His vocal - sounding very much like the legendary Janis Joplin - is unmatched; and he sings primarily in English. "A genius... A new Messiah" (Rolling Stone Mexico) and "The most interesting voice in the Israeli music scene" are some of the accolades he has received.
Born in Jerusalem, Israel, to diplomats for the Israeli Foreign Office, Avidan spent four years of his childhood in Jamaica and also grew up in New York. In 2006, after breaking up with his long-time girlfriend, he moved back to Jerusalem desiring to pursue a music career. From 2006–2011 he featured in Asaf Avidan & the Mojos.
In 2012, Avidan released the single "Different Pulses", followed by the premiere of his debut solo studio album of the same name. The singer's follow-up record Gold Shadow (2015) was similarly successful in Europe, reaching Gold status in France. The Study on Falling followed in 2017.
Gold Shadow
Asaf Avidan Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
There's a cold sparrow lying still upon the floor
Dead and true as lipstick
Slow as the speed of skin
There's a gold, gold shadow growing from within
There's a bent willow in the moonlight painted blue
There's a spent window silhouetting you
Soft and sure as lies
There's a bent, bent willow reflecting in your eyes
But now there's a girl out in a boat
Her arms are outstretched and she's barely afloat
There's a man on the shore, a rope in his hands
It's tied to the boat, and he's pulling as hard as he can
Not to bring her to him, but to pull the whole shore
and the whole world with it to her open door
All his voices are her
All his voices are her
Has he been here before?
Nobody's sure
There's a silver distance, a luminescent glimpse
There's a river of resistance, dried to cracks upon your lips
Brittle as believing
Sticky as betrayal
There's a silver distance opening up like a trail
There was a time before all the leaves
covered the beauty of Adam & Eve
And they were blind, and they were free
To be whatever they wanted to be
But now they are just a prayer in a song
And he is so sorry for all that went wrong
All his voices are her
All his voices are her
Has he been here before?
Has he been here before?
The lyrics of Asaf Avidan's "Gold Shadow" feature vivid and poetic imagery that hint at themes of life, death, love, regret, and the mysteries of the human experience. The opening lines set a melancholic tone as they describe a gold shadow seeping through the door, juxtaposed with the image of a cold sparrow lying still on the floor. The dead sparrow is compared to lipstick, which adds to the surreal and dreamlike quality of the song. The gold shadow that is growing from within suggests a sense of inner turmoil or transformation that is taking place.
The second stanza continues the themes of duality and reflection, with the image of a bent willow painted blue in the moonlight, and a spent window silhouetting the listener. The willow is described as deep and true as whiskey, while the window is soft and sure as lies. These contrasting images hint at the complexity of emotions and experiences that are being expressed in the song. The final stanza introduces a narrative element, as the listener hears about a girl in a boat and a man on the shore trying to pull her towards him. The image of the man pulling the entire world towards the girl's open door suggests a desperate and all-encompassing love that transcends individual relationships.
Line by Line Meaning
There's a gold shadow seeping through the door
A feeling of wealth and opulence is entering the room
There's a cold sparrow lying still upon the floor
A small bird has passed away and is now motionless
Dead and true as lipstick
The sparrow is truly dead, like lipstick is truly colored
Slow as the speed of skin
The process of dying is slow like the natural regeneration of skin cells
There's a gold, gold shadow growing from within
A sense of wealth and prosperity is developing internally
There's a bent willow in the moonlight painted blue
A drooping tree is casting a blue shadow in the moonlight
There's a spent window silhouetting you
An empty window is casting a shadow on you
Deep and true as whiskey
The shadow is deep and genuine like a sip of whisky
Soft and sure as lies
The shadow is gentle and certain like a lie
There's a bent, bent willow reflecting in your eyes
The tree's reflection is visible in your eyes
But now there's a girl out in a boat
There is a girl on a boat
Her arms are outstretched and she's barely afloat
She is trying to balance herself and stay afloat
There's a man on the shore, a rope in his hands
A man is on the shore holding a rope
It's tied to the boat, and he's pulling as hard as he can
He is trying to pull the boat towards the shore with utmost effort
Not to bring her to him, but to pull the whole shore
He is trying to bring the entire shore closer to her
and the whole world with it to her open door
He wants to bring the whole world to her doorstep
All his voices are her
All the man's thoughts and actions are centered around the girl
Has he been here before?
Is this a familiar situation for him?
