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about

This is a true story, but it took me many years to write. I won’t ever forget my old VW Beetle, the junction where I got my flat tire, and the two hitchhikers who helped me change the tire, and gave me a great song. The Arabic and Hebrew languages are very close: Salaam Alaikum in Arabic and Shalom Aleichem in Hebrew mean "I greet you in peace."

lyrics

Salaam and Shalom
By Joanie Calem © September 2005

Chorus:
Sa’alaam, Sa’alaam, Sa’alaam Aleikum, Shalom, Shalom Aleichem, Shalom u Sa’alaam.
Flat tire, in the searing August heat, my car limps down the street,
The highway stretches steamy straight, Israel 1998.
Israeli soldiers hitchhiking, their guns slung across their backs.
Drivers stopping to give them rides, I’m stuck with my flat.
And off to the side an Arab worker awkward, far from home,
No one stops to pick him up, he’s enemy, he’s the unknown.

Chorus

The soldiers all get rides, and I’m still trying to change my tire,
I feel his eyes watching me, wheels stuck, I can’t get it free.

But I can hear the war inside his head, though he doesn’t make a sound.
“She’s a Jew, she’s the enemy, why should I help her out?”

But then he’s there beside me; we barely speak each other’s tongue.
Working together to free that wheel, sweating in the desert sun.

Chorus

A soldier comes walking through the sand, offers to lend a hand.
They brush me away, they’re two men now, “Stand back woman, this is not your job!”

The Arab in faded workers’ clothes, the Israeli in army green,
Working together, grunting and laughing, they get that old tire free.

No words are said about peace, no political statements made,
But the two of them worked to change the tire, and both forgot to be afraid.

Chorus

The event didn’t make the evening news. It was all about Arabs killing Jews,
But the three of us knew we’d dissolved some hate in Israel, 1998.

And then of course when I drove off, the two of them came along:
The field worker with the PHD, the soldier who wrote peace songs.

Chorus

credits

from Days of Honey, Days of Onions, released April 1, 2021
Joanie Calem guitar and vocals, Yehyeh Tamim oud and vocals

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Joanie Calem Columbus, Ohio

Joanie Calem is a folk musician, singer/song-writer, storyteller and inclusion advocate for audiences of all ages. Joanie writes songs and sings about life's different twists and turns, angles and perspectives, telling stories through her songs of the ups and downs of reality. She performs regularly at festivals, retirement homes, shelters, libraries and schools throughout the US and abroad. ... more

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