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Silent Eyes Lyrics
Silent eyes watching Jerusalem
Make her bed of stones
Silent eyes
No one will comfort her
Jerusalem weeps alone
She is sorrow
She burns like a flame
And she calls my name
Silent eyes burning in the desert sun
Halfway to Jerusalem
And we shall all be called as witnesses
Each and every one
To stand before the eyes of God and speak what was done
Make her bed of stones
No one will comfort her
Jerusalem weeps alone
She burns like a flame
And she calls my name
Halfway to Jerusalem
And we shall all be called as witnesses
Each and every one
To stand before the eyes of God and speak what was done
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It's pretty hard to miss that this song is about Paul's Jewish heritage. 'Jerusalem calls my name'.
Why would Paul, born and bred in the USA, be 'called' by Jerusalem, by Eretz Israel? It's because the religion - or ethnicity, if you want - of a person's parents is usually claiming him/her. Paul is Jewish because his parents were, simple as that. And he didn't resist, and maybe he couldn't resist. Maybe your given religion is just who you are, at least partially, and that part is not likely to go away.
Many people may feel for Israel; but Jews in the diaspora will feel more than non-Jews. That's how Jerusalem 'calls' Paul: in fact, he calls for her, he feels for her, he is attached to her.
And Jerusalem is certainly 'making her bed of stone'. Unfortunately, it is no less true now than it was 35 years ago when this song was written. Maybe we're more tempted now to say that also the Palestines make their bed of stone. For me, the good thing about this metaphor is not just the hardness of the bed - indicating the suffering - but that Jerusalem makes the bed herself. It is because of her that the bed is hard. Maybe there is a possibility that one day she could make another bed - not of stone. Maybe it is up to her.
The 'silent eyes' are the observer's eyes, the song's protagonist's eyes. Maybe you want to say they are Paul's eyes. The observer is not from Israel, not from Jerusalem. He's just watching her, in a detached way. But because she calls him he cannot help but observe, witness.
Is the observer bemoaning Jerusalem? 'No one will comfort her.' Is that a complaint? Should he, should we, comfort her? Should we stop her weeping? Are we responsible for her suffering, for the hardness of her bed? Should we, the called-upon, be more loyal and involved than we are? They are questions without answers.
Maybe in the last verse we are halfway a trip to Jerusalem. A pilgrimage. A journey with vague motives and unsecure destination. Most Jews will go to Israel during his lifetime, and of course will visit Jerusalem. Paul probably more than once. It's probably hard to explain why. Why would anyone born in Missouri, Alaska or New York City be connected to a small Middle-East country at war? Yet the connection and loyalty cannot be denied.
And the loyalty is toward the Jews finding a safe haven in Israel. Now I would call that a limited view, but 2009 is not right after the very important 1973 war, when Paul wrote this song. And Israel did not yet start to exploit and expand the occupied territories, violate the Palestine's rights, or use state-sponsored massive violence all the time. It was much easier to support Israel in 1973 than it is in 2009.
But the song is not about that. It is about a forced, unavoidable, but sincere loyalty toward one's ancestors and the fate of one's people.
@mcouzijn I had to create an account just to tell you that your opinion here is so beautifully written. I agree with everything you wrote. And now it is February2024, and even more tragedy has hit Israel. Yet, your words still fit. It is indeed about loyalty towards ones ancestry and the fate of our people. Thank you & shalom.
@mcouzijn I had to create an account just to tell you that your opinion here is so beautifully written. I agree with everything you wrote. And now it is February2024, and even more tragedy has hit Israel. Yet, your words still fit. It is indeed about loyalty towards ones ancestry and the fate of our people. Thank you & shalom.
I always thought this song was written from God's perspective, where Jerusalem is calling out for His help. The chords seem to acknowledge this because after Paul Simon sings "And she calls my name" the chords change into a repetitive G D. Could be just a nice coincidence ofcourse.
In the "and we shall all be called as witnesses" the perspective changes to the human race, the music changes into a haunting kind of bridge as well.