Natati La Khayay
"At Va'Ani" (1975) ► |
|---|
"Natati la khayay" (
A musical featuring Kaveret's songs, which ran at Israel's national theatre
Lyrics and political context
Typically for the band, the lyrics are full of unusual imagery. With humour and irony, the song deals, at least in part, with the power of love and its failure, as in lines such as "if she refused / there's no hope", and “Someone says that his sky is ending/When there’s enough air for
A double-track record containing the song with English lyrics under the title "She Looked Me in the Eye", and another very successful song of the band in an English cover, was released to the European market. Internationally known French singer Joe Dassin recorded and performed a French version entitled "Le service militaire" which deals with the experience of Army service.[2]
Eurovision Song Contest
The members of "Kaveret", the Hebrew-meaning for "beehive", performed under the name Poogy for the occasion as well as on their other performances abroad, after their nickname to band drummer, Meir Fenigstein. As Kaveret included seven members while the rules of the competition allowed a maximum of six performers on the stage, the band's keyboard player Yoni Rechter served as the orchestra conductor.
The song was performed sixth on the night, following
Sarit Hadad cover controversy
Sarit Hadad, one of Israel's most popular singers and also the country's representative, at the 2002 edition of the Eurovision Song Contest, covered the song in 2018 in a different music style, which resulted in feuds between one of the band members and other artists and Israeli parliament figures who spoke against him.
Hadad was approached with the idea to renew an Israeli classic, and thought it needs to be something from Kaveret's repertoire.
The cover received both positive and negative views. Kaveret member Efraim Shamir opined by comparing it to the militant Sunni Islamist group, saying: "Disgusting,
Soon after the publication of his views, many Israelis went out to Hadad's defense, as well as Minister of Culture and Sports, Miri Regev who claimed that Shamir is "racist and embarrassing" while adding that Hadad's interpretation is "perfect". Shamir replied to Regev: "You are an uncivilized, loudmouth, liar and a proud vulgar". On the other hand, Kaveret's other Member, Danny Sanderson opined that "the interpretation of Hadad is neat. Respect".[6]
Chart positions
"Natati la khayay" was voted the most popular song in Israel in 1974, as it topped the official
Year-end charts
| Chart (1974) | Position |
|---|---|
| Kol Yisrael[7] | 1 |
References
- Habima. Retrieved 2 January 2022.
- Habima. Retrieved 2 January 2022.
- ^ "Listen: Sarit Hadad does Kaveret (Hebrew)". ynet.co.il. 23 March 2018. Retrieved 2 January 2022.
- ^ ""Natay la khayay" on the official YouTube channel of Sarit Hadad". YouTube. Retrieved 2 January 2022.
- ^ Ben Nun, Sagi (23 March 2018). "Efraim Shamir on Sarit Hadad's cover: disgusting, Isil with a song (Hebrew)". walla.co.il. Retrieved 2 January 2022.
- ^ Boker, Ran (24 March 2018). "Miri Regev versus Efraim Shamir: "racist and embarrassing. The interpretation of Sarit Hadad is perfect" (Hebrew)". ynet.co.il. Retrieved 2 January 2022.
- Habima(Hebrew). Retrieved 2 January 2022.
