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Ebraică
Versuri originale
Berlin
בשביל מה להשאר פה שואלים בכל מקום
אם אפשר לתפוס מטוס ולהתחיל לנשום
גם התשובה עוזבת ונהיית ממני רחוקה
כמה עוד אפשר לתרץ במשפחה
השכנה היא גרה בL.A. אומרת כדאי שתעצום ת'עין הצופייה
וכל אחד שחוזר מעבר לים
מספר לי כמה טוב שם
כמה טוב שם
ברלין ברלין
גם אם אשכח את יד ימין
את תחכי שם לעולמים
שנשוב אלייך
רייכסטאג של שלום
ושל יורו ושל אור
לכל שירייך אין לי דרכון
בואו נהיה כנים
סבא סבתא לא באו לפה בשביל הציונות
הם ברחו כי הם לא רצו למות
ועכשיו הם מבינים שפה זה לא ממש חיים
מעדיפים אותנו רחוקים על עניים
לא זו לא בריחת מוחות
לא בחירת נוחות
זו בריחה עם הרגליים
להשאיר ת'ראש מעל המיים
אפילו יעקב אבינו ירד למצרים
כי השכירות הייתה שם שליש והמשכורת פי שתיים
ברלין ברלין
גם אם אשכח את יד ימין
את תחכי שם לעולמים
שנשוב אלייך
רייכסטאג של שלום
ושל יורו ושל אור
לכל שירייך אין לי דרכון
תבינו
כל העולם…
Postat de 
ibn as-sabil la 2020-12-17
ibn as-sabil la 2020-12-17Engleză
Traducere
Berlin
BERLIN
Why stay here
Everybody asks
When you can catch a plane and start breathing.
The answer [1] is leaving, too,
And getting far away from me -
How long can family be an excuse?
The neighbor’s lived in LA for 15 years already
She says we need to close our watchful eye [2],
And everyone who comes back from across the sea
Tells me how good it is there.
Berlin, Berlin [3]
Even if I forget my right hand [4]
You’ll wait forever
For us to return to you.
Reichstag [5] of Peace
And of the Euro and of light
For all your songs
I don’t have a passport [6].
Let’s be honest.
Grandpa and Grandma didn’t come here because of Zionism,
They escaped because they didn’t want to die.
And now they see there’s no real living here,
They’d rather we be far away than poor.
No, it’s not a brain drain
Or laziness.
It’s running flat out
To keep your head above the water.
Even our forefather Jacob went down to Egypt [7]
Because the rent was a third
And salaries double.
Berlin, Berlin
Even if I forget my right hand
You’ll wait forever
For us to return to you.
Reichstag of Peace
And of the Euro and of light
For all your songs
I don’t have a passport.
Understand:
The whole world immigrates everywhere now
Only here is it considered national betrayal
By leaders who want us to stay isolated
Stay afraid
Because everyone hates Jews.
And every time they open their mouths
They pin the yellow star on me again
Like it’s a medal of honor
Like it’s a boutonniere.
They degrade all of us
Without a scrap of pride.
Liberate the Ghetto already [8]
Let us live like a normal people.
I don’t really want to go anywhere else.
It’s cold there
It’s foreign there
And Hebrew is the only language I love.
Give me a little bit of the Kinneret [9]
If there’s any left, I’ll be happy.
But how long can we ignore tomorrow?
How can I raise kids in a place that
Chased Dudu Zar [10] away?
Berlin, Berlin
Even if I forget my right hand
You’ll wait forever
For us to return to you.
Reichstag of Peace
And of the Euro and of light
For all your songs
I don’t have a passport.
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Comentarii
Russia is waging a disgraceful war on Ukraine. Stai cu Ucraina!
Despre traducător
Emily L. Hauser is the author of this translation, published in Forward magazine, in an article about both the band, and this particular song.
https://forward.com/opinion/israel/204910/israeli-band-shmemel-urges-ali...
Explanatory Notes (also from Emily L. Hauser, who writes:
"This full, annotated translation is meant to help English speakers appreciate all the nationalistic references being subverted in the lyrics. I went more for accuracy than for poetry — it sounds better, of course, in Hebrew."
1 Reference to the concept of becoming more spiritual/religious, known as “returning to the answer” in Hebrew.
[2] Reference to the Israeli national anthem, Hatikva (“The Hope”), which speaks of “watchful” eyes turned toward Zion, the Jewish home.
[3] Berlin, you may recall, is the capital of Germany. And Jews kind of have a history with Germany.
[4] Reference to David’s prayer in Psalms (repeated at Jewish weddings): “If I forget thee, o Jerusalem, let my right hand forget its cunning.”
[5] German parliament.
[6] The entire chorus is a parody of the uber-nationalistic song “Jerusalem of Gold.”
[7] See: Genesis 46.
[8] Reference to ghetto uprisings in the course of the Holocaust.
[9] Reference to much-loved song by Arik Einstein about being homesick for Israel while abroad.
[10] Hugely famous children’s TV performer who left for L.A. years ago.