The man from the valley - האיש מן הבקעה

In dreams I’ll always remember-	כבחלום תמיד אזכורה -
The man passing like a passerby,	האיש עובר כעובר אורח,
Biting an apple, in the midst of dust and wind,	נוגס תפוח, בין אבק ורוח,
Riding	נוסע
On the back of a truck to the valley.	על גב המשאית אל הבקעה.
The fairy tales are pretty,	האגדות יפות הן,
Until they suddenly fly away	עד שפתאום עפות הן
Only G-d knows where.	רק אלוהים ידע לאן.
I erected my castle,	אני מגדל הקמתי,
There I dreamed alone,	בו לבדי חלמתי,
My prince charming in a white horse.	נסיך שלי על סוס לבן.
The journey is hot and long,	חמה הדרך, ארוכה היא,
He’s there between the thorny bushes,	ושם הוא בין קוצי הקיץ,
Running wildly to find me a flower.	רץ כמו פרא לחפש לי פרח.
He returns-	חוזר הוא -
Carrying reeds for me from the valley.	נושא קנה סוף אלי מן הבקעה.
The fairy tales are pretty…	האגדות יפות הן...
The birds flew away,	הציפורים פרחו ועפו,
On the riverbank reeds floated,	על שפת ירדן קני סוף הוצפו,
In open laughter, without giving a reason,	בצחוק פתוח, בלי לומר מדוע,
He goes,	הולך הוא,
He goes far away, the man from the valley.	הולך רחוק האיש מן הבקעה.
The rainbow hangs in the clouds	בעננים תלויה הקשת
But still the radio is whispering	אך עוד לוחש מכשיר הקשר
A word or two, like the rustling of leaves	מילה או שתיים כמו משק כנפיים
Answer me,	ענה לי,
Over and out says the man from the valley.	רות סוף אומר האיש מן הבקעה
The fairy tales are pretty…	האגדות יפות הן...

This song again is very pretty, I tried to use more poetic language in the translation, but it was hard for me to find words or sayings that fit the pretty Hebrew. It's worth noting that "I erected my castle" from the chorus is more literally translated to "I erected my tower"—think Jenga towers, to erect a tower in Hebrew is a saying that means that you conjured up something with an unstable foundation. The fact that it's a tower/castle in the saying fits in with the prince charming, so I needed to keep the translation somewhat literal.

Something interesting about this song is how much it tries to hide the war, and the fact that the man in this song is a soldier. Listeners are able to deduce that he's a soldier from his stereotypical description (biting an apple on the back of a truck), but other than that, there is no clear indication from the song. That's why this song is sad—the girl singing is describing the man leaving as though she is innocent, oblivious to what has really happened (the man died).

In case you're sitting there confused as to how I'm assuming that there's a war and that this guy is a soldier, I'll let you know that the description is a bit clearer in Hebrew, and that it would be clear to anyone listening in that time period. In case you still don't buy it, this song was written about the six-day war (like some of the previously analyzed songs), and yes, the writer himself says that the man was killed in war.

Anyway, this song is unique in how innocent the girl narrator is, and therefore also our point of view. Knowing that the man is a soldier and died, we see this song through a different lens:

The girl meets a boy (soldier) near the Jordan river. The word for 'truck' used there in Hebrew, is the same word used for army transports, so it can be assumed that his whole unit is there with him. There he meets this girl, and he runs crazy through thorns just to get her a gift, and makes her feel like a princess. Then the birds fly away, and for some unknown reason, while he was laughing with her, he suddenly leaves (probably a bomb went off that scared the birds, exploded the reeds all over the riverbank, and indicated to the soldier that he has to go). However, he still whispers to her each once in a while (he probably wants to stay quiet when on the battlefield), and she is definitely listening intently to every sound he makes. Presumably after some event, maybe a grenade exploding or some loud noise, the girl gets worried and asks him to answer her, and his last words to her are that he's done. The girl then sings the chorus again, saying fairy tales fly away, only G-d knows where. Now that we understand that the man is dead, it's painfully clear why only G-d knows where the 'fairy tale' (the man) went.

