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YERUSHALAYIM SHEL BARZEL
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JERUSALEM OF IRON |
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| Bemachshichayich Yerushalayim matzanu lev ohev, et banu lerchiv gvulaich velemager oyev. Mikol margemotav ravinu, Veshachar kam pit om, Verak alah, od lo hilbin od, Ukvar hayah adom. Yerushalayim shel barzel veshel oferet veshel schor halo lechomotayich kar anu dror. Hagdud ragum paratz kadima, Dam veashan kulo, Iva u ima achar ima, Bekahal haschulot. Noshech sfatav, valo bli yega, Hosif hagdud lilchom, Ad she hunaf sof-sof hadegel Me al beit hanechot. Yerushalayim shel barzel veshel oferet veshel schor halo lechomotayich kar anu dror. Nafotzu kol gdudei hamelech, Tzalaf nadam tzricho, Achav efshar el yam hamelach, Bederech yericho. Achshav efshar el har habait Vekotel ma arav, Hine hinech beor arba yim Kim at kulech zahav. Yerushalayim shel zahav Veshel oferet ve chalom, La ad, bein chomotaych Iskon shalom. |
In your darkness, Jerusalem, we found a loving heart, when we came to widen your borders and to overwhelm the enemy. We became satiated of all his mortars, then suddenly dawn broke, it just arose, not yet even white, and it was aready red. Jerusalem of iron, of lead, of darkness, haven't we set your wall free? The strafed battalion broke forwards, all of him in blood and smoke, and a mother came, and another mother, in the congregation of bereavement. Biting his lips, not without toil, the battalion continued fighting, till, at the end, the flag flapped above the house of bitterness. Jerusalem of iron, of lead, of darkness, haven't we set your wall free? The king's army dispersed, the sniper his tower is silent, now it s possible to go to the Dead Sea by the way of Jericho. Now it s possible to the Santuary Mountain And to the Western Wall, here, you are, in the twilight almost all of you, gold. Jerusalem of gold, and lead, and dream Will forever be Peace, between your walls. |
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| Translator's notes: |
| About Meir Ariel |
| Meir Ariel was one of the most nonconformist and controversial israeli artists. He wrote lyrics and music for quite a few Israeli artists, but also sang his own songs by himself. His most famous song is Agadat desheh, with music by Shalom Chanoch and sung by Arik Einstein. Meir Ariel passed away in 1999, aged 57, as result of a sudden, mysterious and deadly infection. |
| About the song |
| Meir Ariel started his career at the time of the Six Day War in 1967. He was one of the paratroopers who set the Old City of Jerusalem free. He was nicknamed 'The Singing Paratrooper' (Hatzanchan Hamezamer). |
| After the war he composed a protest takeoff of the song , same music, but totally different lyrics. |
| He wanted to emphasize the dark aspect of the war, as he, a fighting paratrooper, saw it. |
| There are different version of Yerushalayim shel barzel. I don't know wheter they are successive changes made by the author, or 'adjustments' made by editors, to 'soften' some bitter expressions. 1. In the chorus: Yerushalayim shel barzel veshel oferet veshel schor (Darkness) sometimes written as: Yerushalayim shel barzel veshel oferet veshel schol (Bereavement) |
| It is obvious that the original vesion contains schor, which non only rhymes with dror of the following verse, but also with the original Naomi Shemer's Or/Kinor. The anthitesis is obvious: Zahav/Barzel, Nechoshet/Oferet, Or/Schor (Gold/Iron, Copper/Lead, Light/Darkness). |
2. Ad shehunaf sof-sof hadegel me'al beit hanechot. Sometimes the word hunaf (to hoist) is written huchlaf (to change). Beit hanechot means museum. It is the Rockfeller Museum, close to the Old City, and clearly visibile from the sorrounding battlefield. Sometimes the word nechot is spelled erroneously with an aleph instead a vav. Since in the Bible this word (without the preceding beit) means some kind of sorrow (and is also the plural of the plant Astragalus), It is not clear whether Meir Ariel intended to put a double meaning in the verse. |
| I took the liberty to think so, and translated it with the English espression 'the house of bitterness', instead of 'the museum'. I went even further in the Italian version, where 'Beit hanechot' became 'The graveyard there'. Its an error, but I think it's more appropriate with the spirit of the song. |
| LYRICS | Meir Ariel |
| MUSIC | Naomi Shemer |
| SINGER |
| Transliteration, translation and singable Italian translation by Daniel Shalev |
| Contact the publisher of Hebrew Songs.com |
| Singable Italian translation |
| GERUSALEMME DI FERRO |
Venuti nella notte scura Saziammo d'obici e mortai Gerusalemme, ferro e fuoco Il battaglione bombardato A denti stretti quella schiera Gerusalemme, ferro e fuoco... La Regia Armata fu dispersa, Possiamo andar sul Sacro Monte, Gerusalemme tutta d'oro, |