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"Jerusalem of Gold" (Hebrew: ירושלים של זהב, Yerushalayim Shel Zahav) is a popular Israeli song written by Naomi Shemer in 1967. The original song described the Jewish people's 2000-year longing to return to Jerusalem; Shemer added a final verse after the Six-Day War to celebrate Jerusalem's re-unification, after 19 years of Jordanian occupation.
Naomi Shemer wrote the original song for the Israeli Music Festival, held on 15 May 1967, the night after Israel's nineteenth Independence Day. She chose the then-unknown Shuli Nathan to sing the song. At that time, the Old City was still occupied by Jordan and under Jordanian rule; Jews had been exiled from the Old City and all of Jerusalem east of the Old City, losing their homes and possessions, and becoming refugees. All Jews were barred from either returning or entering the areas under Jordanian occupation, and many holy sites were desecrated and damaged during the 19-year occupation by Jordan. Only three weeks after the song was published, the Six-Day War broke out. The song was the battle cry and morale booster of the Israeli troops. Shemer even sang it for them before the war and festival, making them among the first in the world to hear it. On 7 June, the Israel Defense Forces liberated the eastern part of Jerusalem and the Old City from the Jordanians. When Shemer heard the paratroopers singing "Jerusalem of Gold" at the Western Wall, she wrote the final verse, reversing the phrases of lamentation found in the second verse. The line about shofars sounding from the Temple Mount is a reference to an event that actually took place on 7 June.
The song has been translated loosely into many languages. It was also chosen as the "Song of the Year" in Israel in 1967.
The song is the corps song of the Blue Stars Drum and Bugle Corps. The corps sings it before every competition.
The official website for the song is: http://www.jerusalemofgold.co.il/
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Many artists recorded their own versions for the song.
Many of the lyrics refer to traditional Jewish poetry and themes. "Jerusalem of Gold" is a reference to a special piece of jewelry mentioned in a famous Talmudic legend about Rabbi Akiva; "To all your songs, I am a lyre" is a quote from a poem by Rabbi Yehuda Halevi. "The city that sits alone" is a reference to the first verse of the biblical Book of Lamentations. "If I forget thee Jerusalem" is a quote from Psalm 137, verse 5.
Some of the song's melody is based on a Basque lullaby, Pello Joxepe (Foolish Joseph), composed by Juan Francisco Petriarena 'Xenpelar' (1835-1869), which Shemer had heard in a performance by singer/songwriter Paco Ibañez, who visited Israel in 1962 and sang this song to a group that included Naomi Shemer and Nehama Hendel. Shemer acknowledged hearing Hendel perform Pello Joxepe in the mid-1960s. Shemer said she had unconsciously based some of her melody on the lullaby, and had felt very bad about it when she found out that she had done so. Paco Ibañez was then asked how he felt when he heard Naomi Shemer had based some of the melody on Pello Joxepe. He replied by saying that he was "glad it helped in some way" and that he did not perceive it as plagiarism and was not angry.[3]