The girl obviously knows exactly what happened, but throughout the whole song she hides it as much as possible, and forces us to think about it until we realize the sad truth. I urge you now to reread the song, and see how she shares this sad war song without directly stating anything related to war.

He didn't know her name - הוא לא ידע את שמה

He walked one day on the way to Be’er Sheva,	הלך הוא יום אחד בדרך לבאר שבע,
The ocean breeze pet the bushes,	הרוח מן הים את השיחים ליטף,
Next to an old tree she averted her gaze,	ליד אילן זקן היא את ראשה הסבה,
And her braid hung from her shoulder.	וצמתה ירדה ירוד מן הכתף.
The troop continued to march, and he marched with them	הגדוד המשיך לצעוד, ועם הגדוד הלך הוא
And both the wind and the sun met his face.	ואת פניו נשקו גם רוח, גם חמה.
But when they stopped for the night he realized-	אבל בחניה לילית אחת נוכח הוא -
He realized that he forgot to ask for her name.	נוכח הוא כי שכח לשאול אותה לשמה.
He didn’t know her name,	הוא לא ידע את שמה,
But the same braid	אבל אותה צמה
Went with him along his whole journey,	הלכה עמו לאורך כל הדרך,
And he knew, that one day	והוא ידע, יש יום
They’ll suddenly meet again,	בו יפגשו פתאום,
With the break of dawn, or the evening sun.	עם שחר של טללים או שמש ערב.
Another summer changed shade and color,	הקיץ השני החליף גוונים וצבע,
The military patrol returned after a night of Sivan	פטרול סיור חזר מלילה של סיון
The ambulance hurried on the way to Be’er Sheva	מיהר האמבולנס בדרך לבאר שבע
And she waited for it/him in a white gown.	והיא חיכתה חיכתה לו בחלוק לבן.
And he asked, “Do you?”, and he answered “I remember”	והוא שאל "האם?", והיא ענתה "זוכרת"
And then they talked for hours, nobody knows what about	וכה דיברו שעות, איש לא ידע על מה
And when left forever, and she remained pale	וכשהלך בלי שוב והיא נותרה חיוורת,
She remembered that he forgot to ask for her name.	זכרה היא כי שכח לשאול אותה לשמה.
He didn’t know her name…	הוא לא ידע את שמה...

This is just a very beautiful song (in Hebrew), about a man and woman who met each other in the army, and don't know if they'll ever meet each other again. It's considerably less sad than some of the other songs I analyzed.

"Sivan" is a Jewish month that falls around the start of summer.

In case you didn't understand, she was a nurse (she waited for the ambulance wearing a white gown). And he was injured (the ambulance was coming from Be'er Sheva, where he was stationed). Note that in Hebrew, it's ambiguous whether she was waiting for the ambulance, or whether she was waiting for the man in the ambulance, since they are both masculine (and it doesn't assume she knew he was in the ambulance).

It does say that he left with no return, which in a typical army song might hint that he died, I don't think that's the case in this song. The song ends with the chorus, where he's going on his way thinking about this girl and hoping that they'll meet again.

