebrew
We are proud to refer our CDs for purchase to a wholly-owned Israeli company
For all other CDs, DVDs, Books, Gifts and products click on the Jewish Australia Online Shop
Contact the publisher of Hebrew Songs.com
 

Singable Italian translation
L'AMICIZIA

Scende notte d'Autunno di già

ed accende le stelle pian piano,

sulla soglia c'è il vento che va

e le nuvole porta lontano

 

Siamo qui, d'improvviso così

È passato un altr'anno, fratello.

Io e te, solo noi siamo qui,

quanti sono a mancare all'appello!

 

Ma son tutti con noi,

i ragazzi dai riccioli d'oro.

Amicizia si chiama, se vuoi,

il perché non mi scordo di loro,

questo patto di sangue e d'amore

che è sbocciato tra noi, come un fiore.

 

Amicizia, in silenzio portata,

senza voce e senza colore,

nella notte più buia e gelata

tu sei stata la fiamma e il calore.

 

E sei tu una luce che abbaglia,

nella gioia, una pena infinita

per gli amici, caduti in battaglia

per donare a noialtri la vita.

 

E son tutti con noi,

i ragazzi dai riccioli d'oro.

Amicizia si chiama, se vuoi,

il perché non mi scordo di loro,

questo patto di sangue e d'amore

che è sbocciato tra noi, come un fiore.

Ovvero: E sei tu come i giovani che son partiti così d'improvviso.
Non son più, sono morti, ma che Ci han lasciato in ricordo un sorriso.


Back to SONGS A-Z