The Songs

Thanks to everyone who sent in songs linking Pesach this year to the moment we are living in. We gathered the songs into a youtube and a spotify playlist. 

If you still have a song to send, or if you sent us something and we missed it, please let us know ASAP so we can add it. 

Below you'll find links to YouTube and Spotify playlists, and lyrics / translations of the songs. We'll bring the lyrics to the seder to discuss. Please take a moment to listen to the songs beforehand so we are ready to discuss. 

The Lyrics - (click on each title below to see the lyrics)

There Must be Another Way

from Noa and Mira Awad - There Must Be Another Way, released May 15, 2009

Words: Noa, Gil Dor, Mira Awad

there must be another, must be another way!

oh sister

your eyes

tell me all my heart really need to know

oh sister

so dear

you and i are here

raising up a voice that is clear

and when i cry i cry for both of us

my pain has no name

and when i cry, i cry to the merciless sky and say

there must be another way

there must be another way

عينيك بتقول

-your eyes say-

راح ييجي يوم وكل الخوف يزول

-"one day all fear will be gone"-

بعينيك اصرار

in your eyes there is persistence- -

انه عنا خيار

-that we have a choice-

نكمل هالمسار

-to continue this journey-

مهما طال

-no matter how long-

لانه ما في عنوان وحيد للاحزان

because there's more than one address for sorrow --

بنادي للمدى, للسما العنيده

i call out to the open plains, to the stubborn skies--

there must be another way

there must be another way

there must be another, must be another way

דרך ארוכה נעבור

- -we'll walk a long way

דרך כה קשה

-a road that's hard-

יחד אל האור

-together towards the light-

عينيك بتقول

-your eyes say-

كل الخوف يزول

-all fear will be gone-

and when i cry i cry for both of us

my pain has no name

and when i cry i cry to the merciless sky and say

there must be another way

there must be another way

there must be another, must be another way

והדמעות זולגות זורמות לשוא

-and the tears are falling, flowing in vain-

כאב ללא שם

-our pain has no name-

אנחנו מחכות

-we are waiting-

רק ליום שיבוא אחרי

-for the day after?-

there must be another way

Yallah Ya Nasrallah -  יאללה יא נסראללה

Lover, Lover, Lover, 

Leonard Cohen

I asked my father,

I said, "Father change my name."

The one I'm using now it's covered up

with fear and filth and cowardice and shame.

Yes and lover, lover, lover, lover, lover, lover, lover come back to me,

yes and lover, lover, lover, lover, lover, lover, lover come back to me.

He said, "I locked you in this body,

I meant it as a kind of trial.

You can use it for a weapon,

or to make some woman smile."

Yes and lover, lover, lover, lover, lover, lover, lover come back to me

yes and lover, lover, lover, lover, lover, lover, lover come back to me.

"Then let me start again," I cried,

"please let me start again,

I want a face that's fair this time,

I want a spirit that is calm."

Yes and lover, lover, lover, lover, lover, lover, lover come back to me

yes and lover, lover, lover, lover, lover, lover, lover come back to me.

"I never never turned aside," he said,

"I never walked away.

It was you who built the temple,

it was you who covered up my face."

Yes and lover, lover, lover, lover, lover, lover, lover come back to me

yes and lover, lover, lover, lover, lover, lover, lover come back to me.

And may the spirit of this song,

may it rise up pure and free.

May it be a shield for you,

a shield against the enemy.

Yes and lover, lover, lover, lover, lover, lover, lover come back to me

yes and lover, lover, lover, lover, lover, lover, lover come back to me.

Chomot Shel Tikva - חומות של תקווה - Walls of Hope

Zeh Aleinu - זה עלינו - It's on Us

The Man

Taylor Swift

I would be complex

I would be cool

They'd say I played the field before I found someone to commit to

And that would be ok

For me to do

Every conquest I had made would make me more of a boss to you

I'd be a fearless leader

I'd be an alpha type

When everyone believes ya

What's that like?

I'm so sick of running as fast as I can

Wondering if I'd get there quicker

If I was a man

And I'm so sick of them coming at me again

'Cause if I was a man

Then I'd be the man

I'd be the man

I'd be the man

They'd say I hustled

Put in the work

They wouldn't shake their heads and question how much of this I deserve

What I was wearing

If I was rude

Could all be separated from my good ideas and power moves?

