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"
Wait for Me
Rim Banna Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
النبع وافرٌ ماؤه
إملأي جرارك لترويني
طال انتظاري يا حبيبي
ولم تأتِ بعد
إنتظريني حبيبتي على الصخور البيضاء فوق التلّة
أقطفي من الزهر ضمّتين
من شقائق النعمان ضمّة
أنثري الخُزامى بين ثنايا ثوبك
وافردي شَعْرَكِ للريح
تُبعثره وتلمّه عن تفاصيل جذعكِ
وانتظريني
طال انتظاري يا حبيبي
خطّ الشيب شَعْري
ولم
تأتِ
وداعاً
The lyrics of Rim Banna's song "Wait For Me" express a deep longing and a sense of waiting for a loved one. The singer speaks to her beloved, urging them to wait for her at a specific location - a spring whose abundant waters will quench her thirst. She implores her lover to fill a jug and wait for her, as she has been waiting for far too long and is desperate for their reunion.
The song continues with the singer painting a romantic picture of the place where they will meet - on top of a hill, on white rocks. She asks her lover to pluck flowers, specifically two petals of narcissus and one of daisy, and scatter lavender between the folds of their garment. She invites her beloved to let their hair down in the wind and to allow it to be tossed by the breeze, perhaps as a symbol of letting their worries float away. The singer speaks of how she has grown old, evidenced by the white hairs that have crept into her locks, yet her lover still hasn't come, indicating the length of time they have been apart.
The song's beautiful and vivid lyrics express the longing and passion that can be felt when two people are separated by distance or circumstance. The imagery of the spring, flowers, and white rocks create a peaceful yet romantic setting, where two lovers can reunite and celebrate their love. The long wait that the singer has endured creates an atmosphere of desperation and longing, making the song all the more poignant.
Line by Line Meaning
انتظريني حبيبتي عند العين إملأي جرارك وانتظريني
Wait for me, my beloved, at the spring. Fill your jug and wait for me.
النبع وافرٌ ماؤه
The spring is abundant with water.
إملأي جرارك لترويني
Fill your jug to quench my thirst.
طال انتظاري يا حبيبي ولم تأتِ بعد
My wait for you, my beloved, has been long, and you haven't come yet.
إنتظريني حبيبتي على الصخور البيضاء فوق التلّة
Wait for me, my beloved, on the white rocks above the hill.
أقطفي من الزهر ضمّتين من شقائق النعمان ضمّة وضمّة من أقحوان
Pick two handfuls of flowers, one of pomegranate flowers, one of camomile and one of marigold.
أنثري الخُزامى بين ثنايا ثوبك وافردي شَعْرَكِ للريح تُبعثره وتلمّه عن تفاصيل جذعكِ
Spread lavender between your clothes, and let your hair fly free in the wind, brushing against the details of your body.
وانتظريني طال انتظاري يا حبيبي
And wait for me, my beloved, my wait for you has been long.
خطّ الشيب شَعْري ولم تأتِ وداعاً
My hair has turned grey, and you still haven't come. Goodbye.
Contributed by Adrian G. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@justinianthegreat154
I stand with Palestine 🇵🇸❤️❤️
@MaiAdel-dy7wy
2023❤❤🇵🇸
@obaidaabbas5338
غادرتي من هذا العالم ولم تتركي لنا سوى لمحه من جمال روحك . الله يرحمك يا ريمتنا 💔
@user-np1jj2zm9x
من مؤسف بأن هذا صوت جمييل غادرا عالمنا واصبحت نسمه في هواء اغانيه
@amrsd394
انتظريني حبيبتي عند العين .. املئي جرارك وانتظريني .. النبع وافر ماؤه .. املئي جرارك لترويني .. طال انتظاري يا حبيبي .. ولم تأت بعد .. انتظريني حبيبتي على الصقور البيضاء فوق التبة .. اقطفي من الزهر ضمتين .. من شقائق النعماء ضمة .. وضمة من أقحوان .. انثري الخزامى بين ثنايا ثوبك .. وافردي شعرك للريح .. تبعثره وتلمه عن تفاصيل جذعك .. وانتظريني .. طال انتظاري يا حبيبي .. حط الشيب شعري ولم تأتي .. وداعاً ..
@alaaelrefaay2893
يا ريم ، ما جاش في بالي وقت عرفت انك خلاص مش موجودة معانا إلا صوتك ف الاغنية دي ، طال انتظاري يا حبيبي و لم تأت بعد
@sharmooferslive
نفس شعوري والله
@monaallam4215
رحلت حبيبة قلبنا, ريمتنا..
@randmuhtaseb8733
الله يرحمها🙏🏻❤️
يا الله شو شتقتلها 😭🥺❤️
@Mu_tq
الرحمة و الخلود إليكِ يا صوت الحرية 💔