The song is an up-tempo number, featuring many changes in tempo and style. Lead singer
Kobi Oz begins by singing in English over a steady
accordion beat, explaining that "the world is full of terror" and singing about the risk posed by "some crazy rulers" who are bent on destruction. At this point, the song moves to the chorus, featuring a
guitar riff and the repeated phrase "they're gonna push the button". The second verse begins in a similar style to the first, with the exception that the lyrics are delivered in French. Oz sings that there is "too much violence" due to the fanatics he described earlier. The accordion beat is then replaced once again as Oz switches back to English to sing that he does not want to die and "I wanna see the flowers bloom / don't wanna go kaput kaboom" in a more dramatic manner. The chorus (complete with guitar riff) is then repeated (with "he's gonna..." instead of "they're gonna..."). Following the chorus, the song changes tempo entirely, as Oz begins to rap in Hebrew. He expands on his earlier description of the risk of fanaticism, describing a nightmarish situation in which nobody else seems aware of, or concerned about, what is happening. The tempo then switches back to the steady beat of the earlier verses, but with Oz still singing in Hebrew describing the people in his situation as "pawns". He switches further to his dramatic vocals, wondering if perhaps the song is altogether "too sharp", and suggesting that "We should sing palm tree songs, desert songs with no flags", referring to an older, romantic (and apolitical) style of Israeli song. The next line – "
ani od khay, khay, khay" ("I'm still alive, alive, alive") – is a direct quote of the
hook from Israel's upbeat (and apolitical) second-place-winning
1983 Eurovision entry, "
Khay". But this quote, exuberant and triumphant in "Khay", here is (perhaps slyly) repurposed as just part of the nervous narrator's thought – "I'm still alive, alive, alive" it begins, then concludes (no longer apolitical), "and if the situation remains as frightening as it has been, only then I will say / I'm gonna push the button" (i.e. "''I'm
gonna push the button" in the final chorus, a response to "they're
gonna push the button" in the first chorus and "he's'' gonna push the button" in the second chorus). The politically charged lyrical content caused some controversy. While the message of the song is unclear, some suggest that the song is a reflection of the anxiety of some Israelis about the threat of
nuclear war with
Iran. This interpretation assumes that the lyrics "He's gonna push the button" refer to the Iranian president
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Despite earlier statements that it had an inappropriate message and might be banned from the 2007 contest, Eurovision Song Contest organizers approved the Israeli entry. The song (and the controversy) was reported in
BBC News due to its content. As Israel had not finished the
previous contest in the top 10, the song had to compete in the semi-final. Here, it was performed second, following 's
Elitsa Todorova and
Stoyan Yankoulov with "
Water" and preceding '
Evridiki with "
Comme ci, comme ça". At the close of voting, it had received 17 points, placing 24th in a field of 28 and thus missing out on qualification for the final and requiring Israel to qualify through the semi-final at the next Contest. == Commercial releases ==