It is difficult or impossible to summarize in one article the enormous body of work of Yoram Taharlev, who passed away today.
Of the multitude of poets and songwriters the country knew, Taharlev stood out not only because of the amount of super-temporary hits and songs he wrote, but also because of his ability to get into the shoes, heads and thoughts of many speakers.
From the soldier on the battlefield to the boy whose whole family went to the jumbo;
From the frivolous urban girl to the girls and members of the kibbutz and their adventures in the orchards.
Without forgetting great songs like "You Can't", "Haska", "The Evergreen Mountain", "For the Pools" and many others - we returned to some of the great, beloved and immortal works, of one who will no doubt always be remembered as one of our greatest poets.
Ammunition Hill
Perhaps the most iconic of Taharlev's poems, and without a doubt one of the most famous of them, is the one depicting the Battle of Ammunition Hill in the Six Day War.
Taharlev wrote it to the Central Command when asked to write a poem about the paratroopers' brigade, and he drew the idea for his writing from a letter he read in the "Camp" newspaper, in which he read battle descriptions of several soldiers who fought in that short war.
To the chilling descriptions from the battle moments, Taharlev added the trial of Shalom David, one of the warriors in the battle, who did not quite understand the meaning of the sign of heroism he received, and summed up his war experience in the immortal sentence "I just wanted to get home safe."
Yoram Taharlev with soldier Ofri Nava, Photo: Tzachi Miriam
The ballad about Moshe Yoel Salomon
The familiar chorus most of us already learn in elementary school was written by Taharlev in 1968 and composed by none other than Shalom Hanoch.
It was published in 1970 and described the historical event that led to the establishment of the first Hebrew city.
Eternal lines such as "On a damp morning in 1818 with the grape harvest" are engraved to this day in the shaping minds of many children, as they sing about what was basically a tour of a group of Jews in the lands near the village of Omelves. The son of Yoel Moshe Salomon - the man and the sword in the sash, who described to the world what his father told him, and to think that such a classic song was written about Petah Tikva.
I had a boyfriend I had a brother
Another poem that dealt with battle, like many written by the late poet, but this is undoubtedly one of the best known of them.
Taharlev wrote it between the Six Day Wars and Yom Kippur, and it came out immediately after the outbreak of the difficult war in the history of Israel.
Singer Nathanael led him and her friends in the Air Force band in her voice, and he well described the close friendship between the warriors, the mutual guarantee, the evil and the brotherhood that prevailed between them, in the difficult moments of battle.
After quite a few covers that the song has received over the years, Dudu Tessa also arrived in 2003 and brought it back to life in a popular and successful cover version.
In the orchard near the trough
In the early 1980s, Taharlev turned away from engaging in wars, while writing about another distinctly Israeli experience, which is kibbutz life.
The song was released in 1983 (that is, after the Galilee Peace War), composed by Nurit Hirsch and performed by Yehoram Gaon - not before it was offered to Yardena Arazi, who was not interested in it and thus missed an Israeli classic in her repertoire.
The song describes the life of the young people in the kibbutz, who in the absence of other entertainment attractions (or common rooms for boys and girls), would go to solitude in the orchards and enjoy coin and young love.
Yuval Dayan in tribute to Yoram Taharlev
Will go up and down
A song that is more identified with its performer Gidi Gov than with Taharlev is "Ya'aleh Vayvo," as the name of the prayer recited on Rosh Chodesh and Moadim.
And to think that this great hymn, written for the 1973 edition of the Singing and Choral Festival, lost to that year's winner, "You and I were born in 1958" much less significant than him, in the mirror of time. Not that the loss changed anything, He helped establish Gidi Gov's career (and later that of the Beehive band) and even came in 24th place in that year's Hebrew Choral Parade. Hive.
parent
Eurovision 1982. "Parent" written by Taharlev to the tune of Nancy Brands, comes in second place at the Eurovision Song Contest in the UK.
For singer Avi Toledano, this is the first time he has managed to enter the Eurovision Song Contest (after competing in the pre-competition with the song "Carnival", which came in third place).
Although the singer's career began as early as 1968, and although he was already signed to hits such as "This is Jaffa", "All My Life" and others, "Hora" marked the continuation of Toledano's success even in the 1980s.
A year later, Toledano himself will write a song for the Eurovision Song Contest, in the form of "Chai" sung by Ofra Haza and, just like "Hora" before him, came in second place in the competition.
there are girls
One of the interesting things about Taharlev's writing abilities was, as mentioned, their versatility.
The poet who thrilled many when describing bloody battle experiences could just as easily have entered a young woman's head and written lighter poems, about leisure and social experiences.
Just like in the case of "There Are Girls", written by Yoram to the tune of Yair Rosenblum and performed by the girls of the Nahal band in 1967. An Israeli anthem that was sung many more years after its release, and in 1994 it was refreshed in the form of a cover version by Dana International, when Ofer Nissim arranged for the singer one of the songs that would become most identified with her.
All your wonders are not over yet
Love of the country is an element that has passed as the second thread between the poems of the late poet, and "All Your Plays Have Not Ended Yet," first performed by the Northern Command in 1984, is a great example of this.
Rami Kleinstein composed it, before reclaiming it and recording it himself in 1996, in what then became Kleinstein's recognizable song.
It is a love song to the land and its landscapes, one of many written by Taharlev in his life (as well as "Get up and walk in the land").
The road to the village
It was not only songs of war, evil and love of country that the poet wrote throughout his long career.
The many children's songs he wrote, from "Barbaba", through "Two Friends Set Off (Bim Bam Boom)", "Everyone Went to the Jumbo", as well as openings of TV shows such as "Neighborhood of Life" and "Door" also occupied a place of honor. The magic. "
But one of his most famous and important songs is "The Road to the Village," written by Yoram and composed by Nurit Hirsch for the 1985 Festigal. But in the mid-1980s winning first place for a song about drug addiction and withdrawal seemed like a pretty routine affair.
This is the story of "The Road to the Village," which Taharlev wrote for Rebecca Zohar, describing her life's journey, its ups and downs, and her war on drug addiction.
Yoram Taharlev, Photo: Moshe Shai
A tune always comes up
In the 1970s the Pale Tracker Trio was a stopover with quite a few melodies that would become memorable and legendary, even if they decided to give them up.
This was the story of the melody of the song "I have a little bird in my heart" (which was a classic of the late Yigal Bashan), and also that of "The melody always rises". Sometimes, what to do, the tracker also missed. Yair Rosenblum, first performed by the Air Force in 1974 and also entered, as is the case with quite a few of the songs he wrote for the military bands, the chorus parade of that year. When it was the opening song of the comic book series "MK 22." Later, the beloved daily drama "Our Song" also used it as an opening.
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