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"
Seasons of Violet
Rim Banna Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
يا حبيبي ضمني إليكَ برقةٍ كما البيلسان
وحـاورني بلغةِ الليلكِ كمـا نـيـسـان
يا حبيبـي يا حبيبـي
رحلَ القمرُ ومازالت همساتـُنا قبلاتـُنـا
ترفلُ على شاطئ الليل تثيرُ فـرحَ المـوج
ترفلُ على شاطئ الليل تثيرُ فـرحَ المـوج
يا حبيبي ضمني إليكَ برقةٍ كما البيلسان
وحـاورني بلغةِ الليلكِ كمـا نـيـسـان
يا حبيبـي يا حبيبـي
حـبِّــي لــكَ لا يــمــوتُ لا يـــمــوتْ
كـبـذورِ الـبـنـفـسـج الـتـي لا تمـوتْ
حـبِّــي لــكَ لا يــمــوتُ لا يـــمــوتْ
كـبـذورِ الـبـنـفـسـج الـتـي لا تمـوتْ
لكنها تركضُ إلى حين وحتى تحينُ مواسمُ البنفسج
يا حبيبي ضمني إليكَ برقةٍ كما البيلسان
وحـاورني بلغةِ الليلكِ كمـا نـيـسـان
يا حبيبـي يا حبيبـي
يا حبيبـي يا حبيبـي
يا حبيبـي يا حبيبـي
The lyrics to Rim Banna's song "Seasons of Violet" are a beautiful expression of enduring love. The singer asks to be held gently like a feather, likening themselves to a violet, and urges their lover to speak softly and tenderly, using the language of lilacs and April blossoms. Despite the absence of the moon, their whispers and kisses still flutter along the shore of the night, filling the air with joy.
The singer's love for their partner never dies, just like the seeds of the violet that remain alive and able to sprout new life. They must wait until the seasons of violet come around again, but in the meantime, they are held close by their lover's gentle embrace and sweet words. Overall, the song paints a picture of a love that endures even in the face of distance and time, waiting patiently for the right moment to flourish once again.
Line by Line Meaning
يا حبيبي ضمني إليكَ برقةٍ كما البيلسان
My love, hold me gently like a delicate violet flower
وحـاورني بلغةِ الليلكِ كمـا نـيـسـان
Speak to me with the language of purple lilac, like the blooming of spring
رحلَ القمرُ ومازالت همساتـُنا قبلاتـُنـا
ترفلُ على شاطئ الليل تثيرُ فـرحَ المـوج
The moon has gone, but our whispers and kisses still linger, fluttering along the shore of the night and stirring the joy of the waves
حـبِّــي لــكَ لا يــمــوتُ لا يـــمــوتْ
كـبـذورِ الـبـنـفـسـج الـتـي لا تمـوتْ
My love for you will never die, like the seeds of a violet flower that never fade away
لكنها تركضُ إلى حين وحتى تحينُ مواسمُ البنفسج
But it runs until the time comes for the seasons of the violet flower
يا حبيبـي يا حبيبـي
My love, my love
Contributed by Anna F. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
mujersemilla
Adoro Rim Banna! BRASIL LOVES YOU! Thanks a lot for the post. Best
Islam itkaidke
من اجمل ما غنت الفنانة ريم بنا شكرا بحجم هذا الجمال
acerb45666555
great voice!
MultiDream100
God bless you Reem Bana...never stop!
Ahmed Seelawi
كم رائع هو كلام فلسطين خصوصاً عندما يخرج من شفاه فلسطينية رائعة ! الله أعطاني الكثير الكثير و من أغلى ما أعطاني هو أصولي الفلسطينية ! والله لو كنت ملك من أصول غير فلسطينية لتمنيت أن أكون أحد فقراء فلسطين ! الحمد لله على هذه النعمة
Islam itkaidke
جميـــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــلٌ ، وأكثَــــــــــــــر يظهر سرّ صوتها في هذه الرائعة ؛
Suzanne
الله يرحمك يا ريم صوتك معنا راح يظل 😔
ichraq Kadi
belle voix
ayman qadi
unbelievable <3
Bassem Al-Makawy
I'm a new fan, and honored !