They're building a wall
but bricks can be broken
Hi all,
Thank you for joining me for today’s song, They’re Building a Wall, written in 2004 by David Rovics. The video I’ve included below is sung by the Glasgow band, The Wakes.
A thought before we begin…
My previous post was a song called For Sasha. This coming Sunday, I will post some comments on Patti Smith’s song, Peaceable Kingdom. There are views on both sides of the most recent conflict. There are also voices calling for a more humane resolution.
Below, you’ll find my interpretation of the lyrics (written in italics). As with most everything, there are many ways to interpret things. Comments and questions are welcome. Please be respectful of others’ opinions if they should differ from yours.
Synonyms and definitions for the words in bold are included below.
The Song
(560 words)
As with all of the songs covered here at Social Issues in Song, I encourage my readers to do their own research into the history, in this case, the Israeli/Palestinian conflict. Read many viewpoints on this history, and then come to your own conclusions.
In 2002, Israel starting building a separation wall between Israeli-controlled and Palestinian lands. Israel has put many soldiers at the points of entry into Israel, controlling who can come and go, and when. Palestinians have had to wait for hours at these checkpoints in order to go to work, to school, or to hospitals inside Israel. Israel says it needs these checkpoints because there have been attacks on Israelis by armed Palestinian groups.
They’re building a wall
A wall between friends
A wall that justifies
Any means for their ends
A wall between Semites
Rich and poor
Brothers and sisters
From not so long before
Many feet thick
And thirty feet high
No one can look through it
And into the eye
Of a person you might know
To whom you might confide
Now just a stranger
On the other side
Much of the area where Palestinians were living was rich, green land that they had farmed for generations. The walls cut off the Palestinians not only from their farms but from schools and social services. Also, it became almost impossible for them to move between these islands of walled-off Palestinian lands. Now, that land is farmed by Israelis who now grow and profit form the harvest.
They’re building a wall
Between water and land
So we can eat fruit
And they can eat sand
A wall to make sure
That our orchards will grow
And our kids can get fat
And not need to know
Of the cities in ruins
And the children in fear
That your fathers and brothers
In tanks might be near
A wall to keep quiet
That which you fear most
So you don’t have to listen
To your grandfather’s ghost
In the next verse, Rovics reminds us of the horrors that the Jewish people themselves experienced during World War II. The bulldozers and gunships are how the Israeli government has chosen to destroy Palestinian homes.
They’re building a wall
Between future and past
A wall to keep separate
The chambers of gas
From bulldozers, gunships
And the tears of a child
Dignity, love
And all honor defiled
To remove reality
From your facts on the ground
A wall to keep distant
The terrible sound
Of the houses that crumble
And the children that die
A wall to keep separate
The truth from the lie
.
The last verse, in my opinion, is one of hope. It is calling for an end to the wall and to the separation of families.
.
They’re building a wall
And at such a cost
Land, money and safety
And all the lives lost
A wall made of brick
But bricks can be broken
When the people of Zion
Have finally awoken
And said no more walls
No more refugees
No more keeping people
Upon their knees
And then the history books
Will someday recall
Before apartheid was ended
They were building a wall
.
Mass killing, wiping out or forcibly removing entire populations, whether it is threatened or put into action, can never be condoned or pardoned.
We can change. We can do better.
VOCABULARY
entry - the place where you enter
Semites - members of any group of people who speak a Semitic language, in particular the Jews and Arabs
confide - to tell someone something because you trust that they won’t tell others
walled-off - separated by a wall
orchard - an area of land that is used to grow fruit trees
bulldozer - a large tractor with a large blade on the front that is used to push over the soil or push through something it ins way (possibly to take down or destroy something)
defiled - make dirty
apartheid - a system under which people are kept separate based on race
threaten - to say that you are going to do something to harm or kill someone
condone - to accept behavior that is morally wrong or to allow it to continue
Great song acknowledging the tragedy and hope of this conflict.