''Zum Gali Gali'' ( he, זום גלי גלי) is an Israeli
folk song
Folk music is a music genre that includes #Traditional folk music, traditional folk music and the Contemporary folk music, contemporary genre that evolved from the former during the 20th-century folk revival. Some types of folk music may be c ...
associated with the
Kibbutz
A kibbutz ( he, קִבּוּץ / , lit. "gathering, clustering"; plural: kibbutzim / ) is an intentional community in Israel that was traditionally based on agriculture. The first kibbutz, established in 1909, was Degania. Today, farming h ...
, Israel's collective agricultural communities. The song is sometimes referred to by the title ''Israeli Work Song'' and is known for its rhythmic style. The song begins with the repeated refrain ("zum gali gali") before proceeding to the verses. The repeated refrain itself is a
nonsensical verse, and has no direct translation into English.
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]
Overview
Origins
The exact origins and authorship of ''Zum Gali Gali'' is unknown. While the song is associated with the Kibbutz Mishmar HaEmek it is possible that it was composed elsewhere. It may have first been performed as part of a play. The first publication of the song was in 1939 by the Hebrew Publishing Company
Hebrew Publishing Company is an American Jewish publishing house based in New York City. The company publishes a range of Hebrew prayerbooks and other religious works, as well as many Yiddish publications. The company was founded in the early 19 ...
(NY, USA), indicating it was popular among American Jews
American Jews or Jewish Americans are American citizens who are Jewish, whether by religion, ethnicity, culture, or nationality. Today the Jewish community in the United States consists primarily of Ashkenazi Jews, who descend from diaspora J ...
at the time. Subsequent publications, such as a 1948 recording by Meir Lokitz, recorded as part of ''The Stonehill Collection: Recording of Holocaust survivors and Jewish immigrants to the United States'', contains alternate verses with the standard refrain. The song was first performed in a non-Jewish context by the German instrumentalist Bert Kaempfert
Bert Kaempfert (born Berthold Heinrich Kämpfert; 16 October 1923 – 21 June 1980) was a German orchestra leader, multi-instrumentalist, music producer, arranger, and composer. He made easy listening and jazz-oriented records and wrote the musi ...
.
Usage
''Zum Gali Gali'' is commonly used today in music education
Music education is a field of practice in which educators are trained for careers as elementary or secondary music teachers, school or music conservatory ensemble directors. Music education is also a research area in which scholars do origina ...
in both Jewish and non-Jewish settings on account of the song's rhythmic style, minor tonality, multicultural and diverse origin.[Campbell, P. S. (1994). Multiculturalism and the raising of music teachers for the twenty-first century. ''Journal of Music Teacher Education'', 3(2), 21-29.]
Hashalom lema'an ha'amim,
Ha'amim lema'an hashalom
Zum gali gali gali
Zum gali gali
Zum gali gali gali
Zum gali gal
Hashalom lema'an ha'amim,
Ha'amim lema'an hashalom
Zum gali gali gali
Zum gali gali
Zum gali gali gali
Zum gali gal[Atkinson Smolen, L. & Oswald, R. A. (2011). ''Multicultural Literature and Response: Affirming Diverse Voices''. ABC-CLIO.]
See also
* Hatikvah
References
{{reflist, 30em
Israeli music
Israel
Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...
Songs in Hebrew
Jewish folk songs