Lyr Req: 'O Hanukkah' (Yiddish & Hebrew words)

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: 'O Hanukkah' (Yiddish & Hebrew words)
From: Felipa
Date: 27 Nov 21 - 12:01 PM

thanks, Monique, a timely addition

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: 'O Hanukkah' (Yiddish & Hebrew words)
From: Monique
Date: 27 Nov 21 - 11:26 AM

Hebrew version:

,יְמֵי הַחֲנֻכָּה חֲנֻכַּת מִקְדָּשֵׁנוּ
,בְּגִיל וּבְשִׂמְחָה מְמַלְּאִים אֶת לִבֵּנוּ
,לַיְלָה וָיוֹם סְבִיבוֹנֵנוּ יִסֹּב
.סֻפְגָּנִיּוֹת נֹאכַל בָּם לָרֹב

!הָאִירוּ, הַדְלִיקוּ נֵרוֹת חֲנֻכָּה רַבִּים
.עַל הַנִּסִּים וְעַל הַנִּפְלָאוֹת אֲשֶׁר חוֹלְלוּ הַמַּכַּבִּים

נִצְחוֹן הַמַּכַּבִּים נְסַפֵּר, נְזַמֵּרָה
,עַל הַיְּוָנִים אָז יָדָם כִּי גָּבֵרָה,
יְרוּשָׁלַיִם שָׁבָה לִתְחִיָּה
.עַם יִשְׂרָאֵל עָשָׂה תּוּשִׁיָּה

...הָאִירוּ, הַדְלִיקוּ

The Yiddish version was copied from English Wikipedia while the Hebrew lyrics were copied from Hebrew Wikipedia. There are more version on Hebrew Wiki + scores, a midi and a lot of information in Hebrew -I haven't the faintest idea of what it says!

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: 'O Hanukkah' (Yiddish & Hebrew words)
From: Monique
Date: 27 Nov 21 - 11:10 AM

Yiddish lyrics in Hebrew characters

נוכה אוי חנוכה
אַ יום-טוב אַ שיינער
אַ לוסטיקער אַ פריילעכער
נישט דאָ נאָך אַזוינער
,אַלע נאַכט מיט דריידלעך שפילן מיר
.פרישע הייסע לאַטקעס, עסן אָן אַ שיעור

געשווינדער, צינדט קינדער
,די חנוכה ליכטלעך אָן
,זאָגט על-הניסים, לויבט גאָט פאַר די נסים
.און לאָמיר אַלע טאַנצען אין קאָן
,זאָגט על-הניסים, לויבט גאָט פאַר די נסים
.און לאָמיר אַלע טאַנצען אין קאָן

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: 'O Hanukkah' (Yiddish & Hebrew words
From: Felipa
Date: 25 Nov 21 - 01:05 PM

refreshing as Chanukah begins this year on Sun 28 Nov 2021 (ends Dec)

The Yiddish Philharmonic Chorus will celebrate with a sing-along (transliterated lyrics on screen) Sunday 28 Nov from 7-8 pm Eastern standard time (USA).
REGISTER IN ADVANCE:
Sunday, November 28
7 to 8 p.m. ET (New York time)

REGISTER IN ADVANCE:
https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZYudOCrpjIpE9zaw9zC6UyEZzwmF889m5zB

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: 'O Hanukkah' (Yiddish & Hebrew words
From: Karen Impola
Date: 25 Jan 20 - 03:22 PM

On reflection, I think Steve Weintraub specifically mentioned the Philadelphia Workmen's Circle. He lives in Philly.

Googling "Workmen's Circle Philadelphia" brings up the Philadelphia Workmen's Circle Chorus which apparently is an ongoing group. So maybe he meant he learned it as that group sings it, not from a particular publication?

Again, if anyone's interested they can contact Steve through his website. The contact link is under both the "Traditional" and "Post Traditional" tabs. (Maybe the links are a bit hidden in order to avoid spammers?) Or you can contact the Philadelphia Workmen's Circle Chorus - there are phone numbers at the link above.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: 'O Hanukkah' (Yiddish & Hebrew words
From: Karen Impola
Date: 24 Jan 20 - 11:45 PM

Hi, that guest was me on a different computer.

Sorry if I wasn't clear. Our versions were the same until partway through the first verse, and then diverged. We both sang:

Chanuke, oy Chanuke, a yontev a sheyner
A lustiger a freylicher, nito noch azoyner
Ale nacht in dreydl shpiln mir
Zudigheyse latkes esn mir

Geshvinder, tsindt kinder
Di dininke lichtelech on

At this point, the version I know goes:

Zogt "Al ha-nisim", loybt Got far di nisim
Un kumt gecher tantsn in kon!

