This video present’s Israel’s entry in the 1983 Eurovision Song Contest in Munich, “Chai” by Ofra Haza. The song earned Israel second place in the international competition for the second consecutive year. The up-beat, optimistic song celebrates the resilience of the nation of Israel in the face of challenges, a people and country that continue to live and sing from generation to generation, despite our tumultuous history. The song took on particularly profound meaning, as it was performed in Munich, Germany, the backdrop to the Holocaust and the Munich Massacre, when eleven Israeli Olympic team members were killed by Palestinian terrorists during the 1972 Summer Olympics. Haza’s five backup dancers were dressed in yellow costumes, reminiscent of the yellow stars that the Jews were forced to wear on their clothes prior to the Holocaust. The lyrics of the chorus in Hebrew and the complete English lyrics are provided below. To see the complete Hebrew and transliterated lyrics, click here.
כן, אני עוד חי
והיום אני
Alive
Listen, my brothers, I’m still alive
And my two eyes are still raised to the light
Many are my thorns, but also my flowers
And ahead of me are years too numerous to count
I ask and I pray
It’s good that hope was not yet lost
A psalm passes from generation to generation
Like a spring from long ago, and on to eternity
I ask and I pray
It’s good that hope was not yet lost
Chorus:
Alive, alive, alive – Yes, I’m still alive!
This is the song which grandfather
Sang yesterday to father
And today I [sing]
I’m still alive, alive, alive
The people of Israel live
This is the song which grandfather
Sang yesterday to father
And today I [sing]!
My days and nights are full of life,
And in my sky the pillar of fire still rises
I will sing endlessly
I’ll spread out my hands
To my friends across the sea.
I ask and I pray
It’s good that hope was not yet lost
(Chorus)
Listen my brothers, I’m still alive
And my two eyes are still raised to the light
So here’s to life! To all my guests,
And to my children who seek to return
I ask and I pray
It’s good that hope was not yet lost
Chorus….
Alive alive alive (2x)
Alive, I’m still alive alive alive!