I am speechless
For once I am at a loss for words
I am peaceless
Dumbstruck by the things I’ve seen and heard
I am scattered
I can’t put my thoughts together
I am tattered
As if buffeted but stormy winds and weather
Well how can I go on singing love songs
When things are much more bitter than sweet
How can I keep on rolling along
While heads roll in the streets
My people are getting killed
Their blood is being spilled
And I sit here praying for our enemies’ defeat.
I am helpless
On the other side of the world, far from the scene
I am restless
Maybe I’m safe here, but I’m far from serene
I am reeling
From too many punches feeling stoned and drunk
I am congealing
Freezing up without a way out of this funk
How can I write my soul in exile songs
While young mothers are murdered
How can I go on pretending I’m strong
While my resolve is undermined further
The innocents are slaughtered
Their blood flows like water
And I sit here so far away, a frustrated observer
I am haunted
The images are burned deep in my mind
I am daunted
The task ahead is huge and barely outlined
I am burdened
Trying to escape it is like hiding from the day
I am determined
To not ever let the evil ones get their way
How can I play upbeat music
When everything is on its way down
How can I excuse it
When the wail of anguish is the prevailing sound
My people bury their dead
They travel the roads with dread
And I sit here watching a nation go to ground.
Well I will play my music
I’ll write my soul in exile songs
I’ll sing of love and loss and anger
I’ll keep moving ahead and rolling along
Because it’s a sin
To let the bastards win
I won’t be defeated—I will be strong.
©2023 The Hesh Inc.
This lyric was originally written in the early 2000s, while the so-called second intifada was raging and Israel was plagued by a rash of suicide-homicide bombers. But sadly, enragingly, the plague of antisemitic murders still continues 18 years later, even if the methods have shifted.
May there be no further reason to write songs like these.