- published: 20 Jan 2009
- views: 29554694
Oren Lavie (Hebrew: אורן לביא) (born 1976) is an Israeli singer, songwriter, playwright, and theatre director. His music video for "Her Morning Elegance" earned a 2009 Grammy Award nomination for "Best Short Form Music Video". On March 10, 2009, Oren released his debut album, The Opposite Side of the Sea, in the United States. He revealed on his Facebook page that he has a second album in the works, with a possible release date in September or December 2011.
Lavie was born in Tel Aviv and spent his youth in Israel. In 1997 his play Sticks and Wheels and his production of it were awarded the main prizes at the Acco Festival of Alternative Israeli Theatre. The production played in Tel Aviv during 1998. In that year he went to London to study theatre directing at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art (LAMDA). After his graduation, two of his plays were produced in various London theatres. They already contained several songs written and composed by him.
In 2001 Lavie moved to New York where he directed several workshops on his plays, and gradually shifted his focus to songwriting. In 2003, he relocated to Berlin and began recording his first album, The Opposite Side of the Sea, which he self produced. The album was released in Europe in January and February 2007, and in the United States in March 2009.
"The Man" is a slang phrase that may refer to the government or to some other authority in a position of power. In addition to this derogatory connotation, it may also serve as a term of respect and praise.
The phrase "the Man is keeping me down" is commonly used to describe oppression. The phrase "stick it to the Man" encourages resistance to authority, and essentially means "fight back" or "resist", either openly or via sabotage.
The earliest recorded use[citation needed] of the term "the Man" in the American sense dates back to a letter written by a young Alexander Hamilton in September 1772, when he was 15. In a letter to his father James Hamilton, published in the Royal Dutch-American Gazette, he described the response of the Dutch governor of St. Croix to a hurricane that raked that island on August 31, 1772. "Our General has issued several very salutary and humane regulations and both in his publick and private measures, has shewn himself the Man." [dubious – discuss] In the Southern U.S. states, the phrase came to be applied to any man or any group in a position of authority, or to authority in the abstract. From about the 1950s the phrase was also an underworld code word for police, the warden of a prison or other law enforcement or penal authorities.
Don't let your hair grow too long
Leave your yellow raincoat on
Don't get wet
But don't get warm
Don't change the time on your watch
Always reach, but never touch
Stay a picture on the wall
Don't let your step grow too bold
Don't let your hands go too cold
Don't forget, but don't recall
Keep the distance in your stare
Hold your step up in the air
Always near but never there