In solidarity with the Global Sumud Flotilla, launched in a bid to break the Israeli naval blockade and deliver humanitarian aid to Gaza, Billy Bragg has released "Hundred Year Hunger," a new song available today on all streaming platforms. Proceeds from the release will go to Amos Trust’s humanitarian aid to Palestine.
‘Hundred Year Hunger’ looks at the current famine that Israel has created in Gaza through the lens of a century of enforced food insecurity and malnutrition imposed on the Palestinian people, firstly by British imperialism, then as a weapon of mass displacement by the state of Israel.
It takes its title from the recent book of the same name by E Mark Windle.
Sumud is an Arabic word which translates into English as steadfastness or perseverance. It is used by Palestinians to describe their nonviolent everyday resistance against Israel's occupation. Sumud emphasises the commitment of the Palestinian people to remain on their land despite hardship and oppression, elevating their everyday existence into a form of resistance.
Lan narhal translates as ‘we will not leave’. Together ‘Sumud! Sumud! Lan narhal’ conveys the determination of the Palestinian people to refuse to be displaced.
Hundred Year Hunger (words and music Billy Bragg)
Recorded at Echo Town Studio, Dorset
Billy Bragg - guitar and vocals
JJ Stoney - keyboards and backing vocals
Engineered, recorded and mixed by Jamie Parker
The Hundred Year Hunger by E Mark Windle is available here.
‘Hundred Year Hunger’ Lyrics
These olive groves have roots so deep - Seventy centuries and more
They fed the fellahin who sought - Peace beneath their shade
My father’s father worked this land - Before the time the lines were drawn
And distant declarations made - That brought darkness at dawn
And hunger - And suffering - And slaughter - And dread
Sumud! Sumud! Lan narhal
Existence is resistance
Sumud! Sumud! Lan narhal
We will not leave this land
My mother was a refugee - Settlers came and burned the fields
Until no longer could she - Feed her family
We lived for decades in a camp - A narrow strip along the coast
Where desperation filled the days - And hunger haunted every home
And thirst - And malady - And misery - And tears
And now my children ask me why - The watching world is standing by
While Israel creates famine as - A weapon in their war
Food is used to bait a trap - Unarmed, the starving stumble in
Desperately hoping to find aid - But all that they receive
Are bullet wounds - and tank fire - Infanticide - And dust
Along with Bragg, UK singer Billy Nomates has been added to the line-up of the previously announced Days Like Thesebenefit concert for Gaza at the O2 Shepherd’s Bush Empire in London on Saturday September 20, raising funds for Amos Trust’s Gaza Appeal.
The event brings together an extraordinary line-up of music, poetry and spoken word, with performances from:
Billy Nomates
Jamie Webster (solo),
Antony Szmierek,
Reverend & The Makers (acoustic)
Big Special,
Actor and activist Khalid Abdalla,
Palestinian journalist and human rights activist Yara Eid,
Writer, director and academic Ahmed Masoud,
Actor and theatre director Samuel West
Co-founder of Palestinian youth advocacy organisation We Are Not Numbers, Ahmed Alnaouq.
Amos Trust patron, Brian Eno, said, “I’m so pleased to hear that Billy Bragg and friends are putting on a show at Shepherd’s Bush Empire on Saturday September 20th in support of Amos Trust’s Gaza appeal. It’s part of what’s shaping up to be a powerful week of performances dedicated to supporting the victims of the crisis in Palestine.
What astonishes me is that it’s individuals like Billy, his fellow artists and everyone attending these shows who are really making a difference. Governments are almost nowhere to be seen — out of touch with the people who elected them, the vast majority of whom are calling for an end to the massacre in Gaza.”
This event continues Amos Trust’s 40-year legacy of using art, storytelling and activism to stand in solidarity with marginalised communities. Tickets are available now.
Billy Bragg has been a fearless recording artist, tireless live performer and peerless political campaigner for 40+ years. He has released 11 solo studio albums, three albums with Wilco and one album with Joe Henry. He released a mini album Bridges Not Walls in 2017. His performances at the BBC were anthologised in The Best of Billy Bragg At The BBC 1983-2019 (2019).
Billy Bragg added best-selling author/musicologist to his CV with the success of his acclaimed 2017 book Roots, Radicals & Rockers – How Skiffle Changed The World. He has written two books of political analysis - The Progressive Patriot: A Search For Belonging (2006) and The Three Dimensions of Freedom (2019). In 2023 Billy released an acclaimed career-spanning box set of his work entitled ‘The Roaring Forty.'
