I Heard the Wall Singing
1973 Greater Recording Co. Inc.
One day I decided that instead of filling my ears with non-Jewish music I should get in touch with my roots for a change. I went down to Jacob’s Judaica on Cedar Center and started looking in their music section. Another guy was browsing and I asked him what he recommended. I told him I was tired of rap and heavy metal and I wanted something Jewish; really Jewish; some raw, straight up authentic Jewish music. He recommended Paul and Saul Zim. I went back to heavy metal and rap.
But then someone played me some Shlomo Carlebach “Mizmor Shir et Yom Ha Shabbos”. I was hooked. Shlomo Carlebach was the first Jewish musicians that I truly got into. After I bought I Heard the Wall Singing volume one, I went back to Jacob’s to get volume two.
The double live album was performed in Jerusalem at the Western Wall. This is classic Carlebach style with the acoustic guitar. The backing band includes drums, an accordion and more. But the centerpiece is Carlebach’s powerful voice.
His voice soars, whispers, whistles, invoking another world. Like a cantor, he can hold a note out indefinitely as he hits all the highs and lows. The band will stop and let him loose, then as his voice dies away, the music comes back stronger into a fast rhythm. There is a lot of hand clapping and singing along. Songs start slow then breaks into a fast, catchy melody with lots of la la las and ooohs and aahhh.
The albums contain the almost universal Am Ysirael Chai, which ends in Carlebach belting out all the high notes. As far as Carlebach albums go, this one is more mellow and slow. The fast circle dancing jams are not as present. For me it’s a little hard to sit through an entire album. After a while the music can get a little too melancholy. Carlebach can make you cry as well as he can make you dance. But the haunting vocals are unforgettable. Most of the songs are all in Hebrew with lyrics from Hebrew scriptures such as Psalms and the prayerbook. Carlebach will often break into English as if the passion of the music carries him away.
Mizmor Shir Et Yom HaShabbos
Mizmor Mizor shir
Shir et yom ha Shabbos
The whole world is waiting
To sing the song of Shabbos
And I am also waiting
To song the song of Shabbos
The flowers and the trees
Sing the song of Shabbos
The valleys and the mountains
Sing the song of Shabbos
The stars in the sky
Sing the Shabbos
The angels in heaven
Sing the song of Shabbos
And I am also waiting
To sing the song of Shabbos
I saw six million dying
They sang the song of Shabbos
I heard their last will crying
Sing the song of Shabbos
Stop all this hatred
Sing the song of Shabbos
Love one another
Sing the sing of Shabbos
Dance on the streets
Sing the song of Shabbos
Mizmor Mizmor shir
Shir et yom ha Shabbos
Umocho Hashem
Last night when I said kaddish by the holy Wall
And I looked at those holy stones
And I realized those stones are not made out of stone
The holy stones are made out of tears
Tars of my brothers
Tears of my grandfathers
And I looked at the holy stones
And I saw six million little tears
And I remembered the prophesy
The Almighty promised to wipe off the tears
So the first part of my song friends is like my prayer
And the second part
Because lately I’ve heard the wall singing
I’ve heard all those little tears singing
And promising that the Almighty
Has not forgotten his promise
