November 17, 2012

One Day We'll Be Old


This is a wonderful, moving music video by Israeli composer Asaf Avidan, remixed by German DJ--the song is called One Day/Reckoning (Wankelmut Remix)--it has topped the music charts across Europe. 

The reframe:
"One day baby, we'll be old
Oh baby, we'll be old
And think of all the stories that we could have told."

On a simplistic level, this music video is about two lovers torn apart and wondering how they'll look back one day and imagine what if only they had been able to make things work.

On a deeper level, perhaps this music video is a representation of the Israel and German who produced it--more than six decades after The Holocaust and the murder of 6 million Jews by the Germans and the feelings of lose and of what could've been instead. 

"No more tears, my heart is dry
I don't laugh and I don't cry
I don't think about you all the time
But when I do I wonder why"

Why the murder of six million men, women, and children--helpless--shot, starved, gassed, burnt in the ovens, electrified on the fences, attacked by dogs, and experimented on by sadististic scientists?

"We can't cry anymore, the heart is dry."

As time passes and we age--we think what could have been if we were allowed to live in peace --"think of all the stories  we could have told."

Now in Israel, again Six million Jews living in the Middle East, the fulfillment of the promise by G-d to Abraham, the return to The Promised Land. 

But the Middel East is composed of more than 20 countries and contains 20% of world's Muslim population or has roughly 315 million Muslims. In some areas, fundamentalism has taken root, and it is a volatile and dangerous neighborhood to live in.

Missles fly to Tel-Aviv and Jerusalem and and the people of the Holy Land take cover in bomb shelters as thousands of missiles threaten them.

In modern history, Israel has lost over 22,000 soldiers,with another 75,000 wounded, and there have been about 4,000 civilian victims of terror attacks. 

To put this in the perspective of a country the size of the U.S., this is the equivalent of us losing more than 1.1 million American soldiers, having almost 4 million wounded, and another 200,000 civilian victims of terrorism--it's unthinkable!

"I don't laugh and I don't cry"

Now Israeli's are blamed for defending their small country and the remnants of their people from being driven into the sea by those surrounding them on all sides. 

"Here I go again, the blame
The guilt, the pain, the hurt, the shame
The foundering fathers on our plane
that's stuck in heavy clouds of rain"

Next is Iran who threatens to wipe Israel off the map and is rushing to develop the nuclear weapons to accomplish their malevolent goals. 

"I don't think about you all the time
But when I do I wonder why"

Why won't you let us just live in peace--leave us alone, once and for all. 

"One day, we'll be old
Oh baby, we'll be old
Think of all the stories we could have told"

If only, all could live and let live--think of all the better stories we could tell and all the lives not lost, and all the promise of a better future.

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