And they would toast to me, oh

Let the players play

I'd be just like Leo

In Saint-Tropez

I'm so sick of running as fast as I can

Wondering if I'd get there quicker

If I was a man

And I'm so sick of them coming at me again

'Cause if I was a man

Then I'd be the man

I'd be the man

I'd be the man

What's it like to brag about

Raking in dollars

And getting bitches and models

And it's all good if you're bad

And it's okay if you're mad

If I was out flashing my dollars

I'd be a bitch, not a baller

They paint me out to be bad

So it's okay that I'm mad

I'm so sick of running as fast as I can

Wondering if I'd get there quicker if I was a man (you know that)

And I'm so sick of them coming at me again (coming at me again)

'Cause if I was a man (if I was a man)

Then I'd be the man (then I'd be the man)

I'm so sick of running as fast as I can (as fast as I can)

Wondering if I'd get there quicker if I was a man (hey)

And I'm so sick of them coming at me again (coming at me again)

'Cause if I was a man (if I was a man), then I'd be the man

I'd be the man

I'd be the man (oh)

I'd be the man (yeah)

I'd be the man (I'd be the man)

If I was a man

Then I'd be the man

One Day

Matisyahu

One day, one day, one day

Sometimes I lay under the moon

And thank God I'm breathin'

Then I pray, "Don't take me soon

'Cause I am here for a reason"

Sometimes in my tears I drown

But I never let it get me down

So when negativity surrounds

I know someday, it'll all turn around because

All my life, I've been waitin' for

I've been prayin' for, for the people to say

That we don't wanna fight no more

There'll be no more wars, and our children will play

One day (one day), one day (one day)

One day (oh-oh-oh)

One day (one day), one day (one day)

One day (oh-oh-oh)

It's not about win or lose

'Cause we all lose when they feed on the souls of the innocent

Blood-drenched pavement

Keep on movin' though the waters stay ragin'

In this maze, you can lose your way, your way

It might drive you crazy

But don't let it faze you, no way, no way

Sometimes in my tears I drown (I drown)

But I never let it get me down (get me down)

So when negativity surrounds (surrounds)

I know someday, it'll all turn around because

All my life, I've been waitin' for (waitin' for)

I've been prayin' for (prayin' for), for the people to say

That we don't wanna fight no more (fight no more)

There'll be no more wars (no more wars), and our children will play

One day (one day), one day (one day)

One day (oh, oh, oh, oh-oh-oh, one day)

One day (one day), one day (one day)

One day (oh-oh-oh)

One day, this all will change, treat people the same

Stop with the violence, down with the hate

One day, we'll all be free and proud to be

Under the same sun, singin' songs of freedom like

Wah-yo (one day, one day), wah-yo, oh, oh (oh-oh-oh)

Wah-yo (one day, one day), wah-yo, oh, oh (oh-oh-oh)

All my life, I've been waitin' for

I've been prayin' for, for the people to say

That we don't wanna fight no more

There'll be no more wars, and our children will play

One day (one day), one day (one day)

One day (oh-oh-oh)

One day (one day), one day (one day)

One day (oh-oh-oh)

One day, one day, one day

Ani Shayach Le'am - אני שייך לעם - I Belong to a Nation

Chad Gadya  - חד גדיא - One little Goat

Chava Albertstein

דזבין אבא בתרי זוזי, חד גדיא חד גדיא

קנה אבינו גדי בשני זוזים, כך מספרת ההגדה

My father bought one little kid for two zuzim. Our father bought a kid for two zuzim. So the Haggadah recounts...

ובא מלאך המוות והרג את השוחט ששחט את השור ששתה את המים שכיבו את האש ששרפה את המקל שחבט בכלב שנשך החתול שטרף את הגדי שאבינו הביא

And the Angel of Death came and killed the butcher who butchered the ox, which drank the water, which extinguished the fire,

which burnt the switch, which beat the dog, which bit the cat, which devoured the kid that my father brought

דזבין אבא בתרי זוזי חד גדיא חד גדיא

My father bought one little kid for two zuzim.

ומה פתאום את שרה חד גדיא? אביב עוד לא הגיע ופסח לא בא

ומה השתנה לך מה השתנה? אני השתניתי לי השנה

ובכל הלילות בכל הלילות שאלתי רק ארבע קושיות

And why are you suddenly singing “Chad Gadya?” Spring has not yet arrived and Passover hasn’t come.

And what is different for you, how have you changed? I have truly changed this year,

And every night, each and every night, I asked only four difficult questions.

הלילה הזה יש לי עוד שאלה: עד מתי יימשך מעגל האימה

רודף הוא נרדף מכה הוא מוכה. מתי ייגמר הטירוף הזה

ומה השתנה לך מה השתנה? אני השתניתי לי השנה

Tonight I have another question: How long will the cycle of violence continue?

The hunter is hunted and the killer is killed, When will this insanity end?

And what is different for you, how have you changed? I have truly changed this year.

הייתי פעם כבש וגדי שליו היום אני נמר וזאב טורף

הייתי כבר יונה והייתי צבי היום איני יודעת מי אני

Once I was a lamb and a peaceful kid, today I am a leopard and a devouring wolf.

