Rim Banna (Arabic: ريم بنا‎ 8 December 1966 – 24 March 2018), was a Palesti… Read Full Bio ↴Rim Banna (Arabic: ريم بنا‎ 8 December 1966 – 24 March 2018), was a Palestinian singer, composer, arranger and activist, best-known for her modern interpretations of traditional Palestinian songs and poetry.

Banna was born in Nazareth, where she graduated from Nazareth Baptist School. She lived in Nazareth with her three children.

She died on 24 March 2018, aged 51, in a hospital in her hometown of Nazareth, Palestine following a lengthy and brave battle with breast cancer, which she openly shared with her numerous fans through social media. She met her husband, Ukrainian guitarist Leonid Alexeyenko, while studying music together at the Higher Music Conservatory in Moscow and they married in 1991, and divorced in 2010.

Banna first achieved popularity in the early 1990s, after recording her own versions of traditional Palestinian children's songs that were on the verge of being forgotten.

Banna also composed her own songs and set Palestinian poetry to music. Her message is often focused on the suffering of Palestinians. Her music is described as "haunting, emotional, at times bordering on kitsch." She described her music as a means of cultural self-assertion:

A part of our work consists of collecting traditional Palestinian texts without melodies. So that the texts do not get lost, we try to compose melodies for them that are modern, yet inspired by traditional Palestinian music.

In this way, Banna does more than mimic the traditional techniques and representations of the pieces she interprets. She blends them with modern singing styles because,

Oriental singing techniques are mostly ornamental… But my voice is more two-dimensional, thicker. I try to write songs that fit my voice. I want to create something new in every respect. And that includes bringing people elsewhere closer to the music and soul of the Palestinians.

She performed live in the West Bank and she reached audiences in Gaza through live webcasts. She performed her first concert in Syria on 8 January 2009 and also performed in Tunisia on 25 July 2011. Her first concert in Beirut took place on 22 March 2012.

Banna's popularity in Europe began after Norwegian music producer Erik Hillestad invited her to participate on the CD Lullabies from the Axis of Evil (2003) and Norwegian singer Kari Bremnes, who also took part on this production in a duet with Rim Banna, invited her to Oslo. Banna accepted the invitation, and the two artists did a show together.
The album, dubbed "a musical antiwar message to U.S. President Bush from female singers in Palestine, Iraq, Iran, and Norway," brings these women together with others from North Korea, Syria, Cuba, and Afghanistan, to sing traditional lullabies from their lands in duet form with English-language performers whose translation allows the songs to reach a Western audience.

The Mirrors of My Soul, which was dedicated to all the Palestinian and Arab political detainees in the Israeli prisons, is a stylistic departure from her previous body of work. Produced in cooperation with a Norwegean quintet, it features "Western pop styling" fused with Middle Eastern modal and vocal structures, and Arabic lyrics.

Although the style differs from previous recordings, the subject matter has basically remained constant. The album includes "songs of despair and hope" about the lives of "a struggling people, and even a song about late Palestinian leader and PA president Arafat in a way that is both thoughtful and subtle".

Discography

Jafra (1985)
Your tears Mother (1986)
The Dream (1993)
New Moon (1995)
Mukaghat (1996)
Al Quds Everlasting (2002)
Krybberom (2003) Rim Banna & SKRUK
Lullabies from the Axis of Evil (2003 – Various female artists)
The Mirrors of My Soul (2005, Valley Entertainment)
This was not my story (2006) Rim Banna & Henrik Koitz
Seasons of violet (2007)
Songs across Walls of Separation (2008 – Various artists from the Middle East, Africa, Central America, North America, and Europe)
April Blossoms (2009) an album for children, was dedicated to the children martyrs in Gaza
A Time to cry (2010), was recorded in one of the houses in Sheikh Jarrah under constant threat of eviction from the part of their house (with three Palestinian singers)
"Tomorrow" (Bokra) 2011, a single song of the American legend composer Quincy Jones, who chose Rim Banna to represent Palestine in this project which will be released in an Album and a video clip in September 2011
Revelation of Ecstasy and Rebellion (2013); produced by Bugge Wesseltoft
Songs from a Stolen Spring (2014, Valley Entertainment/Kirkelig Kulturverksted - Various Artists), featuring "Break Your Fears"

Baylassan
Rim Banna Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

I am sussu, you are Baylassan
I am sussu, I am very cute
My mum is the hen, my daddy is the rooster
Your are Baylassan
Who is your mum and who is your dad?
My mum and dad sing for me
Before sleeping and every day
They love me and they play with me

As your mum and dad love you
Sussu Sussu Baylassussu
Come and play in the garden

Sussu, Sussu and you Baylassan
Come and play with the other chicken

Overall Meaning

The lyrics to Rim Banna's "Baylassan" are a playful and endearing conversation between two chickens, identified as "sussu" and "Baylassan". Sussu introduces themselves as "very cute" and describes their family as the hen and rooster who sing them to sleep and play with them every day. Sussu turns to Baylassan and inquires about their own family, suggesting that the love and care they receive from their parents is universal.

The lyrics convey a sense of innocence and simplicity, highlighting the joys of childhood and the simple pleasures of play and familial love. The anthropomorphized chickens serve as a metaphor for the childlike spirit that is often lost in adulthood, urging the listener to embrace their playful and loving nature.

Overall, "Baylassan" is a sweet and engaging song that celebrates the beauty of childhood and the importance of family.

Line by Line Meaning

I am sussu, you are Baylassan
I am very cute, and you are Baylassan

My mum is the hen, my daddy is the rooster
My mother is the female chicken, my father is the male chicken

Who is your mum and who is your dad?
Can you tell me about your parents?

My mum and dad sing for me
My parents sing to me

Before sleeping and every day
They sing to me before I sleep and every day

They love me and they play with me
My parents love me and spend time playing with me

As your mum and dad love you
I'm sure your parents love you just as much

Sussu Sussu Baylassussu
Come and play with me, Baylassan

Come and play in the garden
Let's play outside in the garden

Sussu, Sussu and you Baylassan
Let's all play together, Sussu and Baylassan