By Sammy Baroud

“In our lifetime we will be free, and they can bury us, but they will find out we are seeds.”

American singer and songwriter, Macklemore, dropped his highly anticipated song Hind’s Hall 2 on Friday.

The pro-Palestine anthem is the sequel to his song Hind’s Hall, which bolstered millions of views across YouTube, Instagram, and other social media platforms.

The song is named after Columbia University’s Hamilton’s Hall, which was renamed Hind’s Hall by pro-Palestine student activists in honor of Hind Rajab – the six-year-old girl ruthlessly killed by Israeli occupation forces in January, along with six of her family members and two paramedics who came to save her.

Hind Rajab and the Student Protests – Unfurling Love from the Window

The song also features Palestinian-American artist Anees and 15-year-old Gazan rapper MC Abdul.

The lyrics are powerful with the main line in the chorus, sung by Anees, “In our lifetime we will be free, and they can bury us, but they will find out we are seeds.”

Empowering Scenes

The music video made for the song is also particularly powerful and features numerous tragic and empowering scenes from Gaza over the last 11 months of the genocide.

HIND’S HALL 2 VIDEO… All Proceeds from the song are going to @unrwausa
Video edited by Omar Alali pic.twitter.com/1BtWDZBdpX

— Macklemore (@macklemore) September 20, 2024

Macklemore’s verse is also especially impactful, as he glorifies Palestinian Resistance saying, “Long live the Resistance if there’s something to resist,” with the music video backdrop showing old footage of the IRA (Irish Republican Army), Malcolm X, Black Panther party members, as well as Gazan kids throwing rocks at Israeli tanks.

He also makes his other strong anti-Zionist beliefs clear when he says, “PC for a minute I was trynna be a bridge, but there’ll never be freedom by pleading with Zionists.”

Display of Solidarity

Macklemore also sends a message to Vice President and current Democratic presidential nominee, Kamala Harris, saying “Hey Kamala, I don’t know if you’re listening, but stop sending money and weapons or you ain’t winning Michigan.”

This is not the prominent Seattle-based artist’s first pro-Palestine song or public display of Palestinian solidarity.

Hind Rajab and the Student Protests – Unfurling Love from the Window

He has been perhaps the most outspoken mainstream musician on the genocide in Gaza since the war began, despite not being Palestinian, Arab, or Muslim.

Macklemore’s powerful lyrics are not only a beautiful display of solidarity but demonstrate to the world that the Palestinian issue is an issue of humanity and one’s background, or origin has nothing to do with where one should stand on it.

According to the artist, all proceeds from the song will be donated to UNRWA, as with the first song.

Read the lyrics here

In our lifetime we will be free
One day when the light shines we will be free
In our lifetime we will be free
And they can bury us
But they will find out we are seeds
Oo-ohhh, Oo-ohhh
Oo-ohhh, Oo-ohhh
They can bury us
But they will find out we are seeds

Verse 1: Anees
I say free Falasteen because I know of every massacre we suffered
The Nakba, Sabra, Shatila, Rafah
My people have died a million times in their struggles
‘Til they rise from the tidеs
Like a rose through the rubblе
I see God himself in the eye of a refugee
Who’d rather die a martyr than live a life under siege
So if I’m not allowed to say “From the River to the Sea”
Then “From the rind to the seed Palestine will be free”
Still, they know they can’t shake us
Billion-dollar sword to the neck
Death cannot break us
And every Palestinian refugee holds a key
One day we will return
No matter how long it takes us

Chorus: Anees & Choirs, Macklemore
In our lifetime we will be free
One day when the light shines we will be free
In our lifetime we will be free
And they can bury us
But they will find out we are seeds
Oo-ohhh, Oo-ohhh
Oo-ohhh, Oo-ohhh
They can bury us
But they will find out we are seeds

Verse 2: MC Abdul
(Yeah, yeah)
I’ve seen massacres, I’m grateful to be alive
You appreciate life when you survive a genocide
Look in my eyes and tell me what you see
Ran out of tears to cry, rap ’til Palestine is free
Got a problem with the system that doesn’t want us existing
Turn a city to a prison that’s missing living conditions
My moms calling, she’s telling me she’s kinda scared
I hear the bombs fallin’, I smell the death up in the air
My uncle lost his children, I lost my cousins
As tears water their grave to let them know he still loves ’em
Our schools turn to shelters for the rich and poor
I just pray for peace
When I speak I don’t wish for war
Bodies layin’ out, ain’t nothing to play about
I give the people hope ’cause I’m the first who made it out
I’m just walking the path, this is God’s plan
Building up my dreams, from the rubble I touched with my hands

Chorus: Amer Zahr & Choirs
في حياتنا منكون حرين
يلمع النور ومنكون حرين
في حياتنا منكون حرين
لو دفنونا منرجع مزهرين
From the river to the sea
Palestine will be free (Louder)
From the river to the sea
Palestine will be free (Louder)

Verse 3: Macklemore
They done woke up the world now
We know who you serve at the White House
To kids in Gaza my vow right now
I’ma ride for your life like you were my child
Long live the resistance if there’s something to resist
Had enough of you motherfuckers murdering little kids
PC for a minute I was trynna be a bridge
But there’ll never be freedom by pleading with Zionists
World screaming, “Free Palestine”
We see the Manual we know how you colonized
You’d be surprised by how many fucks we actually really don’t give
When you take away that power of the all-mighty dollar sign
Fuck the allure, we’ll boycott the stores
Capitalism killing us that’s something we can’t afford
They want us to hate each other in the interest of war
Afraid of the mosque and afraid to light the menorah
Hey Kamala, I don’t know if you’re listening
But stop sending money and weapons or you ain’t winning Michigan
We uncommitted, and hell no we ain’t switching positions
Because the whole world turned Palestinian
I see them murdered children in Gaza and I see my babies
Life being stripped from the bombs we’re making
When will Congress decide a Palestinian’s life is just as precious as an Israeli’s
We don’t own the earth, don’t own the earth
We’re killing each other over some lines in the dirt
We bleed the same blood, feel the same hurt
Palestinian life, does it have the same worth?
What happened to us?
What happened to us?

Chorus: Amer Zahr & Choirs
في حياتنا منكون حرين
يلمع النور ومنكون حرين
في حياتنا منكون حرين
لو دفنونا منرجع مزهرين
From the river to the sea
Palestine will be free (Louder)
From the river to the sea
Palestine will be free (Louder)

(The Palestine Chronicle)