The Ballad Of Rivka And Mohammed

Am I was watching the news from Gaza E And I fell asleep on my chair C/E And when I awoke from my slumber G A young girl was standing there. Am She said, My name is Rivka E They killed me because I’m a Jew C/E I died in the ghetto of Vilna G In nineteen forty two. Am The ghetto was like a prison E They wouldn’t allow us to leave C/E Some said they were going to k**l us all G We didn’t know what to believe. Am That day I wore my new red dress E My bubbe had made for me C/E And in that crowded ghetto G It made me feel proud and free. Am I looked up at the soldier E I looked him in the eye C/E I forgot to bow my head down G And so I had to die. Am He smashed my head with his rifle E Because I was too bold C/E I was killed in the Vilna ghetto G When I was seven years old. Am And then out of the darkness E A young boy’s gaze met mine C/E He said, My name is Mohammed G My country is Palestine. Am I’ve lived all my life in Gaza E And the only time I feel free C/E Is when I go down to the harbour G And feel the wind from the sea. Am That day I went with my cousins E We ran down to the beach to play C/E Then the soldier fired a shell at me G And blew my life away. Am They want to crush our spirits E They want us to be afraid C/E Locked up in the prison of Gaza G The prison that they have made. Am To them our lives don’t matter E They force us to live in a cage C/E I was killed on the beach in Gaza G At eleven years of age. Am They don’t think that we deserve freedom E Or belong to the human race. C/E Mohammed, my brother, said Rivka, G This world is a cold, cold place. Am Mohammed, my friend, my brother, E Let us leave this world of war. C/E Then each took the hand of the other G And then they were seen no more. Am But I saw spokesmen and politicians E Lining up to speechify C/E And every word was a hypocrite G And every word was a lie. Am I saw children still being slaughtered E The monster must have its fill C/E While the people with power sat on their hands G And supplied the weapons that k**l. Am I weep for the people of Gaza E And they are weeping still C/E And I curse the ones who did nothing G And enable the monster to k**l.