The song “My White-Necked Beloved” by Yaakov Shabtai joins our project, “Playing Poetry”.
We invite you for a few minutes of optimism for the festival of Shavuot: a white-necked beloved and a lover who promises to return.
“My White-Necked Beloved” was written in 1968 for an album dedicated entirely to music by Sasha Argov. The song was originally called “Farewell”, and its content was slightly different than its present version. “Farewell” depicts a separation between a soldier and his beloved, in which he promises her that they will meet again a day after the war:
“I took my bag and my equipment; Tomorrow I will return, tomorrow, my love, tomorrow.”
In “My White-Necked Beloved”, the speaker, whose identity is unknown, promises his beloved a trip through typical Israeli landscapes: fields, a vineyard, a deserted beach, orchards and “scented flowers”. These words are connected to Shavuot, the “Festival of the first fruits”, in which it is traditional for the children to wear white clothes and carry a basket filled with fruits of the land.
We wish you a happy and peaceful Shavuot.
“My White-Necked Beloved”
Lyrics: Yaakov Shabtai
Music: Sasha Argov
Singer: Danny Robas
Conductor: Guy Feder
Arrangement: Ilan Mochiach
Above the fields hangs the moon
We’ll go there my love, we’ll go tomorrow
I will give you the stars as a present
My white-necked beloved.
The grapes are ripe in the vineyard
We’ll go there my love, we’ll go tomorrow
We’ll sneak in quietly, like two foxes
My white-necked beloved.
The beach is stranded, the horizon hazy
We’ll go there my love, we’ll go tomorrow
The sea will stroke our feet with its waves
My white-necked beloved.
It’s dark again tonight across the city
We’ll go out there my love, we’ll go tomorrow
The darkness will envelop your face in black
My white-necked beloved.
The orchards are scented with flowers
We’ll go there my love, we’ll go tomorrow
In the quiet whiteness I’ll call you joyfully
My white-necked beloved.
------------
For more content, follow us on Instagram and Facebook
/ israel_philharmonic
/ israel.philharmonic
English Translation: Tal Rockman
Director of Photography & Creative: Dror Heller
Sound: Rafi Eshel, Yaron Aldema, Zohar Zaltz - Eshel Sound Studios
Light Designer: Ronen Najar
Light Programmer: Matti Murray
P.A: Yoav Atzmon
Animation: Gavriel Izaky
#DannyRobas #MyWhiteNeckedBeloved #PlayingPoetry
15 май 2021