Nobody's sure
It is uncertain
There's a silver distance, a luminescent glimpse
An illuminating sense of distance can be felt
There's a river of resistance, dried to cracks upon your lips
The artist senses a dry, resisting feeling from the listener
Brittle as believing
The feeling is as fragile as belief
Sticky as betrayal
The feeling lingers like a sense of betrayal
There's a silver distance opening up like a trail
A path towards a faraway destination is becoming clear
There was a time before all the leaves
A time in the past when leaves were not present
covered the beauty of Adam & Eve
Before the leaves hid the beauty of Adam & Eve
And they were blind, and they were free
Adam & Eve had no awareness of their nudity and were free to act upon their desires
To be whatever they wanted to be
Adam & Eve had limitless possibilities
But now they are just a prayer in a song
Adam & Eve exist only as a prayer in a song, no longer present in reality
And he is so sorry for all that went wrong
The singer regrets how things turned out
All his voices are her
The girl is on his mind at all times
Has he been here before?
Is this situation familiar to the artist?
Has he been here before?
Is this situation familiar to the artist?
Writer(s): Asaf Avidan
Contributed by Annabelle Y. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Coline Heraud
There's a gold shadow seeping through the door
There's a cold sparrow lying still upon the floor
Dead and true as lipstick
Slow as the speed of skin
There's a gold, gold shadow growing from within
There's a bent willow in the moonlight painted blue
There's a spent window silhouetting you
Deep and true as whiskey
Soft and sure as lies
There's a bent, bent willow reflecting in your eyes
But now there's a girl out in a boat
Her arms are outstretched and she's barely afloat
There's a man on the shore, a rope in his hands
It's tied to the boat, and he's pulling as hard as he can
Not to bring her to him, but to pull the whole shore
And the whole world with it to her open door
All his voices are her
All his voices are her
Has he been here before?
Nobody's sure
There's a silver distance, a luminescent glimpse
There's a river of resistance, dried to cracks upon your lips
Brittle as believing
Sticky as betrayal
There's a silver distance opening up like a trail
There was a time before all the leaves
Covered the beauty of Adam & Eve
And they were blind, and they were free
To be whatever they wanted to be
But now they are just a prayer in a song
And he is so sorry for all that went wrong
All his voices are her
All his voices are her
Has he been here before?
Has he been here before?
Cream et Sentiment
Merci Asaf, plus qu'une inspiration, vous êtes un magicien ! Cette chanson a ouvert une porte de ma mémoire dont j'avais jeté la clé au loin... vous avez brisé l'amnésie de ma plus belle histoire d'amour, pour laisser la place aux souvenirs... Je suis entrain d'écrire le livre de cette histoire en dehors du temps, qui réunit les morts et les vivants...
Rod Bacon
Par curiosité, ou en est votre livre?
Marianna Galides
No words can express what I feel...his music is simply divine.
sarah bat Yitzchak
I had to read the lyrics three times as listening I was overwhelmed by the voice, the melody and the performance!
Toda raba.
Coline Heraud
There's a gold shadow seeping through the door
There's a cold sparrow lying still upon the floor
Dead and true as lipstick
Slow as the speed of skin
There's a gold, gold shadow growing from within
There's a bent willow in the moonlight painted blue
There's a spent window silhouetting you
Deep and true as whiskey
Soft and sure as lies
There's a bent, bent willow reflecting in your eyes
But now there's a girl out in a boat
Her arms are outstretched and she's barely afloat
There's a man on the shore, a rope in his hands
It's tied to the boat, and he's pulling as hard as he can
Not to bring her to him, but to pull the whole shore
And the whole world with it to her open door
All his voices are her
All his voices are her
Has he been here before?
Nobody's sure
There's a silver distance, a luminescent glimpse
There's a river of resistance, dried to cracks upon your lips
Brittle as believing
Sticky as betrayal
There's a silver distance opening up like a trail
There was a time before all the leaves
Covered the beauty of Adam & Eve
And they were blind, and they were free
To be whatever they wanted to be
But now they are just a prayer in a song
And he is so sorry for all that went wrong
All his voices are her
All his voices are her
Has he been here before?
Has he been here before?
tina blacklock
So love this guys work... whilst old ... Gold Shadow Is the only CD (yes I know
.. outdated technology) that I love every track !!!!
Gergana Petkova
MASTERPIECE!!!
judith schilcher
Magnificent song 💞... Every Single Word touches my soul and my heart!!...There is so much Emotion in all songs 🎼 💓.. Word's best musican ever!!!!!
Ransquin Fabrice
TOP composition
TOP interprétation
TOP émotion
Thank You so much Asaf
רַב תוֹדוֹת
Brayim Ouechen
So nice we hope see you again in Zürich