I used to be a dove, I was a gazelle. Today I know who I am.

דזבין אבא בתרי זוזי, חד גדיא חד גדיא

קנה אבינו גדי בשני זוזים, ושוב מתחילים מהתחלה

My father bought one little kid for two zuzim. Our father buys a kid for two zuzim, and it all starts again from the beginning.

V'hi She'amdah - והיא שעמדה - The Promise that Stood

The Neighborhood Bully

Bob Dylan

Well, the neighborhood bully, he's just one man

His enemies say he's on their land

They got him outnumbered about a million to one

He got no place to escape to, no place to run

He's the neighborhood bully.

The neighborhood bully he just lives to survive

He's criticized and condemned for being alive

He's not supposed to fight back, he's supposed to have thick skin

He's supposed to lay down and die when his door is kicked in

He's the neighborhood bully.

The neighborhood bully been driven out of every land

He's wandered the earth an exiled man

Seen his family scattered, his people hounded and torn

He's always on trial for just being born

He's the neighborhood bully.

Well, he knocked out a lynch mob, he was criticized

Old women condemned him, said he should apologize

Then he destroyed a bomb factory, nobody was glad

The bombs were meant for him. He was supposed to feel bad

He's the neighborhood bully.

Well, the chances are against it, and the odds are slim

That he'll live by the rules that the world makes for him

'Cause there's a noose at his neck and a gun at his back

And a license to kill him is given out to every maniac

He's the neighborhood bully.

Well, he got no allies to really speak of

What he gets he must pay for, he don't get it out of love

He buys obsolete weapons and he won't be denied

But no one sends flesh and blood to fight by his side

He's the neighborhood bully.

Well, he's surrounded by pacifists who all want peace

They pray for it nightly that the bloodshed must cease

Now, they wouldn't hurt a fly. To hurt one they would weep

They lay and they wait for this bully to fall asleep

He's the neighborhood bully.

Every empire that's enslaved him is gone

Egypt and Rome, even the great Babylon

He's made a garden of paradise in the desert sand

In bed with nobody, under no one's command

He's the neighborhood bully.

Now his holiest books have been trampled upon

No contract that he signed was worth that what it was written on

He took the crumbs of the world and he turned it into wealth

Took sickness and disease and he turned it into health

He's the neighborhood bully.

What's anybody indebted to him for?

Nothing, they say. He just likes to cause war

Pride and prejudice and superstition indeed

They wait for this bully like a dog waits for feed

He's the neighborhood bully.

What has he done to wear so many scars?

Does he change the course of rivers? Does he pollute the moon and stars?

Neighborhood bully, standing on the hill

Running out the clock, time standing still

Neighborhood bully.

Acheinu - אחינו - Our Siblings

You've Got to Be Carefully Taught

Rogers and Hammerstein

You’ve got to be taught to hate and fear,
You’ve got to be taught from year to year,
It’s got to be drummed in your dear little ear—
You’ve got to be carefully taught!

You’ve got to be taught to be afraid
Of people whose eyes are oddly made,
And people whose skin is a different shade—
You’ve got to be carefully taught.

You’ve got to be taught before it’s too late,
Before you are six or seven or eight,
To hate all the people your relatives hate—
You’ve got to be carefully taught!
You’ve got to be carefully taught!

Zemer Nugeh - זמר נוגה - A sad Song

Anachnu lo tzrichim - אנחמו לא צריכים - We Don't Need

Am Yisrael Chai - עם ישראל חי - The Nation of Israel Lives

Both Sides Now

Joni Mitchell

Rows and floes of angel hair

And ice cream castles in the air

And feather canyons everywhere

Looked at clouds that way

But now they only block the sun

They rain and they snow on everyone

So many things I would have done

But clouds got in my way

I've looked at clouds from both sides now

From up and down and still somehow

It's cloud illusions I recall

I really don't know clouds at all

Moons and Junes and Ferris wheels

The dizzy dancing way that you feel

As every fairy tale comes real

I've looked at love that way

But now it's just another show

And you leave 'em laughing when you go

And if you care, don't let them know

Don't give yourself away

I've looked at love from both sides now

From give and take and still somehow

It's love's illusions that I recall

I really don't know love

I really don't know love at all

Tears and fears and feeling proud

To say, "I love you, " right out loud

Dreams and schemes and circus crowds

I've looked at life that way

Oh, but now old friends, they're acting strange

And they shake their heads and they tell me that I've changed

Well, something's lost, but something's gained

In living every day

I've looked at life from both sides now

From win and lose and still somehow

It's life's illusions I recall

I really don't know life at all

It's life's illusions that I recall

I really don't know life

I really don't know life at all

American Requiem

Chorshat Ha'ecalyptus - חורשת האקליפטוס - The Eucaluptus Grove