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Composer and Song Writer; Author of "Jerusalem of Gold"

Known as the "First Lady of Israeli Song," Naomi Shemer was a prolific song writer and composer. She wrote numerous songs, many of which became popular hits, and composed many well-known children's songs; she set poems to music, including works by Rahel and Natan Alterman, including her own Hebrew translations of English poetry and songs.

Naomi Shemer was born on Kvuzat Kinneret and grew up overlooking the shores of the Jordan. Many of her songs recreate the landscape that was such a part of her youth and reflect her love of the topography and scenery of Eretz Yisrael. She took piano lessons at an early age and continued her music studies in Jerusalem. She began composing songs in the 1950's and wrote for a range of singing groups, from army troupes to popular singers. Shemer's first record with eight of her songs appeared in 1959, and her music appealed to children, youth, and adult audiences.

In 1967, Shemer was asked to compose a song for the Israel Song Festival. Though not itself part of the competition, the three stanzas of "Yerushalayim shel Zahav" ("Jerusalem of Gold") became instantly popular. Particularly because the Festival occurred just before the Six Day War and the reunification of Jerusalem, the song acquired a national significance that spoke to the country's longing for Jerusalem and its surrounding areas. Broadcast frequently on the radio and sung by many, it functioned as a second national anthem. Following the war, Shemer composed a fourth stanza to the song, celebrating the liberation of the Old City of Jerusalem and the road to Jericho. "Yerushalayim shel Zahav" was translated into many languages and became an international statement on the reunification of Jerusalem.

Of the songs Shemer wrote about the Yom Kippur War, the most popular became "Lu Yehi" ("Let it Be") which began as a translation of the Beatles' song by that name and evolved into an independent hit. This and other songs, many of which have been published in books of her music, have made Shemer's songs arguably the most-sung in the 1960's to the 1980's.
For her immense contribution to Israeli music, Shemer was awarded the Israel Prize.

Biography: Judith Rosen with Gila Ansell Brauner

Timeless Naomi Shemer z"l
In Memoriam [2004]

Naomi Shemer, Israel's premier songwriter and composer of half a century, died on 26th June 2004 after a long illness. Known in Israel as a lyricist, musician and performer of a wide range of melodious songs, she is best known worldwide for "Yerushalayim shel Zahav"* -"Jerusalem of Gold".

Many of her songs were often written for other performers, from Hoshat HaEcalyptus - "The Ecalyptus Grove", through Lu Yehi - "Let It Be", Al Kol Eleh - "For All of These Things" and Ani Gitara - "I am a Guitar". She also set to music the works of other writers and translated songs and poetry into Hebrew. The message of love of Eretz Yisrael - the Land of Israel - and its scenery, together with the hope for peace, became tinged with pathos in her later compositions; as a whole, she was both artiste and artist, creating a timeless yet contemporary tapestry of Israel in music, lyrics and presentation. Her insightful children's songs continued to offer an enchanting and appealing world of hope. While often compared to the poetess Rahel , Naomi Shemer's descriptive and complex songs expressed a plurality of style and subject, and were set in the plural, as well as the personal.

In 2000, the Israel Broadcasting Authority produced a 70th birthday tribute to Naomi Shemer, in which she participated. In May 2003, Naomi Shemer published a new collection of her works in Hebrew, entitled, "Landmarks - 121 Selected Songs". Shemer received the Israel Prize for her work in 1987 and was awarded an honorary doctorate by Tel Aviv University in 2001.

Naomi Shemer will be mourned by everyone whom she has touched with her songs. Song-writer Yoram Tahar-Lev said that Naomi Shemer transformed the genre of Israeli folksong from a confused jumble of styles into what it is today, and that perhaps the most fitting epitaph was the song Ani Gitara that she wrote for singer Benny Amdursky (z"l) during his own illness. Naomi Shemer was a landmark figure in Israeli song and her words and melodies will remain with us all.

Naomi Shemer wished to be buried in the home of her youth, Kvutzat Kinneret, by the Kinneret (Sea of Galilee), also the resting place of the poetess Rahel (Bluwstein). She is survived by her husband, two children and four grandchildren.

Gila Ansell Brauner

Additional Resources
50 Years of Hebrew Song (English, Hebrew, music)http://www.mfa.gov.il/MFA/History/Modern+History/Israel+at+50/50+Years+of+Hebrew+Song.htm

4 songbooks - for sale
http://www.sheetmusiccatalog.com/artist_search.asp?artist_name=Naomi+Shemer&NAV=0

Hebrew
http://www.haaretz.co.il/hasite/pages/LiArtSR.jhtml?objNo=56553