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"
The weeping of the rose
Rim Banna Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
كيف حلقت من عشي كفرخ حمام
كيف ارتقيت فجأة من حضن امك نحو السماء
مازلت اسمع وقع حبوك في ممرات البيت
ما زلت اسمع ملاغاتك في صدى الصوت
مازال دمعي . ينادي يا حبيبي
مازال دمعي . ينادي يا حبيبي
افق ولو للحظة من غفوة الموت
The lyrics of Rim Banna’s song The Weeping of the Rose tell a story of loss and mourning. The first line asks how something as precious and delicate as a drop of water could slip away so easily, perhaps a metaphor for a loved one slipping away from the singer’s grasp. The second line uses the imagery of a young pigeon taking flight from its nest at dusk to illustrate the suddenness of the loss. The third line speaks to a sense of disbelief, as if the singer is still grappling with the reality of the situation.
As the song continues, the singer reminisces about the sounds and sensations associated with their loved one. They still hear the sound of footsteps in the house and the echoes of their voice. The last two lines are a plea to be reunited with the lost loved one, even if only briefly.
The song is deeply emotional and speaks to universal themes of love, loss, and grief. Banna’s use of vivid imagery allows the listener to visualize the emotions being expressed and feel a sense of empathy with the singer. The use of repetition in the chorus reinforces the sense of longing felt by the singer.
Line by Line Meaning
كيف تسربت من بين اصابعي كقطرة ماء
How did you slip away from my grasp like a drop of water?
كيف حلقت من عشي كفرخ حمام
How did you fly away from the nest like a fledgling dove?
كيف ارتقيت فجأة من حضن امك نحو السماء
How did you suddenly ascend from your mother's arms towards the heavens?
مازلت اسمع وقع حبوك في ممرات البيت
I still hear the echoes of your footsteps in the corridors of the house
ما زلت اسمع ملاغاتك في صدى الصوت
I still hear your voice reverberating in the echoes
مازال دمعي . ينادي يا حبيبي
My tears still call out to you, my beloved
مازال دمعي . ينادي يا حبيبي
My tears still call out to you, my beloved
افق ولو للحظة من غفوة الموت
Wake up, even if just for a moment, from the slumber of death
افق ولو للحظة من غفوة الموت
Wake up, even if just for a moment, from the slumber of death
Writer(s): אלכסיינקו לאוניד, בנא רים ז"ל
Contributed by Isaiah M. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
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