When I saw the video footage of this music session in Gaza I knew I had to share it with you! I couldn’t believe what I was hearing, children in Palestine singing the same song that I learned when I was about their age, A Ram Sam Sam.

I was immediately struck with a feeling of belonging to something much larger than myself. Music does that, connects us in ways that little else can. I could have easily walked into that room and sung it with them.

Turns out that it is a popular Moroccan children's song and game. It is an Arabic song, sung in the Moroccan dialect. 

The lyrics are as following:

A ram sam sam, a ram sam sam
Guli guli guli guli guli ram sam sam
A rafiq, a rafiq
Guli guli guli guli guli ram sam sam

I always thought that the words were nonsense words, but they actually mean something.

A ram sam sam:  Sam Ran
Guli guli guli:   tell me, tell me, tell me
A rafiq:   friend, companion

It is a fun song that gets faster and faster with each verse. The hand motions make it even sillier! We loved singing it, especially as a round. Looks like these children love it too!

In This Video -

Rahaf is letting the children choose and lead the songs. It is so sweet to see them all singing their hearts out. There were many more children who led songs than what I was able to share in this video.

Check out the adorable video here.

Children all over the world sing this song and have been doing so for generations. Five decades have passed since I learned it, but I feel a stronger kindred connection to these children now.  I wonder how many of you grew up with this song? I’d be interested in hearing about it!

Thank you for reading and for your continued support!

With Gratitude,

Patricia Irby

Executive Director - Musical Ambassadors Of Peace
 

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