Jewish Cowboys Part 5: Shir HaBokrim, the Song of the (Israeli) Cowboys

I'm not sure why I'm obsessed with Jewish cowboys. Maybe because it's so far from the bookish stereotypes of the educated urban Jew I seem to carry around. Anyway, thanks to the Hanashira mailing list, I've got another Jewish cowboy song to share. This one is the popular Israeli folksong "Shir HaBokrim The Song of the Cowboy".

Desert, desert without end
The cowboys' eyes survey it
No juniper, no thistle, no tree
Wind coming from the wilderness

The cowboys' song rises and falls
Over an empty, endless expanse
The sun rises and sets
And the song continues to flow

Desert, desert without end
Arisen over thousands of years
The cowboy astride his Arabian [aboriginal horse]
Over roads that breathe

Translation from Zemerl.com

Israel Yitzhaki - Shir Habokrim

You can also catch Arik Sinay's great, 1970's hairy-chested, macho version courtesy of Google video. Make's me want to yell "Rawhide! Yeeeah!" FAU's Judaica Archive also has a loungy Gidi Elon version.

(Related posts: Jewish Cowboys Part 4: Harold Stern, Manischewitz Cowboy, Mare Winningham's "Refuge Rock Sublime", Jewish Cowboys Part 1: Kinky Friedman and the Texas Jewboys, Jewish Cowboys Part 2: Scott Gerber, Jewish Cowboys Part 3: So Called's "You Are Never Alone")

Hat tip to YouTube user Schlumiel for posting the Yitzhaki video and to the Hanashira mailing list for pointing me to the song.