Meir Ariel
Encyclopedia
Meir Ariel (March 2, 1942 – July 18, 1999) was an Israeli singer-songwriter
.
He was known as a "man of words" for his poetic use of the Hebrew language in his lyrics. His influences included Hebrew poets
such as Natan Alterman, S. Y. Agnon
and Hayim Nahman Bialik, and American singer-songwriters such as Bob Dylan
.
in 1942 and grew up in Kibbutz
Mishmarot. He and Israeli rock singer Shalom Hanoch
were friends from childhood. He served in the Paratroopers Brigade and was one of the soldiers who took Jerusalem at the beginning of the Six-Day War
. This inspired him to write the song "Yerushalayim Shel Barzel" ("Jerusalem of Iron"). The song was based on Naomi Shemer
's hit song "Jerusalem of Gold
", and borrowed its tune. It was represented as a cynical reaction to the over-patriotism of the Israeli public and media of that time. Ariel was referred to in the media as "The Singing Paratrooper" because of the "Yerushalayim Shel Barzel" mini-album cover that represented him in his military uniform.
After he had lived in the USA for some time, Ariel returned to Israel and decided to create folk rock
inspired music. He served in the Yom Kippur War
in the Suez Canal
and returned to his kibbutz after the war. Between 1978 and 1988, he released his three first LPs. The first album's title, Shirey Chag Umoed Venofel, is a parody of the term "Shirey Chag Umoed" which means "Songs for holidays". The album's title could also mean, in Hebrew, "Songs for the circling, tripping and falling".
In 1987, Ariel, his wife Tirtza and their 3 children moved to Tel Aviv
. Between 1990 and 1997, he released one more EP, one collection album, one live album and three more LPs, the last one being Bernard ve Louise (Bernard and Louise).
On July 18, 1999, Ariel died from the Mediterranean spotted (or "Boutonneuse") fever
which is caused by the rickettsia
parasite and transmitted by a tick
bite. He was buried in the Kibbutz Mishmarot cemetery.
Three live albums with various Israeli artists performing his songs have been released so far, as well as an album of Ariel's recordings, released posthumously and titled 'Mode Ani', which can be translated as 'I am thankful' and also as 'I confess'.
Among the many singers for whom Meir Ariel wrote are Shalom Hanoch
, Arik Einstein
, Rita
and David Broza
.
In 2005, he was voted the 34th-greatest Israeli of all time, in a poll by the Israeli news website Ynet
to determine whom the general public considered the 200 Greatest Israelis. In 2009, the Israeli postal service issued a stamp in his honor.
Singer-songwriter
Singer-songwriters are musicians who write, compose and sing their own musical material including lyrics and melodies. As opposed to contemporary popular music singers who write their own songs, the term singer-songwriter describes a distinct form of artistry, closely associated with the...
.
He was known as a "man of words" for his poetic use of the Hebrew language in his lyrics. His influences included Hebrew poets
Hebrew literature
Hebrew literature consists of ancient, medieval, and modern writings in the Hebrew language. It is one of the primary forms of Jewish literature, though there have been cases of literature written in Hebrew by non-Jews...
such as Natan Alterman, S. Y. Agnon
Shmuel Yosef Agnon
Shmuel Yosef Agnon , was a Nobel Prize laureate writer and was one of the central figures of modern Hebrew fiction. In Hebrew, he is known by the acronym Shai Agnon . In English, his works are published under the name S. Y. Agnon.Agnon was born in Galicia, Austro-Hungarian Empire...
and Hayim Nahman Bialik, and American singer-songwriters such as Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan is an American singer-songwriter, musician, poet, film director and painter. He has been a major and profoundly influential figure in popular music and culture for five decades. Much of his most celebrated work dates from the 1960s when he was an informal chronicler and a seemingly...
.
