Lyrics & Listening Tips for the Playlist Summer Camp

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Camp is a place for raising your voice, as you cheer on your teams or sing your heart out. Here are three songs you might sing at Jewish summer camp.

Listening Tips

If I Had a Hammer

This song is about justice, freedom – and love. Who’s the love between, and where?

Salaam (Peace)

Hebrew and Arabic are “cousin” languages. The words for peace – shalom in Hebrew, salaam in Arabic – are very similar.  Can you hear when those two words are sung? In the song the Arabic word salaam rhymes with the Hebrew words olam (world) and kulam (everyone). Try to hear that, too!

Shalom Rav (A Great Peace)

This song features different voices singing together. That’s called “harmony” – and “harmony” is another word for “peace.” How do voices singing together remind you of peace?

Song Lyrics

If I Had a Hammer 

Performed by Peter, Paul and Mary – Music and lyrics: Pete Seeger and Lee Hays

If I had a hammer
I'd hammer in the morning
I'd hammer in the evening
All over this land
I'd hammer out danger
I'd hammer out warning
I'd hammer out love between my brothers and my sisters
All over this land

If I had a bell
I'd ring it in the morning…

If I had a song
I'd sing it in the morning…

Well, I’ve got a hammer and I’ve got a bell
And I’ve got a song to sing all over this land
It’s a hammer of justice, it’s a bell of freedom
It’s a song about love between my brothers and my sisters
All over this land


Salaam (Peace)

Performed by Rick Recht – Music and lyrics: Mosh Ben-Ari and the band Sheva

Od yavo shalom aleinu (Peace will come to us)
Ve’al kulam (And to everyone)

Salaam (Peace)
Aleinu ve’al kol ha’olam (For us and the whole world)


Shalom Rav (A Great Peace)

Performed by Chava Mirel – Music: Jeff Klepper and Dan Freelander – Words: Traditional prayer

Shalom rav al Yisrael amcha tasim le’olam (Grant a great peace to Your people
Israel, forever)
Ki ata hu melech adon lechol hashalom (For You are the sovereign source of peace)
Vetov be’einecha levarech et amcha Yisrael (May it be good in Your eyes to bless
Your people Israel)
Bechol eit uvechol sha’a bishlomecha (In every season and every hour with Your peace)

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