Quietude And The Karaoke Guy

by Jerry Waxman

It has been very quiet today. Not even the sound of people yelling at each other. Or cars without mufflers cruising the neighborhood. Only the karaoke guy.
Every night the neighborhood is serenaded by “the karaoke guy.” He practices his favorite Mizrahi tunes for hours on end. If you live more than 3 blocks from his apartment, you cannot hear the music, only his voice amplified to entertain a 12 block radius.

The songs with their high-pitched nasal incantations are familiar to everyone – well, everyone of North African descent. “Li-li-li-li-li-li-li-i-i-a-a-a,” is now ingrained on everybody’s tongue as the neighborhood anthem.

The karaoke guy does not exactly do the songs proud. Perhaps inside his own home, with the music playing, he has no idea he can’t carry a tune. But who in this 12 block radius would ever tell him, or ever suggest that he stop trying. Much as the karaoke guy’s singing is an assault on the ears, in Sderot we have all heard worse.

 The Singer

The Singer Art Print

Miro, Joan

Perhaps his day of fame will come, when he is asked to perform at a bar mitzva outside his own family. He may even have a video on YouTube. Meanwhile, the songs he sings through his nose – if they weren’t already old 25 years ago, for this neighborhood they are worn to death.

Yet, however little talent the karaoke man may display, his voice is a part of life in this corner of Sderot. It is an integral sign of life.

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