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"
Don't Increase His Agony
Rim Banna Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
لينسى لديك بعض اكتئابه
قربي مقلتيك من وجهه الذاوي
تري في الشحوب سر انتحابه
و انظري في غضونه صرخة اليأس
أشباح غابر من شبابه
لهفة تسرق الخطى بين جفنيه
و حلم يموت في أهدابه
و اسمعيه إذا اشتكى ساعة البين
و خاف الرحيل يوم اللقاء
و احجبي ناظريه، في صدرك المعطار
وعن ذاك الرصيف المضاء
عن شراع يراه في الوهم ينساب
وموج يحسه في المساء
الوداع الحزين!! شذى ذراعيك
عليه على الأسى والشقاء
سافرت مع أحزاني في سفينة الحياة
فوقي سماء قداش من مرة سمعتها بكات
تحتي ماء غامق, غارق أكحل اللون
الوقت عادي يخون, أنا زعمة شكون
أنا إنت رجعت, رجعت بعد سفر
القلب تقهر, تحرق, العمر تفك, تغدر
أنا, إنت, عذابي إنت, ليك حياتي
ما تنساش, ما تقساش المستقبل فيك يا بلادي...
كلما ضج شاكيا في ذراعيك
انتهاء الهوى صرخت انتهارا
فارتمي أين يرتمي صدره الجياش
حزناً وحيرة وانتظارا؟
كلما ضج شاكيا في ذراعيك
انتهاء الهوى صرخت انتهارا
فارتمي أين يرتمي صدره الجياش
حزناً وحيرة وانتظارا؟
اغضبي وادفعيه عن صدرك
القاسي وأرخي على هواه الستارا
أوصدي الباب خلفه. واتركيه
مثلما كان. للدجى والصحارى!
لا تزيديه لوعة فهو يلقاك
لينسى لديك بعض اكتئابه
قربي مقلتيك من وجهه الذاوي
تري في الشحوب سر انتحابه
و انظري في غضونه صرخة اليأس
أشباح غابر من شبابه
لهفة تسرق الخطى بين جفنيه
و حلم يموت في أهدابه
انا ارى النجوم اذا انا موجود
هنا فى هذا اليوم وراء باب مسدود
اختفت النجوم فتاها عنى عقلى اتسأل
اين وجودى فماذا يفعل شكلى
انا ارى النجوم اذا انا موجود
هنا فى هذا اليوم وراء باب مسدود
اختفت النجوم فتاها عنى عقلى اتسأل
اين وجودى فماذا يفعل شكلى
The song "Don't Increase His Agony" by Rim Banna is a plea to a woman to ease the suffering of her lover. The lyrics advise her to avoid causing him any more distress by distancing herself from him or increasing his pain. Instead, the singer suggests that she should offer him comfort and support so that he can forget some of his troubles. She urges the woman to look into his eyes and see the agony that he is going through. The lyrics describe his despair as ghosts of his past haunt him, and he dreams of dying. The singer tells the woman to listen to him if he complains and to hold him close in her arms.
The song is significant in the context of the Palestinian Liberation movement, as Rim Banna is a Palestinian singer known for her work in bringing attention to the struggles of her people. The lyrics can be interpreted as a plea to the Palestinian people to remain steadfast in their struggle for liberation and their pursuit of justice, even in the face of great adversity. The lyrics are also relevant to the struggles of people everywhere who are fighting for their rights and freedom.
Overall, "Don't Increase His Agony" is a poignant and emotional song that speaks to the human experience of suffering, loss, and resilience in the face of adversity.
Line by Line Meaning
لا تزيديه لوعة فهو يلقاك
Don't increase his suffering, he knows you are here
لينسى لديك بعض اكتئابه
To forget his depression a while by your presence
قربي مقلتيك من وجهه الذاوي
Move your eyes closer to his tired face
تري في الشحوب سر انتحابه
You see the hidden sorrow in his pale complexion
و انظري في غضونه صرخة اليأس
And you see the scream of despair within him
أشباح غابر من شبابه
Ghosts of his past youth
لهفة تسرق الخطى بين جفنيه
The longing that steals his steps between his eyelids
و حلم يموت في أهدابه
And a dream that dies in his eyelashes
و اسمعيه إذا اشتكى ساعة البين
Listen to him when he complains during bleak hours
و خاف الرحيل يوم اللقاء
And he fears separation on the day of the meeting
و احجبي ناظريه، في صدرك المعطار
Cover his eyes in your perfumed chest
وعن ذاك الرصيف المضاء
And the illuminated pavement over there
عن شراع يراه في الوهم ينساب
About a sail that appears to sway in the illusion
وموج يحسه في المساء
And about a wave he feels at night
الوداع الحزين!! شذى ذراعيك
The sad farewell!! The fragrance of your arms
عليه على الأسى والشقاء
It soothed his sorrow and misery
سافرت مع أحزاني في سفينة الحياة
I traveled with my sorrows on the ship of life
فوقي سماء قداش من مرة سمعتها بكات
Above me, how many times have I heard the sky cry?
تحتي ماء غامق, غارق أكحل اللون
Beneath me, dark water, drowning in blackness
الوقت عادي يخون, أنا زعمة شكون
Time is unreliable, I wonder who's to blame?
أنا إنت رجعت, رجعت بعد سفر
Me and you returned after a journey
القلب تقهر, تحرق, العمر تفك, تغدر
The heart is defeated, burned out, life breaks free and betrays
أنا, إنت, عذابي إنت, ليك حياتي
Me, you, my suffering, you're my life
ما تنساش, ما تقساش المستقبل فيك يا بلادي...
Do not forget, do not become hard-hearted, the future is within you my country...
كلما ضج شاكيا في ذراعيك
Whenever he screams in your arms
انتهاء الهوى صرخت انتهارا
The end of love screaming in agony
فارتمي أين يرتمي صدره الجياش
Where can he lean his frantic heart?
حزناً وحيرة وانتظارا؟
In sadness, confusion, and waiting?
اغضبي وادفعيه عن صدرك
Get angry, and push him away from your heart
القاسي وأرخي على هواه الستارا
Let the veil fall on his harshness and whims
أوصدي الباب خلفه. واتركيه
Close the door behind him and leave him
مثلما كان. للدجى والصحارى!
As it was before. To the darkness and the desert!
انا ارى النجوم اذا انا موجود
I see the stars when I exist
هنا فى هذا اليوم وراء باب مسدود
Here, on this day, behind the closed door
اختفت النجوم فتاها عنى عقلى اتسأل
The stars disappeared, my mind wonders
اين وجودى فماذا يفعل شكلى
Where is my presence, and what does my appearance do?
Contributed by Zachary H. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@haitambarez8584
I personally largely prefer this version over Kadem's one, he is a legend but this one is really enjoyable
@shadi111
Reem Banna ! best of the best !!!!!
@khyat6928
رائع كل شئ من العراق
@user-uv1qk6ph7e
ياريت سمعها بصوت القيصر كاظم الساهر
@depp.-1611
محمد الساهر وش المانع انقلع اسمعها بصوت كاظم 🙂؟
@creativity5002
جميل جدا
لكن للأسف جزء الراب خرب الأغنية مع كل الاحترام
دمتم بود
تعديل بعد أربع سنين:
الأغنية جميلة مع الراب
@ismailagourram6643
wallah
@ilocool677
الإختلاف شيء جميل. لا اوفقك الرأي للأسف
@yousefghanimeh9817
هذه اغنية واحدة للشعب وليست لجلالتك
@tammyali
Abdullah صدقت