Published: 17 November 2023
Last updated: 5 March 2024
DAHLIA SCHEINDLIN: 'Get Out of Here,' a post-October 7 Israeli song set to the music of the ’60s classic, has become an instant anti-government hit.
When The Sound of Silence was first played on US radio in June 1965, it wasn’t the hit we know today. For starters, Simon and Garfunkel’s original version was called “The Sound of Silence” and was acoustic, spotlighting the duo’s angelic vocals. It attracted some attention but required a major remix – with added electric guitars and drums – before becoming a phenomenon.
By contrast, Get Out of Here (my free translation of the Hebrew title “Se’u m’kan”), a post-October 7 Israeli song set to the music of the ’60s classic, has become an instant anti-government hit. Unlike the ethereal symbolism of the original lyrics, “Get Out of Here” has no metaphor and no mystery.
The lyrics are just a list of government ministers and legislators, all from the original, prewar coalition gang, followed by words that meet two conditions: they rhyme with the names and mean, roughly, “Get (the &*^%) out of here.”
Hazy snapshot images of the original (“In restless dreams I walked alone/Narrow streets of cobblestone”) are replaced by “Yalla Smotrich, resign/Yalla Ben-Gvir, resign,” referring to the finance and national security ministers, respectively.
The metaphorical beauty of “And in the naked light I saw/Ten thousand people, maybe more,” has become “Yalla [MK Simcha] Rothman, scram/You stupidheads that even Satan couldn’t create.” Needless to say, a final verse is dedicated to “the total loser” (literally, “zero”): Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
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Satirical Take on 'The Sound of Silence' Becomes Perfect Metaphor for Life in Israel (Haaretz)
'Get Out of Here,' a post-October 7 Israeli song set to the music of the ’60s classic, has become an instant anti-government hit. But the song isn’t an irreverent twist on a sombre mood; it’s just sombre
Photo: A screenshot from a video of the viral Israeli song “Se’u m’kan,” as seen on Facebook (Ori Weinstock's Facebook account)
