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עניין של הרגל

Izhar Ashdot / יזהר אשדות
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A MATTER OF HABIT

Learning to kill
Is a matter of momentum
It starts out small
Then it comes to you

Patrolling all night
In the Kasbah of Nablus
Hey, what’s ours
And what’s yours

At first it’s just a drill
A rifle pounding on the door
Bewildered children
Frightened family

Then the closure
It’s already dangerous
Death lies in ambush
Around every corner

You cock your weapon
Your arm trembles
Your finger hardens
Tight on the trigger

Your heart goes wild
Throbs with fright
It knows—the next time
Will be easier

They aren’t men or women
Just things, just shadow
Learning to kill
Is a matter of habit

Learning to fear
Is a matter of momentum
It starts out small
Then it comes to you

Tidings from above
Fall on the streets
There’s no chance of living on
The end is so near

Prophecies of terror
Like the raven’s call
Bolt your shutters
Barricade yourselves at home

We’re just a tiny handful
And they are so many
A tiny land
consumed by enemies

Their hearts hold only hate
The evil inclination and darkness
Learning to fear
Is a matter of habit

Learning cruelty
Is a matter of momentum
It starts out small
Then it comes to you

Every little boy is a man
Lusting after conquest
Hands behind your head
Spread your legs

It’s a dangerous time
A time of terror
Toughen up, soldier
There’s no virtue in mercy

Our cousin [1]
Is like an animal
Already used to seeing blood
He doesn’t suffer
He’s not human

Fatigues and a rash
Exhaustion and routine
From stupidity to evil the distance
Is short

It’s ours, only ours
The land of Israel
Learning cruelty
Is a matter of habit

Little boy, little boy, stop
Little boy, little boy, come back
Come here, my darling,
Come here, my baby

The skies are so gloomy
And outside all is dark
The toy soldiers are still here
Underneath your bed

Come home, little boy.
Come home.

Learning to love
Is a matter of tenderness
Careful steps
On a cloud of gentleness

We’ll go slow, we’ll melt
We’ll grow soft, we’ll lose our edge
Learning to love
Is a matter of habit

Being human
Is a matter of momentum
It sprouts like a baby
Then it comes to you

To be just for a minute
Just for now, just today
On the other side
Of the same barricade

But our heart’s already calloused
Our skin already thick
Deaf and blind
In the bubble of the present

We’ll gaze in wonder
At the fallen angel.

Being human
Is a matter of habit,
A matter of habit.
A MATTER OF HABIT

Learning to kill is a matter of habit,
the more you have done it the better you’re at it.
It starts in the alleys of Sechem at night.
The borderlines blur in the evening light.

A rifle butt bangs on an old, rusty door,
‘Where is your father? Get down on the floor!’
Soon it gets serious. A curfew’s declared.
The city falls silent, there’s death in the air.

Cocking his weapon with shaking fingers,
grits his teeth as he’s hugging the trigger.
Young blood rushes, his heart pounds.
He knows it gets easier the next time around.

They’re just objects and shadows, not women and men.
Learning to kill is a natural thing.

Learning to fear is a matter of habit,
the more you have done it the better you’re at it.
News from above reaches the street.
There’s no hope of living, the end is so near.

Tidings of terror, a raven’s crow:
Shutter your windows, lock up your homes!
We’re just a handful, a tiny country
surrounded by evil. They won’t let us be.

They have hate in their hearts and in all that they bring.
Learning to fear is a natural thing

Cruelty is a matter of habit,
the more you have seen it the better you’re at it.
Every boy has a tyrant’s desire.
Hands behind the head, legs spread wide!

These are times of danger, times of despair.
No room for compassion, a soldier can’t care!
Our neighbours are vermin; they’re used to the blood;
how can they feel pain when they live in the mud!

Through cruel routine a soldier is born.
Ignorance soon turns to evil in war.
Israel’s land is for Israel’s kin.
Cruelty comes as a natural thing.

Learning to love is a natural thing,
it will find a way if you just let it in.
It’ll be strange at first, but then you will see it,
that learning to love is a matter of being

Being human is a matter of habit,
a few baby steps, then you get better at it.
To be for one minute, just now, just recall
the opposite side of the towering walls.
But our hearts have hardened along with our skin.
We live in a bubble and let no one else in.

We’ll be staring in wonder as the angel falls,
then being human will be a matter of course.
[1] Hebrew slang for “Arab”


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