Naomi Shemer
Naomi Shemer |
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Naomi Shemer (Hebrew: נעמי שמר, born 13 July 1930, died 26 June 2004) was one of Israel's most important and prolific song writers. During her lifetime, she was hailed as the "First Lady of Israeli Song."
Born Naomi Sapir, Shemer did her own songwriting and composing, as well as setting famous poems to music, such as those of the Israeli poet, Rachel, and adapting well-known songs into Hebrew, such as the Beatles songs "Hey Jude" and "Let it Be" ("Lu Yehi").
Naomi Shemer was born and raised in Kvutzat Kinneret, a kibbutz that her parents had helped to found, on the shore of the Sea of Galilee. In the 1950s she served in the Israeli Defense Force's Nahal entertainment troupe and studied music at the Rubin Academy in Jerusalem. She married Mordechai Horowitz and had two children, Lali and Ariel.[1]
In 1983, Shemer received the Israel Prize for her contribution to Israeli culture.
Several of Shemer's songs have the quality of anthems, striking deep national and emotional chords in the hearts of Israelis.[original research?] Her most famous song is "Yerushalayim shel zahav" ("Jerusalem of Gold"). She wrote it in 1967, before the Six Day War, and added another stanza after Israel captured East Jerusalem and regained access to the Western Wall. In 1968, Uri Avnery, then a member of the Israeli parliament, proposed that "Jerusalem of Gold" become the Israeli anthem. The proposal was rejected, but the nomination itself says something about the power of Shemer's songs.
Shemer continued to write and perform until her death. She died of cancer in 2004 at the age of seventy-three.
Bibliography
- All My Songs (Almost), copyright 1967, published by Yediot Achronot
| Tomorrow | On The Jordan | The White Town |
| A Chariot of Fire | Lights Out | Black Coffee |
| My Soldier is Back | Fields at Sunset | Green Meadows |
| Four Brothers | Soldiers En Route | A Song For Gideon |
| The Long Hike | The Builders' Love | Yesternight |
| Look For Me | Men At Work! | The Two of Us |
| We Are Starving! | In Such a Night | A Lament |
| An Umbrella For Two | The Clown | Just For You |
| My Dream House | Ophelia | Night on the Shore |
| Anniversary Song | The Spy-Girl | Answers |
| My Flute | A Serenade | A City in Grey |
| Twelve Months | Flowers, Herbs, Etc. | Jerusalem of Gold |
| A Short Walk | The Market Song | On Silver Wings |
| My Fathers Song | Night on the Park | Lullaby for Colors |
- The Second Book, copyright 1975, published by Lulav
| Land of Lahadam | Funny Faces | For Children |
|---|---|---|
| Land of Lahadam | Beautiful People | Rosh-Hashana |
| Nachal in Sinai | Sixteen | Shlomit |
| Maoz Tsur | Mr. Narcissus | Aleph-Beit |
| The Sacrifice of Isaac | The Witches | When Adar Comes |
| Giora | A Special Lullaby | Let's Say |
| All We Pray For | Shem, Cham, & Yefet | I Have a Friend |
| A Song is Born | The Shark | On the Move |
| Things we Have | Paranoid | Summer Holiday |
| Bethlehem | Two Street-Photographers | Tall Stories |
| Why Did Michael Laugh | How to Break a Chamsim | |
| Ruchama | ||
| Yesh Li Chag | ||
| It's Late | ||
| Shalom Kitah Aleph | ||
| To Sing Like a Jordan |
- Number Three (Sefer Gimel), copyright 1982, published by Lulav
| Songs | Poems | Imported Wine | Children Everywhere | Columns from Davar |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| AL Kol ELeh | Omrim Yeshna Eretz | Oifen Veg Stait a Bhoim | Children Everywhere | Shalom, Ida Nudel |
| Good People | Hoi Artai Moladiti | Si Tous les Oiseaux | Grapefruit | Pardes-Hanna |
| Shirat Ha'Asavim | Come & Sing | Le Testament | Autumn | It's Raining |
| Cheveley Mashiach | Kinneret | La Non-Demande en Mariage | Our Benjamin | Yehuda |
| Tapuach B'Dvash | Begani | Il n'y a pas d'Amour Heureux | The Piano | Vintage Days |
| New Babylon | Zemer | Un Amour de Vingt Ans | ||
| Yif'at | Metai | Les Souliers | ||
| Tammuz | Rachel | O Imitoos | ||
| Spring Parade | Ki Sa'art Alai | Sur le Chemin du Retour | ||
| The Eighth Day | The Third Mother | Barbara | ||
| Summer | Your Lily-White Feet | Dedication | ||
| Noa | A Lament | |||
| Zamar Noded | My Sudden Death | |||
| Landmarks | Let's go to the Field | |||
| My Town in the Snow | ||||
| Lots of Love | ||||
| The party is Over | ||||
| Ein Davar | ||||
| El Borot Ha'Mayim |
- Book Four (Sefer Arbah), copyright 1995, published by Shva Publishers
| Uncategorized | 6 Songs for Yehoram Gaon | 11 Personal Belongings for Moshe Beker | 5 Songs for Rivka Michaeli | Hebrew Versions | 6 Children Songs | Lyrics for Mattai Caspi's Music |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Light | Kemo Katsav | Personal Belongings | Street Musicians | Musica | Chanuka | Shulamit |
| The Guest | You Can't Beat Me | Swan Girl | Global Patrol | Willow Songs | Tu Bishvat | Simchati |
| We Aren't There Yet | You're the Best | Old Flame | Not Bialik | Ne Me Quitte Pas | Pesach | Farewll |
| Ir Va'Em | Good Morning | Flower | Never a Dull Moment | One Little Kid | ||
| My Mother's Portrait | Libavtini | Prelude | Upside Down | |||
| Noga | Black Princess | Sister | ||||
| The Bread of Love | Roof | |||||
| After the Harvest | Gai | |||||
| Summer White | Strawberry | |||||
| The Flour Jar | Time | |||||
| Pardes-Chana II | September First | |||||
| I'm a Guitar | ||||||
| To Light a Candle | ||||||
| Your Sons From Afar | ||||||
| Hal'ah | ||||||
| Safed | ||||||
| On the Boardwalk | ||||||
| Shana Tova | ||||||
| It's All Open | ||||||
| Cafe Tiferet | ||||||
| My Young Disaster | ||||||
| Dancing |
References
- ^ "Naomi Shemer 1930-2004". Haaretz. Haaretz.com. Retrieved 2007-08-27.