Lyr Req/Add: Yiddish songs

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Yiddish songs
From: GUEST,Fedele
Date: 08 Jan 01 - 03:50 AM

I won't be content till all the world got that CD. It's like playing Risk: it's my Secret Goal.... ;-)
Sorry for not showing that I'm alive for a while: busy with studying, and also because I still got to pay for being on-line

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Yiddish songs
From: Mark Cohen
Date: 06 Jan 01 - 02:04 AM

Fedele, good to hear from you again, my friend...After all these threads on Yiddish songs, I JUST remembered that an old friend of my parents translated a large number of Gilbert and Sullivan songs into Yiddish. In fact, I believe he may have staged some of the operettas in Yiddish in Philadelphia some time ago. My music and book collections are rather farblunzhed at the moment, but I will try to find and post some of the songs. (And Joe, I know we've been through this before, but you're QUITE sure you're not even a little bit Jewish?!)

Aloha,
Mark

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Yiddish songs
From: GUEST,Fedele in the library
Date: 05 Jan 01 - 05:53 AM

Try to find the thread I started some months ago - "Yiddish workers songs" (click). There are some links and a good one to Hatikvah Music Shop. I strongly recommend you take "In love and in struggle - The musical legacy of the Jewish Labor Bund" in that shop. The guy is very kind.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Yiddish songs
From: Wolfgang
Date: 05 Jan 01 - 05:36 AM

Joe, a very powerful song using so few words to evoke a mountain of feelings. I knew it but thanks a lot for reminding me of it.

Wolfgang

Subject: Lyr Add: SHTIL DI NACHT (Hirsh Glik)^^
From: Joe Offer
Date: 04 Jan 01 - 11:53 PM

Jillian Tallmer sang this powerful song at Camp Harmony in the San Francisco area this week. I thought I'd post it.
-Joe Offer-

---

SHTIL DI NACHT
(Hirsh Glik)

Shtil, di nacht iz oysgeshternt, Un der frost - er hot gebrent; Tsi gedenkstu vi ich hob dich gelernt Haltn a shpayer in di hent. A moyd, a peltsl un a beret, Un halt in hant fest a nagan, A moyd mit a sametenem ponim Hit op dem soynes karavan. Getsilt, geshosn un getrofn Hot ir kleyninker pistoyl, An oto a fulinkn mit vofn Farhaltn hot zi mit eyn koyl. Fartog fun vald aroysgekrochn, Mit shney-girlandn oyf di hor, Gemutikt fun kleyninkn n'tsochn Far undzer nayem, frayen dor.

The starry night is silent, And the frost is sharp and crisp; Do you remember when I taught you To hold a pistol in your hand. A girl, a short coat and a beret, Holding a pistol firmly in her hand, A girl with a face as soft as velvet Guards the enemy's caravan. She aimed, fired and found her mark With her little pistol, A truck full of ammunition She stopped with one shot. At dawn, creeping out of the woods With snow garlands clinging to her hair, She was encouraged with her tiny victory For our new, free generation.

---

This song tells the story of two partisans who blew up a German military transport on the outskirts of Vila in 1942. The two partisans engaged in this act were Itzik Matskevitsch and Vitke Kempner. It is interesting to note the poet's use of three words, shpayer, nagan, pistoyl, to denote the same object, and automatic pistol. A former resident of the Vilno ghetto gave this explanation for the poet's license:

"Shpayer was common in the Vilno region; nagan was the Russian word; pistoyl was the German term. The use of all three within one song demonstrated the presence of Jews from all over Europe, often herded together by the German occupationists within one ghetto, one concentration or death camp."

(Source: Voices of a People: The Story of Yiddish Folksong, Ruth Rubin, 1979)

JRO^^

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Yiddish songs
From: Philipppa
Date: 10 Dec 99 - 04:04 PM

Thanks Sarah. Zemerl site recommended by Jacob does have the words to Dona Dona in Yiddish, and also a Hebrew translation and another song to the same tune. Have a look at the site (everyone)!

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Yiddish songs
From: Roger the skiffler
Date: 10 Dec 99 - 07:00 AM

Sarah, thanks for the Donna, Donna lyrics, I have the Topol recording as well as the well-know Joan Baez one & often thought of trying the Yiddish version if I could find it.
RtS

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Yiddish songs
From: Susan A-R
Date: 09 Dec 99 - 11:26 PM

I too am (patiently) awaiting Banks of the Ohio.

I also have several songs in Yiddish about the holocost. If these are of interest, I also do have sheet music for them and could snail mail them to you. Approximate spelling of titles: Dremlein Vygel (Birds are Dreaming) Tswei Teybelech (Two Doves) Heis Ysrolich (My name is Israel) Rivkele Die Shabbasdike Rivkele the Shabat Widow) (My spelling is interesting)

Anyway, I'll dig them up if you want them.

