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Hebrew songs

Goral Echad lyrics & English translation

גורל אחד

One Fate — Ofra Haza, 1984. Words by Tzafnat Yaron-Levi. 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

'Goral Echad' ('One Fate') is one of Ofra Haza's most quietly powerful songs, written by Tzafnat Yaron-Levi and composed by Shem Tov Levi for the 1984–85 album 'Adama' ('Earth'). It is a song about belonging that never pretends belonging is easy: 'One fate placed us here, in this land.' The speakers admit they tried to run away, tried to forget, travelled beyond the sea, even had a good life abroad — and still came back. The most Israeli line of all is 'we tried to bloom in foreign soil' — the Hebrew verb לִפְרוֹחַ (to bloom) is what a people, not just a flower, does when it is rooted. For Jews in the diaspora this song is a mirror: it names the pull of the land honestly, without slogans. Core vocabulary: גּוֹרָל (fate), אֶרֶץ (land), אֲדָמָה (soil), לַעֲזוֹב (to leave), לַחֲזוֹר (to return).

Full lyrics, line by line

  1. גּוֹרָל אֶחָדGoral echadOne fate
  2. שָׂם אוֹתָנוּ כָּאןSam otanu kanPlaced us here
  3. שָׂם אוֹתָנוּ כָּאןSam otanu kanPlaced us here
  4. בָּאָרֶץ הַזֹּאתBa'aretz hazotIn this land
  5. גּוֹרָל אֶחָדGoral echadOne fate
  6. שָׂם אוֹתָנוּ כָּאןSam otanu kanPlaced us here
  7. שָׂם אוֹתָנוּ כָּאןSam otanu kanPlaced us here
  8. בָּאָרֶץ הַזֹּאתBa'aretz hazotIn this land
  9. נִסִּינוּ לִבְרוֹחַNisinu livroachWe tried to run away
  10. נִסִּינוּ לִשְׁכּוֹחַNisinu lishkoachWe tried to forget
  11. וְלֹא יָכוֹלְנוּ לַעֲזוֹבVelo yacholnu la'azovAnd we couldn't leave
  12. נִסִּינוּ לִבְרוֹחַNisinu livroachWe tried to run away
  13. נִסִּינוּ לִשְׁכּוֹחַNisinu lishkoachWe tried to forget
  14. וְלֹא יָכוֹלְנוּ לַעֲזוֹבVelo yacholnu la'azovAnd we couldn't leave
  15. נָסַעְנוּ רָחוֹקNasanu rachokWe travelled far
  16. מֵעֵבֶר לַיָּםMe'ever layamBeyond the sea
  17. הָיָה לָנוּ טוֹב אֲבָלHaya lanu tov avalWe had it good, but
  18. חָזַרְנוּ מִשָּׁםChazarnu mishamWe came back from there
  19. נָסַעְנוּ רָחוֹקNasanu rachokWe travelled far
  20. מֵעֵבֶר לַיָּםMe'ever layamBeyond the sea
  21. הָיָה לָנוּ טוֹב אֲבָלHaya lanu tov avalWe had it good, but
  22. חָזַרְנוּ מִשָּׁםChazarnu mishamWe came back from there
  23. נִסִּינוּ לִפְרוֹחַNisinu lifroachWe tried to bloom
  24. בַּאֲדָמָה זָרָהBa'adama zaraIn foreign soil
  25. וְלֹא יָכוֹלְנוּ לַעֲזוֹבVelo yacholnu la'azovAnd we couldn't leave
  26. נִסִּינוּ לִפְרוֹחַNisinu lifroachWe tried to bloom
  27. בַּאֲדָמָה זָרָהBa'adama zaraIn foreign soil
  28. וְלֹא יָכוֹלְנוּ לַעֲזוֹבVelo yacholnu la'azovAnd we couldn't leave
  29. נִסִּינוּ לִבְרוֹחַNisinu livroachWe tried to run away
  30. נִסִּינוּ לִשְׁכּוֹחַNisinu lishkoachWe tried to forget
  31. וְלֹא יָכוֹלְנוּ לַעֲזוֹבVelo yacholnu la'azovAnd we couldn't leave
  32. נִסִּינוּ לִבְרוֹחַNisinu livroachWe tried to run away
  33. נִסִּינוּ לִשְׁכּוֹחַNisinu lishkoachWe tried to forget
  34. וְלֹא יָכוֹלְנוּ לַעֲזוֹבVelo yacholnu la'azovAnd we couldn't leave
  35. גּוֹרָל אֶחָדGoral echadOne fate
  36. שָׂם אוֹתָנוּ כָּאןSam otanu kanPlaced us here
  37. שָׂם אוֹתָנוּ כָּאןSam otanu kanPlaced us here
  38. בָּאָרֶץ הַזֹּאתBa'aretz hazotIn this land

Words from this song

  • גורלfate / destiny
  • אחדone
  • כאןhere
  • לשיםto place / put
  • ארץland / country
  • הזאתthis (f.)
  • גורלfate / destiny
  • אחדone
  • כאןhere
  • לשיםto place / put
  • ארץland / country
  • הזאתthis (f.)
  • לברוחto run away / escape
  • לנסותto try
Practise these words

What does “Goral Echad” mean?

גורל אחד translates as “One Fate”. It was released in 1984, performed by Ofra Haza with words by Tzafnat Yaron-Levi. Read the line-by-line English translation above, or sing it with the words highlighted in time with the music.

About Ofra Haza

Ofra Haza (1957–2000) was born in Hatikva Quarter, Tel Aviv, the youngest of nine children in a Yemenite-Jewish family. She began in Bezalel Aloni's neighborhood theater troupe and became, within a decade, the biggest star Israeli music had ever exported.

Her voice fused Yemenite liturgical ornamentation with modern pop production. 'Im Nin'alu' (1988) turned a 17th-century poem by Rabbi Shalom Shabazi into an international club hit, and her album 'Yemenite Songs' introduced Middle Eastern Jewish tradition to a global audience.