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"
I'll come to you daisy like
Rim Banna Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
ورونق الحلم مرج يمام
ينعُ خيوط النور
قمر يزحف على فراش البحر
وأنا أرقبُ انفلات النبع
من قحط الصحرا
أجيئك عصرا
أجيئك فجرا
In Rim Banna's song "I'll Come to You Daisy Like," the lyrics depict a metaphorical and poetic journey towards a loved one. The lyrics highlight the merging of colorful scents and the radiance of dreams, creating a vibrant landscape. The imagery is further enhanced by the depiction of threads of light escaping from the desert's drought, symbolizing hope and renewal. The moon slowly moves across the bed of the sea, indicating the passage of time and the anticipation of the singer.
The lyrics emphasize the singer's keen observation of the fountain's escape from the desert's harsh conditions, symbolizing resilience and determination. The repetition of the phrase "I'll come to you" suggests the singer's commitment to reaching their loved one, whether it be in the afternoon, at dawn, or as delicate as a daisy.
Overall, the lyrics of "I'll Come to You Daisy Like" convey a longing and a deep connection between the singer and their beloved, using nature and vivid imagery to illuminate the emotional journey that is at the core of the song.
Line by Line Meaning
يتمازج عطر الألوان
The fragrance of colors mingles
ورونق الحلم مرج يمام
And the splendor of the dream is a meadow full of doves
ينعُ خيوط النور
The threads of light flow
قمر يزحف على فراش البحر
A moon crawling on the bed of the sea
وأنا أرقبُ انفلات النبع
And I observe the escape of the spring
من قحط الصحرا
From the drought of the desert
أجيئك عصرا
I come to you in the afternoon
أجيئك فجرا
I come to you at dawn
أجيـــئــك أقحوان
I come to you like a daisy
Writer(s): Rim Banna, Leonid Alexeienko
Contributed by John D. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Ibrahem Ahmad
الله يرحمك💔😖😖 ويجعل مثواكِ الجنة
Maher Yousef
الله يرحمك يا غاليه💙