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

Edie Brickell

Edie BrickellSongwriter Interviews

Edie Brickell on her collaborations with Paul Simon, Steve Martin and Willie Nelson, and her 2021 album with the New Bohemians.

Rick Springfield

Rick SpringfieldSongwriter Interviews

Rick has a surprising dark side, a strong feminine side and, in a certain TV show, a naked backside. But he still hasn't found Jessie's Girl.

Pam Tillis

Pam TillisSongwriter Interviews

The country sweetheart opines about the demands of touring and talks about writing songs with her famous father.

90s Music Quiz 1

90s Music Quiz 1Music Quiz

First question: Michael Jordan and Magic Johnson appeared in videos for what artist?

Colin Hay

Colin HaySongwriter Interviews

Established as a redoubtable singer-songwriter, the Men At Work frontman explains how religion, sobriety and Jack Nicholson play into his songwriting.

They Might Be Giants

They Might Be GiantsSongwriter Interviews

Who writes a song about a name they found in a phone book? That's just one of the everyday things these guys find to sing about. Anything in their field of vision or general scope of knowledge is fair game. If you cross paths with them, so are you.