Shirat Hasticker
| "Shirat Hasticker" | |
|---|---|
| Song |
Shirat Hasticker (Hebrew: שירת הסטיקר), known as "The Sticker Song" in English, is a song recorded by Israeli hip-hop group Hadag Nahash.
In 2003, the popular Israeli hip-hop group Hadag Nahash released the CD 'Chomer Mekomi' (Local Stuff), which was an instant hit among the Israeli public. However, the most famous song by far was "Shirat Hasticker," written by Israeli novelist David Grossman. This unusual collaboration of a mainstream author with a popular hip-hop group is part of the song's intrigue, as both Hadag Nachash and Grossman have gained respect among Israeli society. Samuel G. Freedman wrote in the New York Times, "imagine the dazzling unlikeliness of Russell Banks having collaborated with Mos Def or Chuck D on a chart topper."[1]
Puns and cultural references
The lines in the song are all direct quotes or plays on slogans that actually appeared at some time on bumper stickers in Israel, but the unique collage of opposing political slogans juxtaposed against apolitical slogans, parodies and so forth creates an angry irony. As such, the song is used to demonstrate a cross section of Israeli society, with almost all voices and political stripes being heard from. The music video takes advantage of this fact and features the members of the band dressed as the different sectors of society (for example: Haredim (ultra-orthodox), Arabs, secular Jews, settlers, etc.) each singing a line from the song, often contradicting the character singing it, for example, the Haredi man sings, "Mandatory conscription for everyone" and the suicide bomber sings "No Arabs, no terror."
The song contains many puns and references to aspects of Israeli society. For example, the chorus contains a line: קוראים לי נחמן ואני מגמ-מגמגם "My name is Nachman, I stutt-stutter." This is a reference to the Breslov mantra widely popularized by Rabbi Yisroel Ber Odesser: Na Nach Nachma Nachman Meuman. This mantra is today considered a good-luck charm and is written and stamped as graffiti all over Israel. Another pun used is the phrase "Religious state? The state is gone", which actually means "Religious state? The state is ruined". This is the direct translation from the Hebrew: מדינת הלכה - הלכה המדינה: Medinat Halacha, Halcha ha-Medina, where Halacha is Jewish religious law, and Halcha is the past feminine singular conjugation of the verb 'to go'.