[00:00.17]
[00:05.17]In nineteen hundred forty five
[00:09.41]Among the Jews who were left alive
[00:13.05]There came a visionary man
[00:17.89]Who turned his wrath into a plan
[00:22.07]Abba Kovner was his name
[00:25.57]As a partisan he earned his fame
[00:30.37]He was a Vilna rebel Jew
[00:34.68]A poet warrior through & through
[00:38.55]He met some surviving ghetto fighters
[00:41.10]Zionists & socialists conspired
[00:43.46]They gathered in a Lublin flat
[00:45.00]& round the kitchen table sat
[00:47.00]They gave themselves a Hebrew name
[00:51.42]& with this word they did proclaim
[00:55.19]That vengeance is what God would will,
[00:57.27]Were there a God, & so they'd kill
[01:00.06]Six million Germans...
[01:01.93]You might say it was insane
[01:04.08]Six million Germans...
[01:06.06]That it was misdirected pain
[01:08.05]Six million Germans...
[01:10.26]They didn't want the war to end
[01:12.30]Six million Germans...
[01:14.37]They wanted one thing, Nakam: Revenge
[01:20.59]For every Jew the nazis gassed
[01:24.25]For every racist law they passed
[01:28.72]For every wrong that wasn't right
[01:32.69]For all the dead Nakam would fight
[01:36.79]They formed a band of forty strong
[01:40.75]To straighten out what had been wrong
[01:44.77]They chose to poison water mains
[01:48.87]Just as the Jews of old were blamed
[01:53.03]In Nuremberg & Hamburg town
[01:55.17]Their agents worked the underground
[01:57.02]They took up jobs by the riverside
[01:59.29]& waited for the poison to arrive
[02:01.19]& Kovner went to Tel Aviv
[02:05.03]To see what help he could receive
[02:09.18]But the Haganah did not agree
[02:11.60]To join in his conspiracy
[02:13.77]Six million Germans...
[02:15.92]You might say it wasn't right
[02:17.88]Six million Germans...
[02:19.77]An eye for an eye leaves all without sight
[02:22.23]Six million Germans...
[02:23.94]They didn't want to make amends
[02:26.35]Six million Germans...
[02:28.13]They wanted one thing, Nakam: Revenge
[02:38.13]
[02:46.39]So Abba Kovner headed back
[02:50.20]With vials of poison in his sack
[02:54.51]Upon an British navy ship
[02:58.58]But to his plan the Brits were tipped
[03:02.85]They took him into custody
[03:06.68]& the poison fell into the sea
[03:10.26]Kovner spent a year in jail
[03:14.72]& so plan A did not prevail
[03:18.70]The rest of the group was dispersed
[03:20.81]& all their backup plans were cursed
[03:22.94]But in an agent in a bakery he
[03:24.64]Secured some poison from Paris
[03:26.86]As soon as the poison bread had risen
[03:30.55]He took it to an allied prison
[03:34.64]& various reports have said
[03:36.78]There were 100's of SS prisoners dead
[03:38.98]Six million Germans...
[03:40.83]You might say that it was wrong
[03:42.77]Six million Germans...
[03:44.34]But were their actions weak or strong?
[03:46.87]Six million Germans...
[03:48.71]& who are we to judge & condemn?
[03:50.65]Six million Germans...
[03:52.55]They wanted one thing, Nakam: Revenge
[04:02.13]& so Nakam was all disbanded
[04:05.80]On Palestina's shore they landed
[04:09.54]& Abba Kovner & his crew
[04:13.62]Became like many other Jews
[04:17.35]They put aside their rage & hate
[04:21.30]& worked to build a Jewish state
[04:25.09]With Jewish towns & Jewish farms,
[04:29.02]& Jewish guns & nuclear arms
[04:32.84]Now can vengeance put upon a shelf
[04:35.21]Be taken out later on someone else?
[04:37.30]Well careful how you read this tale.
[04:38.90]Lest your own prejudice prevail
[04:40.59]For look around the world today
[04:44.23]& consider the role vengeance plays
[04:48.12]For history has its unpaid debts
[04:50.75]& is it better if we forget?
[04:52.30]Six million Germans...
[04:54.27]You might say it was absurd
[04:56.28]Six million Germans...
[04:58.15]But what becomes of a dream deferred?
[04:59.94]Six million Germans...
[05:01.89]& how could they just start again?
[05:03.92]Six million Germans...
[05:05.57]They wanted one thing, Nakam: Revenge

In nineteen hundred forty five
Among the Jews who were left alive
There came a visionary man
Who turned his wrath into a plan
Abba Kovner was his name
As a partisan he earned his fame
He was a Vilna rebel Jew
A poet warrior through & through
He met some surviving ghetto fighters
Zionists & socialists conspired
They gathered in a Lublin flat
& round the kitchen table sat
They gave themselves a Hebrew name
& with this word they did proclaim
That vengeance is what God would will,
Were there a God, & so they'd kill
Six million Germans...
You might say it was insane
Six million Germans...
That it was misdirected pain
Six million Germans...
They didn't want the war to end
Six million Germans...
They wanted one thing, Nakam: Revenge
For every Jew the nazis gassed
For every racist law they passed
For every wrong that wasn't right
For all the dead Nakam would fight
They formed a band of forty strong
To straighten out what had been wrong
They chose to poison water mains
Just as the Jews of old were blamed
In Nuremberg & Hamburg town
Their agents worked the underground
They took up jobs by the riverside
& waited for the poison to arrive
& Kovner went to Tel Aviv
To see what help he could receive
But the Haganah did not agree
To join in his conspiracy
Six million Germans...
You might say it wasn't right
Six million Germans...
An eye for an eye leaves all without sight
Six million Germans...
They didn't want to make amends
Six million Germans...
They wanted one thing, Nakam: Revenge
So Abba Kovner headed back
With vials of poison in his sack
Upon an British navy ship
But to his plan the Brits were tipped
They took him into custody
& the poison fell into the sea
Kovner spent a year in jail
& so plan A did not prevail
The rest of the group was dispersed
& all their backup plans were cursed
But in an agent in a bakery he
Secured some poison from Paris
As soon as the poison bread had risen
He took it to an allied prison
& various reports have said
There were 100's of SS prisoners dead
Six million Germans...
You might say that it was wrong
Six million Germans...
But were their actions weak or strong?
Six million Germans...
& who are we to judge & condemn?
Six million Germans...
They wanted one thing, Nakam: Revenge
& so Nakam was all disbanded
On Palestina's shore they landed
& Abba Kovner & his crew
Became like many other Jews
They put aside their rage & hate
& worked to build a Jewish state
With Jewish towns & Jewish farms,
& Jewish guns & nuclear arms
Now can vengeance put upon a shelf
Be taken out later on someone else?
Well careful how you read this tale.
Lest your own prejudice prevail
For look around the world today
& consider the role vengeance plays
For history has its unpaid debts
& is it better if we forget?
Six million Germans...
You might say it was absurd
Six million Germans...
But what becomes of a dream deferred?
Six million Germans...
& how could they just start again?
Six million Germans...
They wanted one thing, Nakam: Revenge