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"
My Heart Tells Me
Rim Banna Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
روحي فداكَ عرفتَ أمْ لمْ تعرفِ
قلبي يحدثني بأنك متلفي
روحي فداك عرفت أم لم تعرف
لم أقضِ حقَّ هَوَاكَ إن كُنتُ الذي
لم أقضِ فيهِ أسىً، ومِثلي مَن يَفي
لم أقض حق هواك إن كنت الذي
ما لي سِوى روحي، وباذِلُ نفسِهِ
في حبِّ منْ يهواهُ ليسَ بمسرفِ
ما لي سوى روحي، وباذل نفسه
في حب من يهواه ليس بمسرف
فَلَئنْ رَضيتَ بها، فقد أسْعَفْتَني
يا خيبة المسعى إذا لمْ تسعفِ
يا مانِعي طيبَ المَنامِ، ومانحي
ثوبَ السِّقامِ بهِ ووجدي المتلفِ
يا مانعي طيب المنام، ومانحي
ثوب السقام به ووجدي المتلف
عَطفاً على رمَقي، وما أبْقَيْتَ لي
منْ جِسميَ المُضْنى، وقلبي المُدنَفِ
فالوَجْدُ باقٍ، والوِصالُ مُماطِلي
والصّبرُ فانٍ، واللّقاءُ مُسَوّفي
The lyrics to Rim Banna's song "My Heart Tells Me" express the feelings of a person who is deeply in love with someone who may not feel the same way. The heart tells the singer that their love interest is destructive to them, but the soul is willing to sacrifice for them regardless. The first two lines repeat, emphasizing the heart's warning of the dangers of being with this person.
The third and fourth lines speak to the singer's unrequited love, explaining that they have not yet fulfilled their longing for the beloved, and that their suffering is like that of others who go unloved. These lines also repeat, underscoring the pain of unfulfilled desire.
The last two stanzas shift to a plea for help from the singer’s beloved. They express the idea that the singer has nothing left except for their soul, which they freely offer to the person they love. They ask for the beloved's help in relieving their pain and keeping them in their arms. The final line expresses the idea that true love is difficult to achieve and can require a great deal of time and patience.
Overall, Rim Banna's "My Heart Tells Me" is a poignant song that speaks to the pain of unrequited love and the strength of someone's devotion to another person.
Line by Line Meaning
قلْبي يُحدّثُني بأنّكَ مُتلِفي
My heart tells me that you are my destroyer
روحي فداكَ عرفتَ أمْ لمْ تعرفِ
My soul is willing to be sacrificed for you, whether you know it or not
لم أقضِ حقَّ هَوَاكَ إن كُنتُ الذي
I have not fulfilled my obligation towards your love, if I am the one who is supposed to do it
لم أقضِ فيهِ أسىً، ومِثلي مَن يَفي
I have not paid the price of my sorrow due to your love, like anyone else would
ما لي سِوى روحي، وباذِلُ نفسِهِ
I have nothing else but my soul, and I am willing to devote it to the one I love
في حبِّ منْ يهواهُ ليسَ بمسرفِ
My devotion towards the one I love is not excessive
فَلَئنْ رَضيتَ بها، فقد أسْعَفْتَني
If you are pleased with me, then you have helped me
يا خيبة المسعى إذا لمْ تسعفِ
Oh disappointment of the pursuit, if you did not help me
يا مانِعي طيبَ المَنامِ، ومانحي
Oh, those who prevent me from good dreams, and those who give me garments of illness
ثوبَ السِّقامِ بهِ ووجدي المتلفِ
Garments made of sickness that caused my pain to worsen
عَطفاً على رمَقي، وما أبْقَيْتَ لي
Be kind to me as I take my last breath, and I have nothing left for me
منْ جِسميَ المُضْنى، وقلبي المُدنَفِ
All I have left is my weary body and my broken heart
فالوَجْدُ باقٍ، والوِصالُ مُماطِلي
Longing remains, and reunion is delayed
والصّبرُ فانٍ، واللّقاءُ مُسَوّفي
Patience is fleeting, and meeting is uncertain
Writer(s): Rim Banna
Contributed by Aaron A. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@derarshalash6219
قلْبي يُحدّثُني بأنّكَ مُتلِفي
روحي فداكَ عرفتَ أمْ لمْ تعرفِ
قلبي يحدثني بأنك متلفي
روحي فداك عرفت أم لم تعرف
لم أقضِ حقَّ هَوَاكَ إن كُنتُ الذي
لم أقضِ فيهِ أسىً، ومِثلي مَن يَفي
لم أقض حق هواك إن كنت الذي
لم أقض فيه أسى، ومثلي من يفي
ما لي سِوى روحي، وباذِلُ نفسِهِ
في حبِّ منْ يهواهُ ليسَ بمسرفِ
ما لي سوى روحي، وباذل نفسه
في حب من يهواه ليس بمسرف
فَلَئنْ رَضيتَ بها، فقد أسْعَفْتَني
يا خيبة المسعى إذا لمْ تسعفِ
يا مانِعي طيبَ المَنامِ، ومانحي
ثوبَ السِّقامِ بهِ ووجدي المتلفِ
يا مانعي طيب المنام، ومانحي
ثوب السقام به ووجدي المتلف
عَطفاً على رمَقي، وما أبْقَيْتَ لي
منْ جِسميَ المُضْنى، وقلبي المُدنَفِ
فالوَجْدُ باقٍ، والوِصالُ مُماطِلي
والصّبرُ فانٍ، واللّقاءُ مُسَوّفي
@yasermousa2193
إحساس ريم كنسمات الهواء الرقيقة، كغرفة دافئة في أبرد أيام الشتاء. كحضن أم لإبنها المريض. شكرا ريم.. 2021
@IrinaZadeh
أثرك يا فراشة لم يرى... أثرك يا فراشة لن يزول
الله يرحمك
@obaidaabbas5338
اشتقنا لك يا غزالة فلسطين . ذهبت ريم وتركتنا في عزلة خاليا منها
صوتك اكسير لمن فقد الحياة والامل
ريم الله يرحمك 💔❣
@mspotato101
رهيبه بسمعها بقالي سنين ❤
@Mgr.1_6
اقسم كنت اسمع الاغنية بالمزجات وما كان على بالي انك صاحبة الصوت 💔💔
@ramizzakry3243
هذا الصباح ياريم خُلق لأسمعك ...هذا الصباح ياريم يشدني إليك كنجوم امرئ القيس.
@hannanhennah6960
عرسك و فرحتك عند الرحمن الرحيم . ربنا يرحمك
@depp.-1611
ليتني عرفتك قبل موتك💔💔💔💔💔
@kap2157
كنت هتعمل اى؟
@depp.-1611
@@kap2157 مو شغلك