Subject: Yiddish songs & Brave Old World
From: Philippa
Date: 09 Dec 99 - 08:02 PM

Apologies to Michael Alpert, Alan Bern et al and to Aldous Huxley. Lamarca has pointed out to me my mistake; the klezmer band I mentioned is called Brave Old World

Subject: Lyr Add: NEM MIKH MIT TSU DER BALL GEYM
From: Áine
Date: 07 Dec 99 - 11:13 PM

NEM MIKH MIT TSU DER BALL GEYM
(TAKE ME OUT TO THE BALL GAME)
by Jack Norworth and Albert von Tilzer

Nem mikh mit tsu der ball geym
(Take me out to the ballgame)
Tsum oylem lomir dokh geyn
(Take me out to the park)
Koyf mir di nislekh un krekerjek
(Buy me some peanuts and cracker jack)
Vil ikh keyn molfun dort nit avek
(I don't crae if I never get back)
Git zey mut, mut, mut, di ball shpiler
(For it's root, root, root for the home team)
Es past nit az men farshpilt
(If they don't win, it's a shame)
Vayls'iz eyns, tsvey, dray strikes, un oys
(For it's one, two, three strikes you're out)
Bay der beysball shpil
(At the old ballgame)
Shpil Ball!
(Play Ball!)

Subject: Lyr Add: DONA, DONA (in Yiddish)
From: Sarah-HS
Date: 07 Dec 99 - 09:48 PM

Philippa - I have the Yiddish words for Dona, Dona ...

DONA, DONA
(words, Aaron Zeitlin; music, Sholem Secunda)

Oyfin fur'l ligt a kelb'l
Ligt gebunden mit a shtrik
Hoykh in him'l flit a shvelb'l
Freyt zikh dreyt zikh hin un tzurik

Cho:
Lakht der vint in korn, lacht un lakht un lakht
Lakht er op a tog a gantzn, un a halbe nakht
Hey, dona, dona, dona ... dona dona dona don
Dona, dona, dona, dona ... dona dona dona don

Shryt dos kelbl, zogt der poyer
Verzhe heyst dikh zayn a kalb?
Volst gekent dokh zayn a foygl
Volst gekent dokh zayn a shvalb

Bidne kelber tut men bind'n
Un men shlept zey un men shekht
Ver s'hot fligl, flit aroyftzu
Iz bay keynem nit kayn k'necht

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Yiddish songs
From: Joe Offer
Date: 07 Dec 99 - 08:06 PM

Is there any question, Áine? Of course, we'd be interested.
-Joe Offer, still waiting for Charlie's Yiddish "Banks of the Ohio"-

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Yiddish songs
From: Áine
Date: 07 Dec 99 - 06:39 PM

Would anyone be interested in the lyrics in Yiddish to 'Maria' (from West Side Story); God Bless America, or Take Me Out To The Ballgame?

-- Áine

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Yiddish songs
From: Philippa
Date: 07 Dec 99 - 06:15 PM

I have a Flying Fish recording of a Klezmer band called 'Brave New World' The lyrics are included with the notes. Some of the lyrics are recent compositions by band members Michael Alpert & Alan Bern.

I had heard that 'those were the days' was originally in Yiddish. the DT identifies it as Russian. Does anyone have further details? I'm off to Jacob's Link to see if they have Yiddish words for Dona Dona; only the English is in the DT.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Yiddish songs
From: Jacob Bloom
Date: 07 Dec 99 - 10:03 AM

Here's a link to the Zemerl - The Jewish Song Database site.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Yiddish songs
From: Áine
Date: 07 Dec 99 - 09:04 AM

Philippa listed this one, but on my computer the link got messed up; so, here it is again just in case:

Die Alter Tzigayner/White Christmas

-- Áine

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Yiddish songs
From: Philippa
Date: 07 Dec 99 - 08:31 AM

Here are some llinks to Yiddish song threads, besides the thread Joe offered:

White Christmas !
Main Rue Platz (Eng. trans. in DT, Mayn Rue Platz)
Banks of the Ohio
Vu Iz Dus Gesele

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Yiddish songs
From:
Date: 07 Dec 99 - 04:43 AM

There is a German site http://www.snafu.de/~troyke/start.htm which might have links to what you want.

Murray

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Yiddish songs
From: Joe Offer
Date: 06 Dec 99 - 07:13 PM

Hi, Nova - you'll get a start if you put Yiddish in the search box on this page. Any songs in particular you'd like? You name 'em, and we'll try to find 'em. Charlie Baum gets a kick out of posting Yiddish songs. All my Yiddish songbooks are on loan to the good Mrs. Lev, but they'll be home soon - or I'll have to find a new adjective to describe Mrs. Lev.
You may also enjoy this thread (click here)
-Joe Offer-

Subject: Yiddish songs
From: Nova Prof
Date: 06 Dec 99 - 06:58 PM

Does anyone have lyrics to Yiddish songs? Specifically, I'm looking for words to songs as sung by Aaron Lebedeff. Any suggestions gratefully accepted.