Billy Bragg, who has mixed pop and politics his entire 40-year career, has shared a new song, “Hundred Year Hunger,” in support the Palestinian people. He writes, “‘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.”
Bragg Continues:
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.
You can listen to “Hundred Year Hunger” below.
Billy Bragg’s most recent album is 2021’s The Million Things That Never Happened.