שיר עבודה | Shir 'avoda | Work Song (1912)
Artist: Abraham Zvi Idelsohn (1882-1938)
Lyrics: Bar-Nash
Tune: Oriental Melody
“Shir 'avoda” was written by Noah Shapira (1863-1931) in 1895, under his pen-name, Bar-Nash. It was published in several sources that Idelsohn does not mention in Sefer Ha-Shirim. Shapira immigrated to Erets Yisrael in 1891 with the First Aliyah (wave of Jewish immigration to Ottoman Palestine between 1881 and 1903). The text describes life in Erets Yisrael, emphasizing the importance of physical work, which builds a strong and productive nation. The original text contains ten verses and a refrain, to be performed by a solo and a chorus. The choir sings the refrain "ya ha li li, ha 'amali" [ya, my flute; ya, my work].
The melody was adapted by Haim Milman, a friend of Shapira, from an Arabic wedding song. The Arabic words, which are intending to be sung to a bride, are: "ya halali ya mali" (you are mine; you belong to me). The refrain inspired Shapira and Milman to adapt the word "amali", meaning, "my work" in Hebrew, and create a "work song".
Adapting an Arabic melody might also be seen as an ideological choice – to borrow from the Oriental ancient melodies of the local inhabitants, who resemble in the imagination of the composers the Israelites of the Bible, of ancient Zion.
The melody is in a natural minor mode.
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