Biography
Ariel was born on the Fast of EstherFast of Esther
The Fast of Esther is a Jewish fast from dawn until dusk on Purim eve, commemorating the three-day fast observed by the Jewish people in the story of Purim...
in 1942 and grew up in Kibbutz
Kibbutz
A kibbutz is a collective community in Israel that was traditionally based on agriculture. Today, farming has been partly supplanted by other economic branches, including industrial plants and high-tech enterprises. Kibbutzim began as utopian communities, a combination of socialism and Zionism...
Mishmarot. He and Israeli rock singer Shalom Hanoch
Shalom Hanoch
Shalom Hanoch is an Israeli rock singer, lyricist and composer.He is considered to be the father of Israeli rock and the most important artist of that area. His works have profoundly influenced Israeli rock and modern Israeli music...
were friends from childhood. He served in the Paratroopers Brigade and was one of the soldiers who took Jerusalem at the beginning of the Six-Day War
Six-Day War
The Six-Day War , also known as the June War, 1967 Arab-Israeli War, or Third Arab-Israeli War, was fought between June 5 and 10, 1967, by Israel and the neighboring states of Egypt , Jordan, and Syria...
. This inspired him to write the song "Yerushalayim Shel Barzel" ("Jerusalem of Iron"). The song was based on Naomi Shemer
Naomi Shemer
Naomi Shemer was a leading Israeli songwriter hailed as the "first lady of Israeli song and poetry."-Biography:Naomi Sapir was born on Kvutzat Kinneret, a kibbutz her parents had helped found, on the shores of the Sea of Galilee. In the 1950s she served in the Israeli Defense Force's Nahal...
's hit song "Jerusalem of Gold
Jerusalem of Gold (song)
"Jerusalem of Gold" is a popular Israeli song written by Naomi Shemer in 1967. The original song described the Jewish people's 2000-year longing to return to Jerusalem; Shemer added a final verse after the Six-Day War to celebrate Jerusalem's re-unification, after 19 years of Jordanian...
", and borrowed its tune. It was represented as a cynical reaction to the over-patriotism of the Israeli public and media of that time. Ariel was referred to in the media as "The Singing Paratrooper" because of the "Yerushalayim Shel Barzel" mini-album cover that represented him in his military uniform.
After he had lived in the USA for some time, Ariel returned to Israel and decided to create folk rock
Folk rock
Folk rock is a musical genre combining elements of folk music and rock music. In its earliest and narrowest sense, the term referred to a genre that arose in the United States and the UK around the mid-1960s...
inspired music. He served in the Yom Kippur War
Yom Kippur War
The Yom Kippur War, Ramadan War or October War , also known as the 1973 Arab-Israeli War and the Fourth Arab-Israeli War, was fought from October 6 to 25, 1973, between Israel and a coalition of Arab states led by Egypt and Syria...
in the Suez Canal
Suez Canal
The Suez Canal , also known by the nickname "The Highway to India", is an artificial sea-level waterway in Egypt, connecting the Mediterranean Sea and the Red Sea. Opened in November 1869 after 10 years of construction work, it allows water transportation between Europe and Asia without navigation...
and returned to his kibbutz after the war. Between 1978 and 1988, he released his three first LPs. The first album's title, Shirey Chag Umoed Venofel, is a parody of the term "Shirey Chag Umoed" which means "Songs for holidays". The album's title could also mean, in Hebrew, "Songs for the circling, tripping and falling".
In 1987, Ariel, his wife Tirtza and their 3 children moved to Tel Aviv
Tel Aviv
Tel Aviv , officially Tel Aviv-Yafo , is the second most populous city in Israel, with a population of 404,400 on a land area of . The city is located on the Israeli Mediterranean coastline in west-central Israel. It is the largest and most populous city in the metropolitan area of Gush Dan, with...
. Between 1990 and 1997, he released one more EP, one collection album, one live album and three more LPs, the last one being Bernard ve Louise (Bernard and Louise).