I was a young boy - הייתי נער

The targets have been neutralized	היעדים מטוהרים והרוסים
The snow on mount Hermon is melting in the sun	שלגים על החרמון מול שמש נמסים
And in a ghost-town in its heights	ובעיירת רפאים על הרמה
A lone donkey strays as a sign that war is over.	חמור בודד תועה כבטרם מלחמה.
The summer returns to its old ways.	הקיץ שב למשלטיו הישנים
But your face, my sweetheart, remains changed.	אבל פניך, נערי, נותרו שונים.
The curtains were removed, and the tape scraped	הוילונות הוסרו והנייר גורד
The town chief locked the bomb shelter	פקיד העירייה נעל את המקלט
The grass lawns are climbing and growing	שלוחות הדשא מטפסות ומעלות
Fresh green on the scars of trenches.	ירוק טרי על צלקות התעלות.
The grenades returned to the market stands.	הרימונים חזרו לשוק לדוכנים.
But your face, my young boy, remains changed.	אבל פניך, נערי, נותרו שונים.
I had a sweetheart, in love, I had a sweetheart,	היה לי נער מאוהב היה לי נער,
Clear was his voice, and clear were his eyes	צלול היה קולו צלולות היו עיניו
The war ceased, and again he’s close to the gate	הקרב נדם ושוב קרב הוא אל השער
But his stature is heavy, and his face is marked	אך הילוכו כבד וחתומות פניו
We shaved our faces and folded our uniforms	גילחנו הזקן קיפלנו המדים
We sat silently with friends in coffee shops	שתקנו סביב ספלי קפה עם ידידים
Our way of life is slowly returning to normal	העניינים שבים אט, אט למסלולם
We learn not to mention those who have fallen.	לומדים לא להזכיר את אלה שאינם.
We learn to get back to our old habits.	לומדים לחזור להרגלים הישנים.
But your face, my sweetheart, remains changed.	אבל פניך, נערי, נותרו שונים.
Again electricity sparkles in the streets at night	שוב החשמל בוהק בלילה ברחובות
Neon lights sell falafel and hopes	שלטי האור מוכרים פלאפל ותקוות
In the sidewalks, between market tables	על מדרכות בין שולחנות בירידים
The mini-skirt takes back control of the uniform.	המיני שב להשתלט על המדים.
Tunes are again playing on the radio waves.	על גל האתר צועדים הפזמונים.
But your face, my sweetheart, remains changed.	אבל פניך, נערי, נותרו שונים.
I had a sweetheart, in love, I had a sweetheart…	היה לי נער מאוהב היה לי נער…
Stand at the gate, my young girl, stand at the gate	עימדי בשער נערה עימדי בשער
I’m returning to you from the dirt paths	אני חוזר אלייך בדרכי עפר
I was a young boy, my young girl, I was a young boy,	הייתי נער, נערה, הייתי נער,
Now smile at me, familiar and beautiful.	עכשיו חייכי אלי מוכרת ויפה.
But his stature is heavy, and his face is marked…	אך הילוכו כבד וחתומות פני...
Now smile at me, familiar and beautiful…	חייכי אלי מוכרת ויפה...

This song highlights a different, sad aspect of war, one that is not always considered. Many war songs are centered around those who passed, but this war song is centered about someone who survived, but even their life is forever different.

The song fundamentally follows a young soldier who survived a war, and is now trying to return back to his previous life. While many of the physical aspects of his life are slowly returning, and it seems like life is returning back to the way it used to be, it's clear to the listeners that things are not going to get back to the way they used to be.

Sure, the soldiers shaved, took of their uniforms, visually look the same way as they did before the war. The shelters are closed, songs are playing again in the radio, and the grass has started to grow where the fighting happened. The soldier is hopeful, saying they are learning to avoid mentioning those who have lost—but it's clear to us, and the soldier, that avoiding their names won't make them come back. The neon lights are lit up again, preaching hope, but the soldier is skeptical, his stature is heavy.

The girl can see the changes that happened to the boy. In the song, the boy sings the lines where he says how everything is returning to how it used to be, and the girl is saying that the boy has changed. The boy is trying to convince the girl, and himself, to see how everything has returned back to normal, that life is returning back to its old ways, but the girl looks at the boy and sees that his face has not returned back to the way it was. His face remains different. She explains to us about how things were, about how they used to be in love, how innocent and carefree the boy was, and how the war is finally over, and the boy is finally returning home—but the boy has come back marked by the war.

What causes me personally to tear up a little bit is how adamant the boy is. He argues again and again, how everything is coming back to normal, trying to convince the girl, trying to convince himself, despite him knowing that his life is not the same as it was before. 

But his final plea is so sad. He gives up trying to say that everything is the same. He knows it's different. But he pleads to the girl to still stand at the gate, that he's coming back home. He knows he might not be a boy now, but he pleads to the girl to remember that he used to be a boy, he used to be a boy. All he wants is for her to stand there at the gate, smiling at him familiarly, as though nothing has changed.