Steve Weintraub had something different for the last two lines, but I don't know exactly what it was. (I don't speak Yiddish; I'm just good at learning songs verbatim, and if I've read a translation, I can attach meanings to some of the words.) He asked me what I was singing, so I repeated it for him - he does speak Yiddish - and he said it made sense that his version was different because it was from the Workmen's Circle and they secularize everything.

The last two lines of the version I learned mean, according to the Wikipedia page for the song, Say "Al Hanissim" [the blessing for Chanukah], praise God for the miracles,
And we will all dance together in a circle!

Here's Theodore Bikel's version, in Yiddish, English, and Hebrew. The last two lines in the Yiddish part are:

Lomir ale zingn un lomir ale shpringn
Un lomir ale tantsn in kon!

which I'm guessing means

Let's all sing and let's all jump(?) and let's all dance in a circle!

This may or may not be what Steve sings. You could contact him through his website (linked in my last post) if you really want to know.

The Wikipedia page gives lots of different variations of the Yiddish words, but there's no "Lomir ale zingn". It also says it was a Yiddish song first and then translated into English and Hebrew.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: 'O Hanukkah' (Yiddish & Hebrew words
From: Joe Offer
Date: 24 Jan 20 - 08:06 PM

Hmmm. Do you remember anything at all from the Workmen's Circle version? I have the three Workmen's Circle Pearls of Yiddish Song songbooks (by Mlotek), and can't find a version there. All the versions I know, start with "Chanuke, O Chanuke, a yontev a sheyner."

It would be fascinating to explore something different.

-Joe-

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: 'O Hanukkah' (Yiddish & Hebrew words
From: GUEST
Date: 24 Jan 20 - 05:06 PM


Subject: RE: Lyr Req: 'O Hanukkah' (Yiddish & Hebrew words
From: Tuvya
Date: 12 Dec 17 - 08:26 PM

Didn't Pete Seeger have some "shpringen" und ""zingen" in it?

I learned the song, with the Yiddish words given above, from the Klezmer Conservatory Band's recording of it. One time I was trying to sing it along with someone else (this gentleman, to be precise), when we got halfway through the first verse and discovered we were singing different words. He explained that he had learned it from a songbook published by The Workmen's Circle, which was a very secular organization, though culturally Ashkenazi Jewish. So they were probably the ones who took out the lines about singing the blessing and thanking God and replaced them with more generalized merriment.

I never did find out what exact words he was singing, but it may have been the same "lomir alle zingen" that Pete Seeger and Theodore Bikel sing.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: 'O Hanukkah' (Yiddish & Hebrew words
From: Tuvya
Date: 16 Dec 17 - 08:16 PM

Theo Bikel I just heard, like Pete Seeger, sings "zingen" and "shprigen" in their yiddish versions. . I wonder where that came from.   

And by the wayit is interesting to see there's some movement toward another (!), newer spelling eschewing the odd "Ch" for the more accurate "Kh". but maybe "H" is still easiest to understand.... for folks who find it hard to pronounce anyway.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: 'O Hanukkah' (Yiddish & Hebrew words
From: voyager
Date: 13 Dec 17 - 10:31 AM

Blue clicky thing didn't work so here are the lyrics (2000) repost -

CHANUKAH, OH CHANUKAH
-----------------------
(tune of O Tannenbaum)

CHORUS -
O Chanukah, O Chanukah
How lovely are thy brunches

Pass the bagels, pass the lox
Open up, the gift-wrapped box

O Channukah, O Channukah
How lovely are thy brunches

Spin the dredle, win some gelt
Eat the chocolate before it melts
CHORUS

Have some latkes and applesauce
Save a plate for Santa Claus
CHORUS

Eight days and eight nights
Menorrah candless, burning bright
CHORUS

Remember all those Macabees
Who refused to bend their knees
CHORUS

Fill the house with Chaverim
Songs and laughter echoing
CHORUS

Kids drink lots of Martinellis
Apple cider fills their bellys
CHORUS

Sing a song for dear old Mom
Here's to CAROL TANNENBAUM

Oh Channukah, Oh Channukah
How lovely are thy brunches!

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: 'O Hanukkah' (Yiddish & Hebrew words
From: voyager
Date: 13 Dec 17 - 10:25 AM

Our Jewish family hails from the Tannenbaums (Eastern Europe settlers to Colorado in the late 1800s). This is my annual post (cross thread) to Mudcat -

O Chanukah, O Chanukah

Our family reads this once a year (1st day of Chanukah) to start the festival of lights.

voyager

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: 'O Hanukkah' (Yiddish & Hebrew words
From: Joe Offer
Date: 12 Dec 17 - 09:09 PM

Chanukah begins this evening, December 12, 2017. Come, light the menora.

