Holy City

Album: The Classic (2014)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • Joan as Police Woman (aka Joan Wasser), wrote this tune after playing a gig in the Israeli city of Tel Aviv. She explained to The Line Of Best Fit how she ended up penning this song about the holy city of Jerusalem: "I love travelling and I have always wanted to check out that part of the world," she said. "I am not religious per se but religion is fascinating to me as is how human beings have interacted with God."

    "It turned out, by chance, that one of my friends was in Jerusalem because she was studying to be a rabbi and so I played the show in Tel Aviv and then travelled around for a week," Wasser added. "We got to Jerusalem and stayed with her and she was the best tour-guide. It was tremendous. I wanted to bring home as much halva as is humanly possible. We went to the Wailing Wall and I am so glad I saw that because people in ecstasy is always a great thing to witness. I thought – wow, I can relate to that feeling. I get it from music and I get it from being in love. So I used it as the pop song fodder for a person that I am into, entering the holy city."
  • Jerusalem is an important to many major religions. Jews consider it as a holy city because it was their religious and political center during Biblical times and the place where the Temple of God stood. Christians consider Jerusalem holy because many events in the life of Jesus Christ took place in the city. Muslims believe that the Prophet Muhammad rose to heaven from there. Here are three more songs on our database inspired by Jerusalem:

    "Jerusalem" by Esther Ofarim
    "Jerusalem (Out of Darkness Comes Light)" by Matisyahu
    And the hymn "Jerusalem."

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Allen Toussaint - "Southern Nights"

Allen Toussaint - "Southern Nights"They're Playing My Song

A song he wrote and recorded from "sheer spiritual inspiration," Allen's didn't think "Southern Nights" had hit potential until Glen Campbell took it to #1 two years later.

Richard Marx

Richard MarxSongwriter Interviews

Richard explains how Joe Walsh kickstarted his career, and why he chose Hazard, Nebraska for a hit.

Commercials

CommercialsFact or Fiction

Was "Ring Of Fire" really used to sell hemorrhoid cream?

John Doe of X

John Doe of XSongwriter Interviews

With his X-wife Exene, John fronts the band X and writes their songs.

Yoko Ono

Yoko OnoSongwriter Interviews

At 80 years old, Yoko has 10 #1 Dance hits. She discusses some of her songs and explains what inspired John Lennon's return to music in 1980.

Loreena McKennitt

Loreena McKennittSongwriter Interviews

The Celtic music maker Loreena McKennitt on finding musical inspiration, the "New Age" label, and working on the movie Tinker Bell.