My goodness, this thread has been around for a long time and this is the first time I've encountered it. Here's a personal recollection for what it's worth.

In 1957 I met and played music with Teddi Schwartz on numerous occasions. She was a difficult person with something of an attitude problem. On one hand, she demanded that everyone quit whining, accept their lot in life and make the best of it. When in that frame of mind, she was less than forgiving towards the 'calves' who couldn't change their fate.

On the other hand, she claimed to be solicitous of people who, through no fault of their own, were caught in impossible situations. This attitude came out when she spoke of her family lost in the holocaust.

I could never understood how she made the distinction between those who could help themselves and those who couldn't. Even then, when I was 11 years old, I could see the effects of her personal contradictions which are so apparent in the song. The translation fit perfectly into her 'quit whining' paradigm.