-Joe, just back from Israel-

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: 'O Hanukkah' (Yiddish & Hebrew words
From: Tuvya
Date: 12 Dec 17 - 08:26 PM

Didn't Pete Seeger have some "shpringen" und ""zingen" in it?

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: 'O Hanukkah' (Yiddish & Hebrew words
From: GUEST,Gerry
Date: 11 Dec 15 - 10:12 PM

There's another English version which my daughter found attributed to F Minkoff (I presume that's Fran Minkoff, discussed in http://mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=34165)

Oh Chanukah, O Chanukah, a time to remember,
A jolly, jolly holiday that comes in December.
Ev'ry day for eight days, dreidels will spin,
Crispy little latkes, tasty and thin.
And while we are playing the candles are burning low;
One for each night, they shed a sweet light
To remind us of days long ago.
(repeat last two lines).

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: 'O Hanukkah' (Yiddish & Hebrew words
From: YorkshireYankee
Date: 29 Nov 11 - 05:25 AM

Here's what we sang when I was a kid (learned from my Mom, who grew up in New York city in the twenties):

Chanukah, oh Chanukah, a joyous celebration
The happiest of holidays with joy ever-ringing
Every night we light the candles around
Hot and tasty pancakes are to be found.

How brightly the candles
They burn with such brightness each night
Sing for the wonders, the God-given wonders
And come let us dance every night
Sing for the wonders, the God-given wonders
And come let us dance every night!

Subject: Judy Frankel
From: GUEST
Date: 02 Dec 09 - 01:57 PM

Does anyone have lyrics to the Ladino "Hanuka" that Judy Frankel sings?

Thanks,

Emily

---

Click here for full recording (RealPlayer needed)
or Click here

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: 'O Hanukkah' (Yiddish & Hebrew words
From: Mark Cohen
Date: 12 Dec 01 - 12:47 PM

Judy Frankel has 12 songs on AudioGalaxy, here. (If that link doesn't work, just go to the AudioGalaxy site and put her name into the search box. Now that I have a cable modem, I can enjoy these sites! (I don't want to stir up another debate on MP3 music downloads. For the record, I don't save the songs; I listen to them and decide if I want to buy the CD.)

Aloha,
Mark

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: 'O Hanukkah' (Yiddish & Hebrew words
From: Genie
Date: 12 Dec 01 - 09:04 AM

The book is called The International Jewish Songbook, and I posted its table of contents in this thread

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: 'O Hanukkah' (Yiddish & Hebrew words
From: Genie
Date: 12 Dec 01 - 08:15 AM

Thanks, Joe. I'll check out the Judy Frankel book.
There's another book I've seen called something like "A Treasury of International Jewish Folksongs," which has songs in Yiddish, Ladino, Hebrew, and English. I don't remember whether it has any Ladino Hanukkah songs except Ocho Kandelikas, but it has a few more Hanukkah songs in Yiddish and Hebrew. (Unfortunately, I don't have access to the book right now.)

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: 'O Hanukkah' (Yiddish & Hebrew words
From: Joe Offer
Date: 11 Dec 01 - 06:41 PM

Well, Genie, there's a song called "Hanuka" on a book/CD from Judy Frankel called Sephardic Songs In Judeo-Spanish. I'm looking for a definitive Sephardic songbook. This one sounds pretty darn good. Judy's recordings are terrific, by that way.
-Joe Offer-

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: 'O Hanukkah' (Yiddish & Hebrew words
From: Genie
Date: 11 Dec 01 - 04:15 PM

Thanks, folks!

Now, has anyone translated it into Ladino?

Genie

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: 'O Hanukkah' (Yiddish & Hebrew words
From: JohnInKansas
Date: 11 Dec 01 - 03:19 AM

Well, Joe beat me back with the Rise Up Singing version.

Given in Folksinger's Wordbook, Fred & Irwin Silber, Oak Publications, 1973, ISBN 0.8256.0140.1, as shown above, with chords:

Chanuke, O Chanuke

  Em
  Chanuke, O Chanuke, a yontev a sheyner
  
  Em
  A lustiger, a freylicher, nite noch a zoyner!
  
  Em                  Am     Em
  Ale nacht in dreydl shpiln mir,
  
  Em                 Am  Em
  Zudikgheyse latkes esn mir
  
  Em
  Geshivinder, tsindt kinder,
  
  Em         Am             Em
  Di dininke lichtelech on.
  
