Israel’s Eurovision representative changes song lyrics after controversy

Israel’s Eurovision representative changes song lyrics after controversy

Eden Golan had to change the name and lyrics of ‘October Rain’ to continue participating in the competition

The singer Eden Golan was selected as Israel’s representative for the 2024 edition of Eurovision. She is expected to participate with the song “October Rain”, whose lyrics were reportedly leaked in February. The 20-year-old’s verses would mention the Hamas victims of the October 7 attack.

The song was banned from the competition for allegedly not respecting the rule of political neutrality. Therefore, the president of Israel, Isaac Herzogassured that the song’s lyrics would be modified when contacting KAN, the Israeli broadcaster that broadcasts the Eurovision SongContest.

Now, the lyrics of the track — which was renamed “Hurricane” — Golan says: “Baby, promise me you’ll hold me again / I’m still broken from this hurricane” (“Baby, promise me you’ll hold me again / I’m still broken from this hurricane”), instead of “E I promise you that never again / I’m still wet from this October rain.”

Other excerpts, which said: “There’s no air left to breathe” (“There’s no air left to breathe”) and “They were all good children, each one of them”) changed for “No big words / Just prayers / Even if it’s hard to see / You always leave me a small light”.

Israel’s participation in the contest was confirmed last Saturday, the 9th.

Source: Rollingstone

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