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"
Two Kinds of Love
Rim Banna Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
وحُبّاً لأنك أهلٌ لذاك
فأما الذي هو حُبّ الهوى
فشغلي بذكرك عمّن سواك
وأما الذي أنت أهلٌ له
فكشفكُ للحُجب حتى أراك
فلا الحمد في ذاك ولا ذاك لي
ولكن لك الحمد في ذا وذاك
ممَن سواك . ملأته بهواك
وملأت كلّي منك حتى لم
أدع مني مكاناً خالياً لسواك
فالقلب فيه هيامه وغرامه
والنطق لا ينفكّ عن ذكراك
والطَرف حيث أُجيله متلفتاً
في كل شيء يجتلي معناك
والسمع لا يُصغي إلى متكلّم
إلا اذا ما حدّثوا بحلاك
Rim Banna's song "Two Kinds of Love" is a beautiful expression of the different types of love that exist within a person's heart. The song is composed of two distinct parts, the first dealing with a love that is born of passion and desire, and the second with a love that is based on a deep connection and understanding. In both cases, the singer expresses her admiration for the object of her affection, but it is the difference between the two that is most striking.
The first verse describes the love that is fueled by passion and desire. The singer says that she loves in two ways, the first being a love that is born of passion and desire. This kind of love is all-consuming, and the singer is constantly thinking of the object of her affection. She says that she is completely taken with the person and cannot get them out of her mind. This kind of love is all-encompassing and can be overpowering, but it is not sustainable over the long term.
The second verse describes a different kind of love, one that is based on a deep connection and understanding. The singer says that she loves the person because they are the kind of person that she admires and respects. This kind of love is more sustainable over the long term because it is not purely based on passion and desire. The singer says that this love is different from the first and that she is grateful for both of them.
Overall, Rim Banna's song "Two Kinds of Love" is a powerful exploration of the different kinds of love that exist in the human heart. It is a beautiful and heartfelt expression of the complex emotions and feelings that we all experience when we are in love.
Line by Line Meaning
أحبّك حبّيْن حُبّ الهوى
I love you with two different kinds of love - the love of passion and the love of admiration
وحُبّاً لأنك أهلٌ لذاك
And I love you because you deserve both kinds of love
فأما الذي هو حُبّ الهوى
The first kind of love, which is the love of passion,
فشغلي بذكرك عمّن سواك
In this love, I am occupied with thoughts of you, and you alone
وأما الذي أنت أهلٌ له
The second kind of love, which you are deserving of,
فكشفكُ للحُجب حتى أراك
In this love, you reveal yourself to me so that I may see you clearly
فلا الحمد في ذاك ولا ذاك لي
I do not find happiness in one kind of love over the other
ولكن لك الحمد في ذا وذاك
Rather, you are the one deserving of my gratitude for bringing both kinds of love to my life
ولما علمت بأن قلبي فارغ
And when I realized that my heart was empty
ممَن سواك . ملأته بهواك
You filled it with love for you and pushed all other thoughts aside
وملأت كلّي منك حتى لم
You filled my entire being with your love,
أدع مني مكاناً خالياً لسواك
Until there was no room left for anyone or anything other than you
فالقلب فيه هيامه وغرامه
So my heart is filled with passion and adoration for you
والنطق لا ينفكّ عن ذكراك
And I cannot stop speaking of you
والطَرف حيث أُجيله متلفتاً
Wherever I turn, my eyes are searching for you
في كل شيء يجتلي معناك
Your essence encompasses every aspect of my being
والسمع لا يُصغي إلى متكلّم
And I cannot listen to anyone else
إلا اذا ما حدّثوا بحلاك
Unless they speak of you with the same admiration and love
Contributed by Kayla G. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Hisham
I love you with two different kinds of love - the love of passion and of admiration
And I love you because you deserve both kinds of love
The first kind of love, which is the love of passion,
In this love, I am occupied with thoughts of you, and you alone
The second kind of love, which you are deserving of,
In this love, you reveal yourself to me so that I may see you clearly
I do not find happiness in one kind of love over the other
Rather, you are the one deserving of my gratitude for bringing both kinds of love to my life
And when I realized that my heart was empty
You filled it with love for you and pushed all other thoughts aside
You filled my entire being with your love,
Until there was no room left for anyone or anything other than you
So my heart is filled with passion and adoration for you
And I cannot stop speaking of you
Wherever I turn, my eyes are searching for you
Your essence encompasses every aspect of my being
And I cannot listen to anyone else
Unless they speak of you with the same admiration and love
@roaarefaie7879
ليش بكيت وأنا بسمعها ؟ اشتقتلك يا ريم .
@Maw2000studios
عاشت تمجد الإنسانيه والحب وماتت وهي تصارح الحياة لتبقي لنا فنا ذاخرا وعامرا بالإبداع . ربنا يرحمك يا ريم البنا .
@ahmedehabfarouk6617
لروحها السلام ❤️
@user-kz4yl7tf8f
https://youtu.be/isRUB_DjtAU
@user-kz4yl7tf8f
رائعة
@munahessien7885
الله يرحمها ويغفر لها
@user-uu6cv4rl2c
أثر الفراشة لا يزول يا ريم .. 😢
R.I.P ...
@roaarefaie7879
يعني فوق ما الكلمات معبية روح رابعة .. كمان روح ريم .. الله يرحمك
@ranna5855
اشتاقكك يا ريم 💙
انتي صوت قلبي .. كل ما بفرح بفكر فيك وكل مانحزن نتمنى نعنقك وتحضنيني نحبك برشا وفوق الحب حبين 🌸
ياليت نراك في عالم آخر بمااني عمري ماريتك في العالم هذا 💙