  Em        Am            Em         Am
  Zogt "Alhanisim," loybt Got far di nisim,
  
     Em           Am     Em
  Un kumt gichertansn in kon!

A melody line and chords, with no lyric, is given in The Real Little Ultimate Fake Book Hal Leonard, 1992:

Chanukah Song (Hanukah Song)
4/4, Key G/Em, noted as "Moderately Fast"

  Em           B7 Em
  Em           B7 Em
  G       D7   G   
  Em      B7   Em 

John

Subject: ADD: O Hanukkah (Hebrew)
From: Joe Offer
Date: 11 Dec 01 - 02:50 AM

Well...I was going to say that if there were lyrics to a song in Yiddish or Ladino, it would be unlikely that there would be Hebrew lyrics - but then Mark posted Yiddish lyrics to this one. I found one Hebrew verse in the Rise Up Singing songbook, and one verse in English. I love the tune to this.
-Joe Offer-

---

O HANUKAH

O Hanukah, O Hanukah, come light the menora
Let's have a party we'll all dance the hora
Gather round the table we'll give you a treat
Shiny tops to play with & pancakes to eat
And while we are playing the candles are burning low
One for each night they shed a sweet light
To remind us of days long ago


Y'me hachanuka chanukat mikdashenu
Gil uv'simcha m'malim et libenu
Laila vayom s'vivonenu yisov
Sufganiyot nochal bam larov
Hairu hadliku nerot Chanuka rabim
Al hanisim v'al hanifla-ot
Asher chol'lu hamakabim

trad. (Hanukah song)
aka: Y'me Hachanuka


Chords:

Dm - A Dm / / F - C F / 1st
Dm - - - F Gm F A / Dm Gm(2x) / Dm A Dm -

Subject: Lyr add:CHANUKE, O CHANUKE (Hanukkah, O Hanukkah)
From: Mark Cohen
Date: 11 Dec 01 - 01:16 AM

From Ruth Rubin's A Treasury of Jewish Folksongs:

CHANUKE, O CHANUKE!
Words: M. Rivesman
Tune: traditional Hasidic melody

Chanuke O Chanuke, a yontev a sheyner
A lustiger a freylicher, nito noch azoyner
Ale nacht in dreydl shpiln mir
Zudigheyse latkes esn mir

Geshvinder, tsindt kinder
Di dininke lichtelech on
Zogt "Al ha-nisim", loybt Got far di nisim
Un kumt gecher tantsn in kon!

Yehuda hot fartribn dem soyne, dem rotseyach
Un hot in Beys-hamikdesh gezungen "Lamatsneyach"
Di shtot Yerusholayim hot vider oyfgelebt
Un tsu a nayem lebn hot yederer geshtrebt

Deriber, dem giber
Yehuda Makabi loybt hoych!
Zol yeder bazunder, bazingen di vunder
Un libn dos folk zolt ir oych!

You have to play with the scansion a little to make it fit. Sorry, I don't know enough Yiddish to give you a literal translation. Ruth gives this "singable" (sort of!) translation, which is close to the original Yiddish but not nearly as good a song:

Chanukkah, O Chanukkah, O holiday so fair
So happy and so merry, there's none can compare
We spin the dreydl-top, every night
Red-hot pancakes do we eat.

Come children, we'll light
The thin, little candles you see
For the salvation of a grateful nation
Thank god, and dance merrily!

Maccabee defeated and cast out the cruel enemy
And in the Holy Temple sang songs of victory
The city of Jerusalem revived and grew
And everyone began to build his life anew

Come children, prepare for
A real tribute to the Maccabee
Let us all sing of the victory
And a people so brave and so free

Aloha,
Mark

Subject: 'O Hanukkah' (Yiddish & Hebrew words)
From: Genie
Date: 10 Dec 01 - 11:41 PM

This is what I know of this traditional Hanukkah song:

O Hanukkah, O Hanukkah, Come light the menorah!
Let's have a party, we'll all dance the hora!
Gather 'round the table, we'll give you a treat,
'Svivonim* to play with, levivot* to eat.
And while we are playing,** the candles are burning low,
One for each night, they shed a sweet light
To remind us of days long ago.
One for each night, they shed a sweet light
To remind us of days long ago.

*Hebrew words.  The Yiddish words are "dreydls" and "latkes."  In English, sing "spinning tops" and "pancakes."
**or "dancing"  or "singing"
 

I would like the words in Yiddish and/or in Hebrew, if someone will post them.

Danke,
(Todo Rabat)

Genie