Welcome to FalastinVision!
LN Upstairs
With The Song:
Sumud
My name is Ellen, and I perform with the name LN Upstairs! I am a Swede currently living in
Dublin where I’m doing my Masters in Music Composition. My music is usually a mix
between social commentary and existentialism, and I strongly believe that all music is
political. Music is my passion, and with my acoustic singer/songwriter style I hope to express
feelings and opinions I struggle to communicate otherwise.
About a year ago, my boyfriend’s mum Sana showed me a video of children in Gaza using broken electricity cables as a swing. Everything around them is completely destroyed, but in the midst of it all are these four children, laughing and playing while you hear the drones in the background. The Palestinian spirit is unbreakable. Sana told me about the word “Sumud” (Steadfastness/steadfast perseverance), and its cultural value in Palestine which inspired me to write this song. I long for the day when the News reports on Palestine are about the restoration of their country, the blooming of their olive trees, and the celebration of their culture. Palestinian existence is resistance, Palestinian joy is resistance, Palestinian pride is resistance, and it deserves to be celebrated.
Song Title: Sumud
Sumud – LN Upstairs
I haven’t known
Perseverance
Until now
I’ve never seen
Resistance
Until you showed us how
How could I’ve known
I’ve never seen a fire like yours
It goes to show
The thing they fear the most
When they cut your power lines,
Your children turn them into swings
When the only thing that’s left is
rubble You start to sing
And just when they think
They’re gonna win
The world turns red, white, black and
green The sound of an oud, weeping
strings The smell of cinnamon, cumin, and
mint
Just when they think they’re gonna win
Through all these years
Never faltering,
steadfastness
Oh, how they wish,
For a sliver of your courage
In their cowardice
When they cut your power lines,
Your children turn them into swings
When the only thing that’s left is
rubble You start to sing
And just when they think
They’re gonna win
The world turns red, white, black and
green The sound of an oud, weeping
strings The smell of cinnamon, cumin, and
mint
Just when they think they’re gonna win
Oh what a shame
History repeats itself again
I can’t help to think
I’ve heard their rhetoric before,
By another name
Another man, years ago
When they cut your power lines,
Your children turn them into swings
When the only thing that’s left is
rubble You start to sing
And just when they think
They’re gonna win
The world turns red, white, black and
green The sound of an oud, weeping
strings The smell of cinnamon, cumin, and
mint
Just when they think they’re gonna Win
I’d never seen
Perseverance
Until now