At certain times in the past, the Bar Papas associated the song Shema/Listen with a raw acoustic kind of sound. It had a certain folksy feel that that was up beat yet slow enough for them to follow along.

Like we mentioned elsewhere, these guys weren’t musicians in the traditional sense and this song was by no means conventional.

What it can be described as is a walk of life and declaration of the One creator, his judgment and mercy packed into one.

The song’s roots were in Detroit, it matured in the woods around Tzfat, and came to life in Jerusalem.

Originally, the song began with an additional finger picking segment by Shimshon which led up to the current beginning. Towards the end, it also had an additional 5 minutes of some kind of wave motion melody (sounds…well, original) which went on and on, and on. Needless to say, in order so there would only be one ten minute track (Hodu) on the album Shema was edited down but in the process the editing brought out many of the special nuances which make this track a powerful expression of old school Bar Papas music making.

The song is a process of concentration before declaring ….שְׁמַע יִשְׂרָאֵל

After reciting the first paragraph of the Shema there is the custom of saying the verse בָּרוּךְ שֵׁם כְּבוֹד מַלְכוּתוֹ לְעוֹלָם וָעֶד – “Blessed be the name of His glorious kingdom for ever and ever” silently.

As you move through the song, experience a melodic symphony of flutes, trumpets, and a bit of stream of consciousness slide guitar the Bar Papas use to express their journey.