Niri sings a lullaby

Lullaby – Natan Alterman

From Hebrew: Yishai Boasson

The palace and the town fell silent

And quiet is the marketplace

While in the distance sounds of music

With violin and double bass

They whisper, do not linger longer

And then there is silence.

It’s true; we ran and ran for nothing,

But finally we are all humbler

It matters not if king or slave

For in the end, there is just slumber

Hush little baby, Rock a Bye

What’s that little star I wonder?

Sleeps the tree and sleeps the apple

Jester, king all sleep as well

Sleeps the shore and all the rivers

Go to sleep too drum and zithers

Perhaps a midnights snack instead?

No, it’s the end.

The anger, fury and the burden

Of lusts to which by day we bow

Have passed away, away like drifters

Just let them pass, I’m sleeping now

There is no use, no point in asking

What, where, when who and how.

Among the multitude of songs

The lullaby our moms were singing

That which was hidden all these years

That song alone, it just keeps clinging

It stays and sings, just let me be

Release us all for we are leaving

Nears its end the path we keep

Jester tells the king to sleep

All the ships have gone to shore

History repeats not more

Would someone please turn off the light?

Yes, sleep tight.