New Israeli Songs Echo Calls for Change, Referencing Past Struggles
Translated & summarized from Haaretz by baba
Two new Hebrew songs, "Yistalku Kvar" and "Tza Dibuk Tza," released in late 2023, draw parallels between current Israeli sentiment and past oppression. "Yistalku Kvar" adapts a 1973 Argentine protest song, with lyrics expressing a desire for oppressors to leave. "Tza Dibuk Tza" uses blues and spiritual influences to convey psychological suffering, with its imagery suggesting Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as an oppressor. Both songs feature collective voices and were released shortly before elections.
The story in 5 lines · by baba
- Two new Hebrew songs, "Yistalku Kvar" and "Tza Dibuk Tza," express calls for change and reflect current Israeli sentiment.
- "Yistalku Kvar" is a Hebrew adaptation of Argentine singer Piero's 1973 protest song, completed on October 7.
- The songs draw parallels between current Israeli struggles and past oppression, including in Argentina.
- "Tza Dibuk Tza" uses blues and spiritual influences, with imagery that suggests Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as an oppressor.
- Both songs feature collective voices and were released shortly before elections, implying political commentary.
Two new Hebrew songs, "Yistalku Kvar" (May They Leave Already) and "Tza Dibuk Tza" (Come Out, Demon, Come Out), are drawing parallels between current Israeli sentiment and past periods of oppression, referencing historical struggles in Argentina and African American spirituals. "Yistalku Kvar," a Hebrew adaptation of Argentine singer Piero's 1973 song "Que Se Vayan Ellos," was completed by Yossi Peretz and Gustavo Traiber on October 7, the day of the Hamas attacks. Traiber, who immigrated to Israel from Argentina in the 1970s, translated the lyrics, while Peretz, a musician, arranged, performed, and sang the song. The lyrics express a strong desire for those hindering life and freedom to depart, with Peretz singing, "Enough death, enough violence/ May they leave already, may they leave already/ Those who don't let us grow and live." Traiber noted that while Piero did not explicitly name the oppressors in his original song, the intent was clear, just as it is for their current adaptation. Traiber felt the song's themes of a "devastated land" resonated with the current situation in Israel, particularly after October 7, adapting the phrase to "a land flowing with milk and blood." He also retained the line "those who torture you," explaining it reflects "psychological torture" experienced by Israelis.
"Tza Dibuk Tza," released a week after "Yistalku Kvar" by singer Izzy Gaon, is described as reflecting a state of "psychological torture" with a weary, almost dying tone. Gaon sings, "How many years have you taken from us/ How many flowers we planted you withered/ How many wings we grew you cut/ What else do you want, it's time for you to leave." Though Gaon also avoids naming his oppressor, the song's release shortly before elections suggests a pointed message. Musically, the song is characterized as a bluesy, slow, and mournful piece that incorporates a call-and-response structure reminiscent of African American spirituals. The chorus repeats "Just don't come back, come out demon, come out," with a male choir responding, evoking the imagery of slave songs. The article suggests this imagery casts Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the role of an abusive overseer. Both songs feature choral elements, with "Yistalku Kvar" culminating in a cacophony of voices pleading, "May they leave already," representing the collective cry of the people.