אֶחָד | One, a song by Harry Nilsson (1967) • the Open Siddur Project

Tags: 20th century C.E., 58th century A.M., counting songs, English vernacular prayer, loneliness, love your fellow as yourself, love-sickness, non-dual theology, Prayers as poems, דע לפני מי אתה עומד Know Before Whom You Stand, זמירות zemirot, פיוטים piyyutim, שכינה Shekhinah

Excerpt: A Hebrew translation of the lyrics to Harry Nilsson's "One" (1967) as sung by Aimee Mann (1995) . . .

Content:

Here, deep in the sefirat haOmer, I’ve been thinking a lot about how Harry Nilsson’s song “One” and how it is such a profound take on the non-dual yet bifurcated transcendent/immanent (YHVH/Shekhinah) conception of divinity, and the ḳabbalistic midrash (originating with Shir haShirim Rabbah 5.2) of the Divine creating their twin/the Cosmos/Adam haQadmon out of the desperation of loneliness/longing, and how this all might relate to the legend of the Shekhinah’s attempt to take flight from the World before the Dor haMabul in 3 Enoch.

Translation (Hebrew)	Source (English)
אחד	One
‏אֶחָד הוּא הַמִּסְפָּר הַבּוֹדֵד בְּיוֹתֵר שֶׁתַּעֲשֶׂה אֵי פַּעַם.‏ שְׁתַּיִם יָכוֹל לִהְיוֹת גָּרוּעַ כְּמוֹ אֶחָד. זֶהוּ הַמִּסְפָּר הַבּוֹדֵד בְּיוֹתֵר מֵאָז הַמִּסְפָּר אֶחָד.	One is the loneliest number That you’ll ever do Two can be as bad as one It’s the loneliest number since the number one
”לֹא“ הִיא הַחֲוָיָה הָעֲצוּבָה בְּיוֹתֵר שֶׁתַּכִּירוּ אֵי פַּעַם. כֵּן, זוֹ הַחֲוָיָה הָעֲצוּבָה בְּיוֹתֵר שֶׁתַּכִּירוּ אֵי פַּעַם.	No is the saddest experience You’ll ever know Yes, it’s the saddest experience You’ll ever know
מִכֵּיוָן שֶׁאֶחָד הוּא הַמִּסְפָּר הַבּוֹדֵד בְּיוֹתֵר שֶׁתַּעֲשׂוּ אֵי פַּעַם אֶחָד הוּא הַמִּסְפָּר הַבּוֹדֵד בְּיוֹתֵר שֶׁתַּכִּירוּ אֵי פַּעַם.	Because one is the loneliest number That’ll you’ll ever do One is the loneliest number That you’ll ever know
זֶה פָּשׁוּט כְּבָר לֹא טוֹב מֵאָז שֶׁעָזַבְתְּ.^[1] אוֹ שֶׁנֶּעְלַמְתְּ עַכְשָׁו אֲנִי מְבַלֶּה אֶת זְמַנִּי רַק בִּכְתִיבַת חֲרוּזִים מִִימֵי קֶדֶם.	It’s just no good anymore Since you went away Now I spend my time Just making rhymes Of yesterday
מִכֵּיוָן שֶׁאֶחָד הוּא הַמִּסְפָּר הַבּוֹדֵד בְּיוֹתֵר שֶׁתַּעֲשׂוּ אֵי פַּעַם אֶחָד הוּא הַמִּסְפָּר הַבּוֹדֵד בְּיוֹתֵר שֶׁתַּכִּירוּ אֵי פַּעַם.	Because one is the loneliest number That you’ll ever do One is the loneliest number That you’ll ever know
אֶחָד הוּא הַמִּסְפָּר הַבּוֹדֵד בְּיוֹתֵר. אֶחָד הוּא הַמִּסְפָּר הַבּוֹדֵד בְּיוֹתֵר. אֶחָד הוּא הַמִּסְפָּר הַבּוֹדֵד בְּיוֹתֵר שֶׁתַּעֲשֶׂה אֵי פַּעַם.	One is the loneliest number One is the loneliest number One is the loneliest number That you’ll ever do
אֶחָד הוּא הַמִּסְפָּר הַבּוֹדֵד בְּיוֹתֵר, כׇּל כָּךְ הַרְבֵּה יוֹתֵר גָּרוּעַ מִשְׁתַּיִם. אֶחָד הוּא מִסְפָּר חֶלְקֵי שְׁתַּיִם. (זֶה קַל.)	One is the loneliest number Much much worse than two One is a number divided by two (That’s easy)
שְׁתַּיִם חֶלְקֵי אֶחָד מְיֹעָד לִתְלוֹת אֶת הַפַּרְגּוֹד. וְאָז דָּבָר אֶחָד בָּטוּחַ: בְּלִי־מָֽה שֶׁיַּחֲזִיק אוֹתָם בְּיַחַד׃	Two divided by one is decided To bring down the curtain Then one thing’s for certain There’s nothing to keep them together

These are the lyrics to “One” by Harry Edward Nilsson (from his 1968 album Aerial Ballet), according to the girsah sung by Aimee Mann on the compilation For the Love of Harry: Everybody Sings Nilsson (1995). The Hebrew translation is my own. (Please offer any obvious corrections — thank you!) My hope in translating this song is to include it (among one or two others: “Invisible Sun” by the Police, and “Blue Sky” by the Allman Brothers) in a weekday siddur I am preparing. Since the lyrics to “One” will be under copyright until approximately 2064, by publishing this translation, I am expressing my Fair Use right under copyright law for the non-commercial and transformative use of the original work for religious practice. –Aharon Varady

Source(s)

Notes[+]

Notes
1	אוֹ שֶׁנֶּעְלַמְתְּ