DERECK ROSE: MUSIC
YITZHAK RABIN
(DERECK ROSE)
I WROTE THIS SONG IN 1995 WHEN I LIVED IN LIFTA VALLEY, JERUSALEM. I WAS WALKING UP THE HILL TO GO INTO THE OLD CITY WHEN A FRIEND CALLED "ITZIK" TOLD ME THAT YITZHAK HAD BEEN MURDERED, AND SO I WAS MOVED TO WRITE THIS INSTANTLY.
I WAS ON THE MOUNT OF OLIVES
READING ABOUT THE DISCOURSE OF HELL
THE NEXT DAY I SAW A MAN AS I WALKED UP THE HILL
HE SAID, HAVE YOU HEARD THE NEWS THAT THE PRIME MINISTER’S DEAD
I PAUSED FOR A MOMENT, WHEN I HEARD WHAT HE SAID.
ALL THOSE WICKED PEOPLE WHETHER THEY’RE ALIVE OR THEY’RE DEAD
GONNA STAND BEFORE GOD IN THE JUDGEMENT
FOR THE BLOOD THAT THEY’VE SHED
CHORUS
YITZHAK RABIN HAS BEEN AND GONE
YITZHAK RABIN HAS BEEN AND GONE
YITZHAK RABIN HAS BEEN AND GONE
BUT THE FIGHT FOR PEACE MUST CARRY ON
BUT THE FIGHT FOR PEACE MUST CARRY ON.
RAP
Yitzhak, he was a good prime minister
Gunned down in the street so cold and sinister
Like the legend Jesse James who was shot in the back
While straightening up, a picture on the wall.
All he wanted was some peace in the neighborhood
For Palestinians and Jews to live together like brothers should
So you didn’t have to cut him down like a brother in the hood, cos he was doing good.
The picture was a dream for your children and their future
That soon all the wars and hate will be over
From Eilat, to Metula, Jericho to Gaza, total end to the Intifada.
The wall’s gonna come, crashing down one day, division in the land is not the right way
Its time, to face up to the confrontation, come round the table, find the solution free up the peace in Jerusalem.
THEY LAID STONES AS A MEMORIAL AT THE PLACE WHERE HE FELL
NOW WHAT WILL BE THE FUTURE, ONLY TIME WILL TELL,
YITZHAK WAS NO ANGEL, BUT HE WAS A SOLDIER OF PEACE
SO THE LIFE AND LEGACY OF THIS MAN, WILL NEVER CEACE.