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Hebrew songs

Afar VeAvak lyrics & English translation

אפר ואבק

Ash and Dust — Yehuda Poliker, 1988. Words by Yaakov Gilad. Below you get the full Hebrew lyrics with nikud, a Latin transliteration and an English translation of every line, plus the words worth memorising.

Sing it karaoke-style

The story behind the song

'Afar VeAvak' ('Ash and Dust') is one of Israeli rock's most powerful songs about Holocaust memory. Yehuda Poliker — himself the son of Greek-Jewish survivors from Salonika — and lyricist Yaakov Gilad gave voice to the second generation: children of survivors who grew up in the silence after the destruction. The song imagines a woman leaving the ruins of her town, and the singer's desperate tenderness — a coat, money, a lump of sugar — for the road ahead. Core vocabulary: אֵפֶר (ash), עָבָק (dust), חָרְבוֹת (ruins), נֵצַח (eternity).

Full lyrics, line by line

  1. יוֹם אָבִיב רֵיחוֹת לִילָךְYom aviv re'ichot lilachA spring day, scents of lilac
  2. בֵּין חָרְבוֹת הָעִיר שֶׁלָּךְBein chorvot ha'ir shelachAmong the ruins of your city
  3. יוֹם יָפֶה לָדוּג בַּנָּהָרYom yafeh ladog banaharA beautiful day to fish in the river
  4. בְּתוֹכִי הַלֵּב נִשְׁבָּרBetochi halev nishbarInside me the heart is broken
  5. שָׁם הָיְתָה וְאֵינָהּSham haytah ve'einahThere it was and is no more
  6. יַלְדוּתֵךְ אִשָּׁה קְטַנָּהYaldutech isha k'tanahYour childhood, little woman
  7. אֲנָשִׁים שֶׁאִישׁ לֹא מַכִּירAnashim she'ish lo makirPeople whom no one knows
  8. אֵין אֲפִלּוּ בַּיִת שֶׁיַּזְכִּירEin afilu bayit sheyazkirThere isn't even a house to remind you
  9. וְאִם אַתְּ נוֹסַעַת לָאָן אַתְּ נוֹסַעַתVe'im at nosa'at la'an at nosa'atAnd if you are travelling, where are you travelling
  10. הַנֵּצַח הוּא רַק אֵפֶר וְעָבָקHa'netzach hu rak afar ve'avakEternity is only ash and dust
  11. לָאָן אַתְּ נוֹסַעַת לָאָן אַתְּ נוֹסַעַתLa'an at nosa'at la'an at nosa'atWhere are you travelling, where are you travelling
  12. שָׁנִים וְכְלוּם עוֹד לֹא נִמְחָקShanim ve'klum od lo nimchakYears and nothing has been erased
  13. קְחִי מְעִיל יִהְיֶה לָּךְ קַרK'chi me'il yihyeh lach karTake a coat, it will be cold
  14. כֶּסֶף כִּיס, גְּבִישׁ סוּכָרKesef kis, g'vish sukarMoney in your pocket, a lump of sugar
  15. אִם יִהְיוּ קָשִׁים הַיָּמִיםIm yihyu kashim hayamimIf the days are hard
  16. הַזְכִּירִי בִּי לִפְעָמִיםHazkiri bi lif'amimRemember me sometimes
  17. וְאִם זֶה עוֹד מַסַּע נוֹאָשׁVe'im zeh od masa no'ashAnd if it is another desperate journey
  18. אֶל הַצְּרִיף, אֶל הַמִּגְרָשׁEl hatz'rif, el hamigrashTo the hut, to the plot of land
  19. בְּמְסִילַת הָעִיר הַיְּשָׁנָהB'msilat ha'ir hayeshanahOn the old town railway track
  20. אִישׁ לֹא יַחֲכֶה בַּתַּחֲנָהIsh lo yachakeh batchanahNo one will wait at the station
  21. וְאִם אַתְּ נוֹסַעַת לָאָן אַתְּ נוֹסַעַתVe'im at nosa'at la'an at nosa'atAnd if you are travelling, where are you travelling
  22. הַנֵּצַח הוּא רַק אֵפֶר וְעָבָקHa'netzach hu rak afar ve'avakEternity is only ash and dust
  23. לָאָן אַתְּ נוֹסַעַת לָאָן אַתְּ נוֹסַעַתLa'an at nosa'at la'an at nosa'atWhere are you travelling, where are you travelling
  24. שָׁנִים וְכְלוּם עוֹד לֹא נִמְחָקShanim ve'klum od lo nimchakYears and nothing has been erased
  25. מִי יַמְתִּיק לֵילוֹתַיִךְMi yamtik leilotayichWho will sweeten your nights
  26. מִי יַקְשִׁיב לְבִכְיֵךְMi yakshiv levichayichWho will listen to your crying
  27. מִי יִשְׁמֹר צְעָדַיִךְ בְּדַרְכֵּךְMi yishmor tze'adayich b'darkechWho will guard your steps on your way
  28. לָאָן אַתְּ נוֹסַעַת לָאָן אַתְּ נוֹסַעַתLa'an at nosa'at la'an at nosa'atWhere are you travelling, where are you travelling
  29. הַנֵּצַח הוּא רַק אֵפֶר וְעָבָקHa'netzach hu rak afar ve'avakEternity is only ash and dust
  30. לָאָן אַתְּ נוֹסַעַת לָאָן אַתְּ נוֹסַעַתLa'an at nosa'at la'an at nosa'atWhere are you travelling, where are you travelling
  31. שָׁנִים וְכְלוּם עוֹד לֹא נִמְחָקShanim ve'klum od lo nimchakYears and nothing has been erased
  32. קְחִי מְעִיל יִהְיֶה לָּךְ קַרK'chi me'il yihyeh lach karTake a coat, it will be cold

Words from this song

  • אביבspring
  • ריחscent
  • לילךyour lilac (f.)
  • חורבותruins
  • עירcity
  • יפהbeautiful
  • לדוגto fish
  • נהרriver
  • לבheart
  • נשברis broken
  • שםthere
  • היתהshe was
  • אינהshe is gone
  • ילדותchildhood
Practise these words

What does “Afar VeAvak” mean?

אפר ואבק translates as “Ash and Dust”. It was released in 1988, performed by Yehuda Poliker with words by Yaakov Gilad. Read the line-by-line English translation above, or sing it with the words highlighted in time with the music.

About Yehuda Poliker

Yehuda Poliker was born in Tel Aviv in 1950 to Greek-Jewish parents from Salonika (Thessaloniki), both of whom survived the Holocaust. His father, Zako, was a bouzouki player, and the sounds of Greek and Ladino music filled Poliker's childhood home.

In the 1980s he teamed up with lyricist Yaakov Gilad to create a series of landmark albums that fused Israeli rock with Greek, Mediterranean and Middle Eastern sounds — a sound later dubbed 'Mizrahi' or Mediterranean rock.