On July 18, 1999, Ariel died from the Mediterranean spotted (or "Boutonneuse") fever
Boutonneuse fever
Boutonneuse fever is a fever as a result of a Rickettsia infection caused by the bacterium Rickettsia conorii and transmitted by the dog tick Rhipicephalus sanguineus...
which is caused by the rickettsia
Rickettsia
Rickettsia is a genus of non-motile, Gram-negative, non-sporeforming, highly pleomorphic bacteria that can present as cocci , rods or thread-like . Being obligate intracellular parasites, the Rickettsia survival depends on entry, growth, and replication within the cytoplasm of eukaryotic host cells...
parasite and transmitted by a tick
Tick
Ticks are small arachnids in the order Ixodida, along with mites, constitute the subclass Acarina. Ticks are ectoparasites , living by hematophagy on the blood of mammals, birds, and sometimes reptiles and amphibians...
bite. He was buried in the Kibbutz Mishmarot cemetery.
Three live albums with various Israeli artists performing his songs have been released so far, as well as an album of Ariel's recordings, released posthumously and titled 'Mode Ani', which can be translated as 'I am thankful' and also as 'I confess'.
Among the many singers for whom Meir Ariel wrote are Shalom Hanoch
Shalom Hanoch
Shalom Hanoch is an Israeli rock singer, lyricist and composer.He is considered to be the father of Israeli rock and the most important artist of that area. His works have profoundly influenced Israeli rock and modern Israeli music...
, Arik Einstein
Arik Einstein
Arik Einstein is an Israeli singer-songwriter.Einstein was a vocalist for Batzal Yarok , Shleeshiyat Gesher Hayarkon and Hahalonot Hagvohim . His collaboration with Shalom Hanoch and the Churchills planted the seeds for the first Israeli rock albums...
, Rita
Rita Kleinstein
Rita Yahan-Farouz is an Iranian-born Israeli pop singer and actress.-Early life:Rita Yahan-Farouz was born in Tehran, Iran. Her family emigrated to Israel in 1970.-Musical and acting career:-1980s:...
and David Broza
David Broza
David Broza is a multi-platinum Israeli singer-songwriter and guitarist.-Personal life:The son of an Israeli–British businessman and a folk singer, Broza was born in Haifa, Israel. He was raised and educated in England and Spain, where he was schooled at Runnymede College, in Madrid...
.
In 2005, he was voted the 34th-greatest Israeli of all time, in a poll by the Israeli news website Ynet
Ynet
Ynet is the most popular Israeli news and general content website. It is owned by the same conglomerate that operates Yediot Ahronot, the country's secondleading daily newspaper...
to determine whom the general public considered the 200 Greatest Israelis. In 2009, the Israeli postal service issued a stamp in his honor.
Albums
- Shirey Chag Umoed Venofel (Songs of holiday and falling commemrative day) 1978
- ...Ugluy Eynayim (...And With Eyes Revealed) 1984
- Yerukot (Green) 1988
- Zir'ey Kayitz (Seeds of Summer) 1993
- Rishumey Pecham (Coal Sketches) 1995
- Bernard Velouise (Bernard and Louise) 1997
- Mode Ani (I Thank/I confess) 2000
EPs
- Yerushalayim Shel Barzel (Jerusalem of Iron) 1967
- Avarnu Et Par'o (We overcame Pharaoh) 1990
Best of albums
- Mivchar (Selection) 1991
- Haosef (The Collection) 2001
- Hameytav (The Best of Meir Ariel) 2004
Live albums
- Dlatot Niftachot Me'atzman (with the band, 'Charisma') (Doors Are Opened By Themselves) 1998
- Behofa'a Acharona Bemoadon Barby 1999 (On a Last Concert At The Barby Club 1999) 2002
Tribute live albums
- Im Hagav Layam (With My Back To The Sea) 2000
- Erev Kachol Amok (Deep Blue Evening) 2002
- Chamesh Shanim (Five Years) 2005
DVDs & VCRs
- Masa Habchirot Shel Meir Ariel (Meir Ariel's Campaign Tour) 1988
- Derech Dim'a Shkufa – Hahofa'a (Through a Clear Tear – The Show) 2003
External links
- Meir Bareshet, Official site
- Jerusalem of Iron, Lyrics and analysis