This rendition of a medieval protest song narrates the cycles of violence that compound over time: “A father buys a goat to sell for two zuzzim, then comes the cat that eats the goat, then comes the dog that eats the cat that ate the goat. Then comes the stick that beats the dog that bit the cat that ate the goat for two zuzzim....” Traditionally sung at the Passover ritual feast in Aramaic, this version of Un Cavretico (The Goat) is sung in Ladino, deliberately slower in pace, to create some space for what’s here, and to imagine the cracks of the possible in-between. To sing this ancient liturgy now is to sing against the violence of the nationstate, to sing for, and along-side, Palestinian liberation. For our paths to freedom are collectively intertwined – no one gets left behind, free Palestine.
All proceeds from the sale of the single go directly towards aid and evacuation fees for the AbuSitta-Morgan Family in Gaza:
gofund.me/6459a8ed
Mastering by Mathieu Savenay
Artwork by @postrafelite
With thanks to Talya Lubinsky for commissioning this song for the Echoes of Southern African Liberation Struggles podcast.